Horror homework, unexpected character choices, and a sorority sisterhood built in South Africa. The cast of Tubi's slasher-comedy had quite the experience bringing the chaos to life.
Watch NowSorority parties, questionable decisions, and a masked killer with absolutely no respect for anyone's weekend plans. Buzzkill has been serving up bloody good fun since its September 25 premiere on Tubi, but the chaos behind the camera might be just as entertaining as what's happening inside the Sigma house.
Turns out, bringing this particular horror-comedy to life involved a little more than learning lines and perfecting a scream. Siena Agudong had some serious horror homework to complete, Brec Bassinger discovered a surprising new side to her character, and the cast found themselves building their own sorority sisterhood thousands of miles away from the movie's American college setting. All while preparing to survive a film where the body count and the comedy are competing for everyone's attention.
With Buzzkill already making its mark on Tubi's Terror on Tubi lineup, we're taking a closer look at what the cast has shared about bringing their characters to life. The movie itself gave us plenty to talk about too, which we did without spoiling the bloody fun when Buzzkill first started streaming.
Playing a Final Girl who has to get progressively drunker to solve a murder mystery isn't exactly your typical acting assignment. For Siena Agudong, bringing Nora to life meant learning to let go of some of the instincts she'd developed as a performer.
In an interview with The Watchlist, Agudong recalled director Jem Garrard encouraging her to stop approaching Nora so seriously during an early take. Once she gave herself permission to have fun with the character, something clicked. Instead of worrying about making every moment feel perfectly controlled, she could lean into Nora's impulsiveness and the absurdity of her situation.
The preparation didn't stop there. Agudong also received a crash course in horror, watching films including Ready or Not, Happy Death Day, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and the Scream franchise to familiarize herself with the genre's conventions. Given that Buzzkill spends much of its runtime gleefully breaking those conventions, the homework seems particularly appropriate.
And while Nora's increasingly questionable coordination is part of the comedy, Agudong was especially excited about the film's physical demands. Drawing on her background in gymnastics and parkour, she embraced the opportunity to perform her own stunts. Who knew running from a masked killer could be a pretty good workout?
Kendall might look like she has the whole sorority thing figured out, but Brec Bassinger discovered there was more to her character than the polished exterior suggested.
Following her appearance in Final Destination Bloodlines, Bassinger returned to horror with a role that gave her an opportunity to explore a different kind of character. Speaking with TV Insider, she discussed how the film's table read helped her understand the comedic direction Garrard envisioned for Kendall, making her even more excited to play the role.
One of the character's most memorable details also came from an unexpected source: Bassinger's own mother. During an interview with Daily Dead, the actress explained how Garrard meeting her mom helped inspire Kendall's Southern accent shortly before filming began. It's a fun example of how a small creative choice can give a character an entirely different personality.
Kendall's carefully maintained image becomes part of the sorority's larger social dynamic, while Bassinger gets to play with the contrast between the character's polished presentation and the increasingly ridiculous circumstances surrounding her.
Making your film debut is already a major milestone. Doing it in a horror-comedy where your sorority sisters are being hunted by a masked killer? Quite the introduction to Hollywood.
Known for her fashion-forward online presence and distinctive personal style, Aliyah's Interlude brought a different creative background to the Buzzkill ensemble. In an interview with Nerdtropolis, she discussed making her feature-film debut and how the combination of horror and chick-flick storytelling appealed to her.
Speaking with The People's Movies, Aliyah described the film as a combination of a chick flick and a slasher, comparing its energy to Jennifer's Body and Bodies Bodies Bodies. It's a fitting description for a movie where friendship, fashion, and bloody murder somehow share the same guest list.
Her perspective also highlights something that makes Buzzkill stand out among traditional slashers. Beneath the outrageous premise is a group of young women whose personalities, friendships, and conflicts give the chaos somewhere to land. The killer may be the biggest problem at the party, but the sorority dynamics are doing plenty of work themselves.
A movie about sorority sisters works a whole lot better when the actors actually feel like they've known one another for years. Fortunately, the Buzzkill cast had some help making that happen.
During an interview with the Horror Queers podcast, Brec Bassinger revealed that the production organized a dinner overlooking Cape Town, giving the actresses an opportunity to connect before filming began.
The bonding continued once cameras started rolling. Garrard scheduled a lengthy, dialogue-heavy group scene for the first day of production, putting the actresses together in one room for much of the day. By the time filming wrapped on that sequence, their fictional sisterhood was already beginning to feel real.
Turns out, surviving a fictional sorority massacre is a pretty effective way to make real-life friends.
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