Behind the doors of an unassuming winter vestibule, a thriller-obsessed audience gathered at the Metrograph theater in New York City’s Lower East Side. Outside, temperatures were in the 30s; inside, the crowd’s white-hot anticipation surged. On Wednesday, December 3, Allure and Lionsgate invited more than 150 people for an exclusive screening of The Housemaid, the film adaptation of Freida McFadden’s runaway hit novel, ahead of its theatrical release on December 19.
The film, starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, and directed by Paul Feig (of A Simple Favor and Bridesmaids fame), follows down-on-her-luck Millie (Sweeney), who seizes an opportunity for employment as the live-in help for an affluent family: Nina (Seyfried) and Adam Winchester (Brendan Sklenar) and their daughter, Cecelia. Millie soon finds that unimaginable secrets percolate at the Winchester estate—locked away behind a luxurious W-monogrammed gate.
While champing at the bit to view the film, the crowd chomped on an array of hors d’oeuvres—ricotta crostinis, beef skewers, a seemingly endless supply of French fries, and chicken parmesan sliders—and snapped photos in front of the Allure x Lionsgate-branded step and repeat banner to blast on social channels. This is, after all, #BookTok’s most-anticipated film adaptation of the year.
Themed drinks sloshed in free hands: the Nina, featuring jalapeño- and cilantro-infused tequila, and the Millie, the fashionable older cousin of a vodka soda, elevated by strawberry, elderflower, and lime. Most vital, though, was the snack wall, with an assortment of popcorn, classic movie theater candies, and nonalcoholic beverages. For those with the most exquisite and refined palates, certain candies, like Reese’s Pieces, were available chilled. (For me, this was the night’s greatest thrill!)
