REVIEW: ‘Forbidden Fruits’ Is Ripe For Cult Status

It seems every year there are films that try to emulate the subversive wit of a Mean Girls, Heathers, or The Craft; heck, the Mean Girls musical adaptation and The Craft: Legacy are among them. Only Forbidden Fruits could be considered a true successor.

Directed by Meredith Alloway, written by Alloway and Lily Houghton, based on a play by Houghton, Forbidden Fruits is effortlessly iconic. Aided by an inviting style, a committed quadrant of comedic performances, and a firecracker of a script that takes aim at retail culture and the performative nature of close-knit friendships, there has rarely been a movie so clearly set up to be a future cult classic. 

Boutique clothing store Free Eden is the talk of the Texas mall where it resides. Not least of this is the flashy fashion sense and alluring beauty of the employees, all named after fruits: Apple (Lili Reinhart), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), and Fig (Alexandra Shipp).

Lola Tung’s Pumpkin is whip-smart and uses her weaknesses to her advantage.

Pretzel shop employee Pumpkin (Lola Tung) quickly catches their eye and is quickly poached to work at Free Eden. Once in the crew, Pumpkin discovers they’re all a part of a small-scale witchy cult. What seems at first like an excuse to hang out and bond turns sinister whenever Apple tries to hold the slowly splintering group together, using any means possible. 

Sumptuously shot by Karim Hussain (2022’s Firestarter), the aesthetic of Forbidden Fruits is pure eye candy. Even during the cult rituals, where various items are thrown into a cowboy boot to make an unholy concoction, the film maintains a hazy, dream-like aesthetic that just feels soft on the eyes.

Costume designer Sarah Millman deserves a special shout-out for her staggering work here, as each of the Fruits’ outfits is not only eye-poppingly chic but also deeply reflective of each of their personalities. The more severe, tight look, often accompanied by a wig, that Apple sports, and the looser, fun-loving cowgirl/farm girl look Cherry sports, are Halloween costume-ready.

Forbidden Fruits thrives with the help of its committed cast.

Speaking of which, Forbidden Fruits thrives on its committed cast. Lola Tung (The Summer I Turned Pretty) is the perfect protagonist, using her perceived status as the ingenue as a cover to slowly accomplish her own goals. Alexandra Shipp does rather well as the most level-headed member of the group. Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Bly Manor) nearly walks away with the entire movie. Cherry’s ditzy personality and care for her sisters-in-law is extremely endearing. I’ve never seen Pedretti in this mode before. She easily earns the film’s biggest laughs.

Speaking of an actress performing in a mode never seen before from them, we have to talk about Lili Reinhart. Not only does she nail the sharp venom of Apple, but she also reveals a new layer of the character with each scene. The more learned about Apple, the clearer her wounds and need for control are. A scene towards the end where a highly unstable Apple looks the camera dead in the eye floored me. A mostly light-hearted horror-comedy did not need that level of emotional, full-body commitment, but I am glad that Reinhart went for it. 

More than anything, Forbidden Fruits is just so much fun. The script by Meredith Alloway and Lily Houghton is impressively locked in on Gen Z lingo and skewers the ridiculous cult of retail. Alloway and Houghton celebrate the joy of female friendships, yet are also cognizant of the focus on holding to strict ritual for posterity that can erode them.

The script is fun but doesn’t shy away from addressing societal issues.

Forbidden Fruits is aware of the male gaze, but instead of making this a movie entirely about misogyny and its effects on the experiences of young women, it’s simply a small brushstroke in the wild tapestry of these very entertaining women’s very entertaining lives.

Forbidden Fruits maintains an impressive control on tone, with Alloway directing the hell out of her own script. There are many twists and turns throughout, and the third act goes on an impressively unexpected mean streak. Never once did the movie lose me. In fact, I was ready to run right through it again right after the credits rolled.

That’s what I see as the legacy of this movie: an infinitely rewatchable gem that does most everything it sets its heart to perfectly. IFC and Shudder have had many great films throughout their runs. Forbidden Fruits holds the honor of being one of their most fun. 

Forbidden Fruits releases in theaters on March 27.