‘Freaky’ Movie: How That Wild ‘Real Housewives’ Scene Made It Into Horror Film (Exclusive)

Fans of Bravo’s reality TV series will recognize the iconic clip immediately

Freaky movie Kathryn Newton Christopher Landon
Photo credit: Universal Pictures

Spoiler alert: This post contains mild spoilers from the new horror film “Freaky”

“Real Housewives” fans will scream in delight knowing an iconic scene from the reality TV franchise appears in the new horror film “Freaky.”

Warning, mild spoilers ahead.

Midway through the film, the murderous Blissfield Butcher (Kathryn Newton) gets captured and tied-up in high schooler Josh’s (Misha Osherovich) house. To pass the time, Josh turns on one of his favorite shows, “The Real Housewives of New York City.”

The scene he’s watching is one most iconic from the series, the Season 4 episode where LuAnn de Lesseps — aka The Countess — is bucked while riding a camel in Morocco. One moment, de Lesseps is enjoying a tranquil ride through the desert; the next, she’s hanging on and hollering for dear life.

“Freaky’s” director Christopher Landon spoke with TheWrap exclusively about the “Real Housewives” cameo. Originally, it had intended to be another show altogether.

“Initially, my cowriter Michael Kennedy had scripted that it was a ‘Riverdale’ scene,” Landon explained. “It was yet another someone in a locker room with no t-shirt on. Michael had written a really funny line where Joshua says, ‘Ugh it’s like this town bans shirts.’” It was funny, but we couldn’t get it cleared. (“Riverdale” airs on The CW, a Warner Bros./CBS network.)

“So we had to go back to what’s in the Universal family. What would Joshua watch? And the ‘Real Housewives’ was the only choice,” Landon added. “That episode and that particular moment was really perfect just because of what’s actually happening in the audio. Her really weird yelp is so good and watching her getting bucked on a camel — it had the right energy and the right vibe.”

Landon, who’s known for inserting pop culture references into his horror films, admitted he’s not a big reality TV fan, but still knew about this “Real Housewives” scene.

“There are so many scenes that are so iconic … you see them everywhere all over social media,” he explained. “I had a whole handful of options; do I want the scene where [Aviva Drescher] pulls her leg off and slams it on the table? I know these moments but it was just a question about what fit the scene and what we would be allowed to use.”

While the show was pleasure viewing for Josh, it was punishment for the Blissfield Butcher. But Kathryn Newton, who plays the murderer, is a “Real Housewives” superfan in real life.

“I’m obsessed with the ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” the actress admitted. “I just did Lisa Vanderpump’s podcast and like got to play with her ponies. I was dying. She gave me her Lisa Vanderpump rose, I still haven’t opened it.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time a “Real Housewives” star has appeared in a horror film. “Beverly Hills” housewife Kyle Richards played Lindsey Wallace — one of the young children Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) babysat in the original 1978 “Halloween.” Richards is reprising the role in the upcoming “Halloween Kills,” another Universal horror film.

“Freaky” opens in theaters on Nov. 13.

Watch the iconic camel scene from “The Real Housewives of New York” below:

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