SXSW ‘Forbidden Fruits’ Review: The Kind of Cult Classic We Need
4/5 charm bracelets
Every generation must have one. The 2010s didn’t and look how that worked out (we got cursed). But the kind of cult classic that includes a bunch of girls in high school being bad (and often witchy) is a staple in cinema. And now the 2020s have their staple: Forbidden Fruits.
The Meredith Alloway film focuses on the Fruits: Apple (Lili Reinhart), Fig (Alexandra Shipp), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), and their newest member, Pumpkin (Lola Tung). Apple, Fig, and Cherry work for the store, Free Eden, in the mall when they are down a teammate. So they recruit Pumpkin, who works at the pretzel store, to join them.
Like any good movie that features girls doing bad things, Forbidden Fruits leans hard into the iconic tropes of the past while making it completely their own. If you’re looking for the next “No, I’m killing boys,” you will find it in the mall.
Forbidden Fruits has all the perfect trappings of these kind of films. Iconic costumes, witty one liners, and a lot of twists and turns to keep us all guessing. But it stands apart because it isn’t just another “mean girls” kind of movie. It is something that is a lot more fascinating and way darker than others of the same ilk.
For once, a movie about a group of girls isn’t centered around a man and their need for one. With Forbidden Fruits, it is about the pain and trauma of friendships and how even when you love each other, it sometimes isn’t enough. Especially when it comes to your friends.
Fruits, colors, and a lot of dark humor.
Any movie about witches is delightful to me. Maybe because I love the idea of the occult and spells but I do think that there is an obsession with witches that exists for many women. Movies like Forbidden Fruits really leans heavily in that love that women do have for each other. But Alloway manages to make this feel like the perfect kind of modern take on these types of movies.
What I find myself struggling with is talking about it without spoiling anything because I do think everyone should get to experience the twists and turns on their own. There are so many easter eggs and fun references to explore and it really allows a movie like Forbidden Fruits to submit itself as a staple in this genre within moments of it starting.
Forbidden Fruits is a worthy entry into the world of female rage and horror and I cannot wait to see girls talking about this for years to come.
(featured image: IFC)
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