"SISSY" // SXSW 2022
Deconstructing the age of the influencers in a smart and brutally fun way, the horror film SISSY explores that, cancel culture, bullying and the pain of childhood trauma that never truly lets go. Cecilia (Aisha Dee) is an online influencer who uses her charm to tell people that they are indeed worth it and helps them on their own journey of themselves. With 200,000 followers, business is good. She's happy to give advice to people on the internet, even if she's not qualified to do so. Everything comes to a screeching halt though when she runs into her childhood best friend Emma (Hannah Barlow, who also co-wrote and co-directed the film with Kane Senes). They were best childhood friends, until another girl named Alex put a wedge between the two of them and began to bully Cecilia. A moment of violence followed that has also followed Cecilia all of her life.
Emma is so thrilled to see Cecilia that she invites her to her bachelorette weekend. Cecilia reluctantly accepts, not quite sure what she's getting herself into. Once she arrives, she realizes this might have been a huge mistake. Alex (Emily De Margheriti) is also in attendance and things are not looking up from that point on. The strongest thing that SISSY has going for it, and it has a lot going for it, is how it's not just a simple story of revenge. There's a lot of layers upon layers. Alex was and is a bully, calling Cecilia "Sissy" because she knows it bothers her. Cecilia was bullied and is justified on her anger, but there's also something not quite right in her, making her all the more interesting. Aisha Dee is fantastic as the lead, as is Hannah Barlow and Emily De Margheriti. Once the gore begins, it truly goes for it and the death scenes are both creative and gruesome. Who you should root for may change from scene to scene but one thing is for sure: you'll be both thrilled and gasping right up until the end.
GRADE: A-
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes STARRING Aisha Dee, Hannah Barlow, Emily De Margheriti, Daniel Monks, Yerin Ha, Lucy Barrett, Shaun Martindale, Amelia Lule, April Blasdall, Camille Cumpston. SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2022 SXSW FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: SISSY