Written by Lily Houghton And Meredith Alloway
Directed by Meredith Alloway
Cherry: "Are we still best friends?"
Apple: "You know I don't believe in hierarchy in female relationships."
If Gen Z were ever going to get their own version of The Craft (1996), then I guess they couldn't do too shabbily with this one. It's a feminist take on sisterhood or a smackdown of performative sisterhood. I think it's ultimately both.
Set in a shopping mall, the Free Eden employees have mobilised their own after hours witchy femme cult. They're led by the dominating Apple (Lili Reinhart) but there's an opening for a new member to the ranks.
This was where newcomer Pumpkin (Lola Tung) found herself. She made an impression on Apple but also Fig (Alexandra Shipp) and Cherry (Victoria Pedretti). Following a few rituals and rules, Pumpkin got herself into Apple's little cult and she took little time in attempting to unravel it as well.
Pumpkin had an agenda for joining. She needed to get closer to Apple for later reasons that made enough sense. Pumpkin was also smart enough to exploit Cherry's sex addiction and Fig being involved with a man named Norman (Siddharth Sharma) to her advantage and then there was former member, Pickle (Emma Chamberlain).
Apple really hated the idea of her cult members being involved with men and resorted into performing hexes in order to deal with snakes. Pickle fell victim to two hexes with the latter killing her and then a hurricane really turned the group against each other.
These movies thrive on a final girl but what happened when it's the villain who actually survived? Yup, it's Apple that was the last "witch" standing. Both Cherry and Fig are given some rather grisly deaths and the half sister connection between Apple and Pumpkin (same father who Apple killed) didn't exactly save Pumpkin. Now you've got Apple on the loose and ready to form a new performative sisterhood.
- The movie's based on Lily Houghton's stage play Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die. That's an extremely long title.
- A mid credit scene revealed that Apple's boss, Sharon (Gabrielle Union) was an undercover detective, aware of Apple's antics.
- Standout music: Scantily Clad by Haute & Freddy.
- Chronology: Took place over the course of a month in Dallas, Texas. Apple fled to Arizona by the end of the film.
Forbidden Fruits started off as a bit of a slog with some really cringe Gen Z dialogue but as the movie progressed, I found it improved. The four leads are mostly great and there's some good ideas that are a little underdeveloped but overall, a breezy watch.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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