Forbidden Fruits’ premise immediately resonated in my horror-loving heart. Three employees—all named after fruits—at a trendy boutique store in the mall come together at night in the basement for witchy cult activities. A fourth arrival to the group challenges the status quo and things go awry. That premise coupled with Forbidden Fruits’ trailer was enough to make me want to check it out. I came into it expecting laughs, gore grounded with practical effects, and women who operate outside of societal norms. All of that was present but there were also deeper emotional underpinnings and themes that examine performative sisterhood, sexuality, and sin. This movie is totally awesome, babe.
Apple, Fig, and Cherry all work at Free Eden in a buzzing Dallas mall. We quickly learn that they are the undisputed IT girls: fashionable, conventionally attractive, and successful at their jobs. They basically spend their days, as the youth say, aura farming. This trio racks up sales by the thousands, cleverly playing into the personalities (and specifically the insecurities) of patrons. Fig finds herself drawn to Pumpkin (Lola Tung), a new mall employee working in the food court. Pumpkin takes an instant interest in this group. Pretty soon, she finds herself diving into the deep, twisted rabbit hole of their coven. But she also has her own ulterior motives as well. And it is clear to see why she’s into them because they are incredibly interesting.
Apple (Lili Reinhart) is the leader on the sales floor and in the pentacle. She’s both enticing like the apple in the Garden of Eden, yet poisonous like the fruit that Snow White consumes. Fig (Alexandra Shipp) is like her fruity namesake: intensely sweet yet more mild than her counterparts. She’s a bit of a nerd with a drive and secrets of her own. And then there’s Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), a clear people pleaser with a bubbly exterior and a deeply lonely heart after a personal tragedy.
Apple, Fig, and Cherry speak in eloquent but emotionally bereft platitudes in an attempt to dress their connection up as true sisterhood, one that decenters the patriarchy and delivers empowerment. Hell, they even worship Marilyn Monroe as a beacon of ultimate womanhood. I’m not mad at it. Directed by Meredith Alloway, who also co-wrote the film with Lily Houghton, Forbidden Fruits deftly balances the undercurrents of tension between the quartet, slowly peeling back emotional layers to get to each character’s core.
I do believe that there could’ve been a deeper exploration of Pumpkin as a person. But she’s also essentially our audience surrogate in this tale, a mirror to each Free Eden girly. Through her experience, we get to see the real struggles of what it means to be a woman: the judgment for our decisions, the masks we wear to fit certain societal standards, and the deep need for connection to each other.
And, when that femme-fueled tether is superficial and coming from a space of desperation, moral boundaries become grey, and one feels more lost and lonelier than ever. It leads to shrouding real emotions under the veil of perfection and fulfillment within the circle instead of actually having someone hold space for a supposed friend. All the conjuring, hexing, drinking concoctions, and dancing in the world cannot fix that. Judgement and shaming feel like patriarchy wearing lip gloss and a designer skirt.
Forbidden Fruits is a comedy-horror that’s pretty light on the traditional horror elements until its final act, infusing a lot of satirical elements into some pretty deep-seated truths. That balance and its almost ethereal primary settings inside Free Eden sets the tone for an engaging and entertaining watch. It’s a tasty platter of quips, twists, crash outs, and, yes, fashion drip that satiates the appetite. Think Mean Girls with a darker occult foundation like The Craft and some splatter moments. It has a delightfully vintage and giallo meets campy feel, yet digs into womanhood with a modern and complex viewpoint.
I was delighted by the powerful sapphic vibes between, well, pretty much everyone in this quartet. And yes, I am well aware that a sapphic aura doesn’t necessarily mean a sexual attraction. But it would have been interesting for the film’s exploration of sexuality to not only center on heterosexual perspectives. Yes, it was necessary to a degree to show that dichotomy between independence, feminism, and how being attracted to men fits into that space. However, I found it strange that none of these women have a more overt sexual attraction to other women. There is one brief moment that quickly gets squashed, and I’m pretty darn sad about it.
The twist at the end of the film was genuinely surprising, and the actual fates of these girls were even more shocking. Is it witchcraft or simply karma at play? Both, I think. The mid-credits scene perfectly sets up a sequel that stands to be just as fun as this film. Thisis funny, flashy, and a femme-forward flick that’ll make you wanna watch it with your (hopefully less chaotic) coven.
Forbidden Fruits will hit theaters on March 27, 2026.
Forbidden Fruits ⭐ (4.5 of 5)
The post FORBIDDEN FRUITS Is a Campy, Tasty, and Witchy Horror Comedy Romp (Review) appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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