‘The Housemaid’ Trailer: Sydney Sweeney Cleans Amanda Seyfried’s Haunted(?) House for Paul Feig
Deck the halls with “Fatal Attraction” posters and start counting down the days to Paul Feig‘s “The Housemaid,” a slippery suburban thriller starring Amanda Seyfried as a creepy rich lady and Sydney Sweeney as her lamb led to slaughter through a working-class job. From Lionsgate, the upcoming release adapts author Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel and is expected in theaters December 19.
“The Housemaid” casts the Oscar-nominated Seyfried as Nina Winchester, a buttoned-up homeowner who seems to be hiding more than your average yuppy secret. Sweeney plays Mille, a cleaner-for-hire who, even wearing certified “She’s All That” glasses, looks a little too hot for a live-in housemaid position with the instantly intense Nina and her overly slick husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar).
Seyfried has sustained her power at the box office ever since “Mamma Mia!” made her a household name. Following her striking portrayal of convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes for Hulu’s “The Dropout,” this darker turn from Seyfried promises to escalate the woman-on-woman crime of Feig’s “A Simple Favor” duology through classic horror movie magic and an A-list pairing we haven’t seen yet. A picture-perfect wife with only a crack in her smile, Nina has to be hiding something — but why and what is it?
She’s joined by Sweeney, who’s generating more PR controversies than performances these days. Still, the “Anyone But You” actress continues to entertain, for good and bad, and Sweeney plays the obvious victim in the trailer. Of course, it’s never that clear-cut with Feig, who loves to makes changes when he’s adapting novels, and if Sweeney’s part on “Euphoria” taught us anything, it’s that audiences love talking about objectively flawed-yet-effeverscent women.
If the story is complex enough, “The Housemaid” could be a sharp pivot for Sweeney. Channeling perceived volatility into believable sweetness is no easy task, but there’s reason to believe the star of “Immaculate” could do it. “The Housemaid” looks like a blend of chic satire and psychological warfare. Sidestepping martinis and murder for a glossy puzzle box that looks like supernatural eat-the-rich epic — maybe? — Feig will continue his meditation on female friendship in theaters this December.
Watch the trailer for “The Housemaid” below.
