Vince Vaughn talks playing a ‘Freaky’ teen girl, getting the ‘Wedding Crashers’ back together – USA TODAY

Vince Vaughn chats with USA TODAY's Brian Truitt about his new film, "Freaky," and the possibility of a "Wedding Crashers" sequel. USA TODAY

Most of us are used to wearing masks at this point. Just know thatVince Vaughns is cooler than yours.

For director Christopher Landons new horror comedy Freaky (in theaters Friday), Vaughn plays the physically imposing Blissfield Butcherand dons a slasher mask thats just skewing a little bit the iconic looks of Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. But Vaughn actually spends most of the body swap movie playing a teenage girl after the Butcher attacks high schooler Millie (Kathryn Newton) with an ancient magical dagger and gory, soul-switching high jinks ensue.

It's very funny, the kills are really well done, but there's an emotional connectedness throughout, Vaughn says. It is a tricky thing to balance those genres, that tone of having real scares that are really satisfying along with real laughs.

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Vince Vaughn has a killer role in "Freaky" but the horror film is a return to his comedy roots after a run of more dramatic projects.(Photo: UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

Freaky also gives Vaughn a chance to return to the signature broad humor of his earlier well-known movies like Old School and Wedding Crashers after a slate of dramatic projects including True Detective, Hacksaw Ridge and Brawl in Cell Block 99.

USA TODAY talks with Vaughn, 50, about Freaky, his return to comedy and what's going on with aWedding Crashers sequel.

Question: First off, how's life been treating you during COVID?

Vince Vaughn: It's been as good as it could be. My kids are here, it's been like Little House on the Prairie" a little bit at home with the learning and stuff, but it's been nice to be able to have the time with everybody. That part I've enjoyed.

Stuck in a serial killer's body, Millie (Vince Vaughn, center) rounds up her friends Nyla (Celeste O'Connor) and Josh (Misha Osherovich) to help in "Freaky."(Photo: BRIAN DOUGLAS/UNIVERSAL)

Q: What was the best part of playing both Millie and the Butcher?

Vaughn: For Millie, you're someone coming of age. You don't have your self-confidence, you're still learning who you are, you're finding your voice. You're sometimes taking other people's problems on and not really being true to yourself because you don't want to ruffle feathers. And then the Butcher is obviously just a person who is without any empathy, looking to harm people, looking to kill people. They're two very different extremes.

Q: You pull off a teen girl pretty well. What's your secret?

Vaughn: I have some nieces that are close to that age. You really put yourself in that position of building out your backstory, understanding what the character wants or is afraid of and connecting to those things.

There's a humanity and an honestness where most people go through that very experience (of high school). At the time it's really painful. And funny as well, by the way, with some time. It feels like the world's coming to an end and then you can laugh about it years later.

Vince Vaughn dons a mask as the Blissfield Butcher in the body-swap horror comedy "Freaky."(Photo: BRIAN DOUGLAS/UNIVERSAL)

Q: With Freaky, did you feel the creative urge to get back to your comedy roots?

Vaughn: Im not as dogmatic in so much as I like doing a variety of stuff. It's fun to ride all the different rides in the amusement park. With Brawl and with this movie, you're kind of going a little bit where your feet can't touch. When you first read it on paper, it's fun, but it's like, How do I get there? I like feeling a little bit like it's out of my safety zone and then having to do the work and preparation to get to a stage where you feel really good about it once you land on set.

Vince Vaughn plays a serial killer that switches bodies with a teenager in new horror comedy "Freaky." USA TODAY Handout

Q: This year being the 15th anniversary of "Wedding Crashers," there's been talk of a sequel. Are you in?

Vaughn: I just met with Owen (Wilson) and David Dobkin last week, and there's a script and an idea that we all quite like. So that's actually something that you might see sooner than later. We're sort of taking it more seriously. What I like is that there's a fun idea that feels current. It makes sense as a continuation. And it's the kind of thing where I'm glad we waited so you're not retreading the same story. It feels like the right next chapter.

John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) weren't invited to this wedding, but they celebrated anyway in 2005's "Wedding Crashers."(Photo: RICHARD CARTWRIGHT/NEW LINE CINEMA)

Q: Your movies worked because they always seemed to capture the zeitgeist. What do you feel has changed the most about comedy over the years?

Vaughn: When we were making movies like "Old School or "Wedding Crashers," we werejust trying to be honest to those characters and where they're at, and the comedy coming from an overcommitment to the absurd, but it being grounded in something that's relatable.

The right place to work from in exploring these things in general is that you don't really have to invent anything. Human nature and how we grow up and how we transform and get over fears or learn to be comfortable with ourselves, you're really just revealing what's already there.

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Vince Vaughn talks playing a 'Freaky' teen girl, getting the 'Wedding Crashers' back together - USA TODAY