Victoria Justice and Garrett Hedlund Talk New Psychological Thriller ‘The Tutor,’ Tease ‘No One’ Should Trust Co-Star Noah Schnapp (Exclusive)

Victoria Justice and Garrett Hedlund star together in a new psychological thriller, The Tutor, which also stars Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp. PopCulture.com had a chance to speak with Justice and Hedlund ahead of the film’s release, and that offered some insight into the project. Hedlund also teased that Schnapp’s character is so conniving that the actor himself is not to be trusted.

In The Tutor, Hedlund plays Ethan, “a tutor who, after being assigned an unexpected task at a mansion, finds himself struggling with the obsessions of his student (Schnapp), who threatens to expose his darkest secrets,” per an IMDB synopsis. “You should definitely be concerned,” Hedlund sarcastically replied when asked if the public should be worried at how well Schanpp portrays a calculated stalker. “You should trust no one and nobody, specifically him, ever. Proceed with caution. Beware at all times, any time you interview him from now on, through any time in the future, until either one of you passes away.”

Admittedly, the twisty narrative of The Tutor is one that brings many surprises, which makes for a story that Justice agrees viewers should go into knowing as little as possible. “That’s my favorite way to watch any movie,” she told us. “I don’t like to watch trailers. I don’t like to know anything. I just want to go into it blind and just have the experience. And I think you should definitely do this with this film. You don’t want to… Just go into it with an open mind and just take the ride. There are lots of twists and turns. I feel like people are going to be on the edges of their seats, and I think that’s the best way to do it.”

When discussing what drew him into the role, Hedlund explained that, while reading the script for The Tutor, there were some “reveals in this storyline” that reminded him “of films that really inspired me.” He elaborated, “It really set a standard for something that succeeded as a psychological thriller, like Primal Fear. Something that kept you on the edge of your seat, like Mystic River, just because of the sort of dramatic performances and commitment and suspense that they held within them.”

He then noted, “I hadn’t done many thrillers before. I’d done one, just kind of like the summer before called The Marsh King’s Daughter, and that was sort of the first. I was really intrigued… we could successfully put an audience into such suspense that nobody had seen this ending coming. But also through the whole time you’re sitting in your seat, really invest in these characters and see these characters unravel and unfold physically, mentally, psychologically in front of you…What happens after these situations in the film should really catch you off guard”

Hedlund then joked, Did I do that without revealing anything? Maybe I didn”t… I really treaded lightly on that. There were a lot of eggshells around my feet in those.” 

The Tutor opens in theaters on Friday, March 24. Check your local listings for theatres and showtimes.