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source: Sissy

There has been a trend for horror movies with a message over the last few years and some of them have left me cold. The message part often means that the horror aspect is down played so as not to offend a broader audience. Luckily, this is not the case with Sissy. This film addresses issues like mental health and social media influencers but still has a cracking horror movie at its heart. It borders on horror-comedy at times - but, if you're a gore hound - there's PLENTY for you here. I wasn't expecting a lot from this movie but it was nicely set up, the acting was good, the blood was splurting and, overall, it was an enjoyable 82 minutes.

I really wasn't sure how this film was going to pan out. I briefly read the synopsis then kind of forgot what it was about when I started watching it. I thought Aisha Dee was fantastic in this. She embodied the role of the troubled Cecilia really well. And while she may be portrayed as the villain of the movie, I personally don't see her as the villain. I think this one film where you're either going to hate her and pray for her demise, or feel a sympathy for her. Being bullied as a child has never left her. It's lead her to the job she does. She probably doesn't find it easy to make friends and we don't see her talking to any family or friends; all she has is her followers who she turns to for validation. To know that she is seen and heard and needed. That she is wanted. And this becomes an obsession to her. She puts on this front of being worthy to her followers but she lives in a tiny, messy apartment, drives a yellow car that her best friend always said she wanted; she is very socially awkward and not the person she makes herself out to be. She goes to Emma's engagement party and feels home again, making friends with Emma's new friends. Until she encounters her old school bully at the hen weekend and Emma's new BFF, Alex. And it's like she's back in school again. The new friends don't know her, they know Alex. And so when Alex makes her hatred for Cecilia apparent, the friends are on Alex's side. Here Cecilia is face to face with bullies again. Even though they don't bully her outright, they tease her behind her back, make hurtful comments and laugh at Alex's snide comments. I thought it was a great film. My only criticism was the score was annoying. Music playing through 90% of the movie, over the actors which sometimes made the dialogue quite difficult to hear. Not sure what the reasoning for that was but I didn't like it at all. It wasn't necessary to have music in certain points of the film. It ruined the atmosphere. I enjoyed it. More of a thriller than a horror I'd say, but good.

Sissy sucks you in from the very first scene and never let's go. Directors Hannah Barlow (who also plays Emma) and Kane Senes create a stylistic world that is absolutely mesmerizing, unsettling and disturbing all at once. The writing is sharp, cinematography is gorgeous, and the score is bold and a character in itself. The performances are excellent across the board, and the violence is visceral - there're a couple moments that made me, a seasoned horror buff cringe (in a good way)! Reminded me of The Loved Ones and Bodies! Bodies! Bodies! A great satire/horror/thriller, and one of my favs of 2022!

O. M. F. G!!! Just saw SISSY at the Darwin Film Fest and jesus! Hannah Barlow is an amazing filmmaker and really captures each character perfectly. The angles and shots are just perfect. A true masterclass of how filmmakers should shoot horror films. Aisha Dee as Cecillia is absolutely outstanding - all the actors just grip you with their performances and it was truly breathtaking. Warning! It gets gruesome and gory. A true-blue slasher film that needs to be on screens globally, not to mention the commentary on the power of influencers on youth culture, what an powerhouse of a film. Its really quite special. /SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT NOW/ In Act I we see Cecilia and she is filming a wellness tutorial and she bumps into her childhood friend Emma at the pharmacy, she is then invited to the latter's bachelorette party, as we lead into Act II the audience is frequently shown an old video of Alex and Cecilia (being called Sissy) as she is teased the audience is positioned to feel sympathetic towards her. The action then starts with Alex and Cecilia fight in a waterhole for Cecilia's phone after she was deemed 'cancelled' by the group, and Alex subsequently wanted to expose Cecilia to her fans, however, before the video is posted she hits her with a rock. That is by far one of the TAMEST deaths in this chilling film. Next on the hitlist is Jamie, a gay male with a disability, and his death is also pretty tame in comparison to Death 3-5. While I won't spoil the death order I must warn viewers that the Death 4 is gruesome and very graphic so be prepared.

After running into an old friend, a woman manages to reconnect their friendship to the point of getting to go on a trip to a bachelorette party in the woods, but when a series of truths are revealed about their past leads to a revelation that turns their care-free trip into a bloodsoaked nightmare. Overall, there's quite a lot to like with this one. Among the more impressive features here is the incredibly savvy setup that ties together a biting social commentary on modern influencer culture as a means of introducing the slashing features. The early sequences showing the life she leads with trying to maintain her grip on the modern influencer life by looking at the recording equipment she uses, the constant checking for notifications, and requests for acceptance make for a fantastic insight into her mindset from the very beginning. Even interactions with her friend make it seem that her connection and obsession with social media is a massive part of her character that becomes an essential part of the later half when we understand why that's her personality based on the backstory with the bully that grows in statue over the course of the film. When it changes course and becomes a fully-fledged slasher film in the finale, it's done more as a means of witnessing the motivation beforehand that lead her there. These scenes are generally familiar as she takes out the pent-up aggression and viciousness inside her out on the guests at the cabin during the retreat. However, that becomes secondary to the film's means of ensuring we get the motivation to lead her there. The fact that her reverting back to the childhood version of herself that was subjected to the exploits of the bullying and is now set on keeping things built around seeking revenge for what happened as a far more engaging sense of catharsis for the past. Doing that in the form of some stylish stalking scenes throughout the cabin and surrounding mountain areas comes off quite fun with a nice bit of gore to top it all off for a lot to like here. However, there are some minor issues to be had with this one. The main drawback is that the films' so heavily reliant on appealing to modern influencer culture that it becomes a portrait of the times far too easily. Relentlessly adding in the type of jargon and term that are commonly associated with the scene, utilizing filters and screen-filters mimicking various app displays, and coming on so heavily with the lifestyle she has that it can become incredibly frustrating and off-putting for those not interested in the style. It can become quite maddening to get this kind of feature throughout this one and can be responsible for the film feeling overlong as a result with so much of the film built on exploiting this factor. While not overly detrimental, it does bring this one down slightly. Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

You bump into a friend from long ago, she invites you to her hen night and you go, then a bachelorette weekend, it's so nice that you can spend, some time together, to reacquaint, go with the flow. Alas the place where you are staying has an another, a person from your past who caused a spot of bother, and there's clearly still a trace, from the scar that's on her face, of the grudge that she finds difficult to smother. Soon things start to go off course and quite awry, as tensions rise no matter how you try, to bury your resentment, pull away from hobbled descent and wash the tears from streaming, prying, crying eyes. Cecilia finds catching up with old school acquaintances a little more challenging than she'd imagined, but with her rope of invincibility she does her best to pull through. Great performances and a genuinely original take on an often encountered theme.