Director: Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes
Starring: Aisha Dee, Hannah Barlow, Yerin Ha, Lucy Barrett, Daniel Monks, Emily De Margheriti
Distributor: Shudder Films
Runtime: 102 mins. Reviewed in Nov 2022
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc

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Rating notes: Strong themes and violence, blood and gore

Sissy, now Cecilia, has many followers on her podcast, selling products, an influencer. However, when she meets a childhood friend, goes to a party, secrets are revealed and mayhem unleashed.

There are certain advantages for reviewers in not necessarily knowing anything in detail about the film they are to preview. This lack of knowledge means reviewers can still be surprised.

This reviewer had no previous knowledge, other than reflecting on the title which brought to mind the German 1950s series on the Empress Elizabeth, Sissy, screening often on SBS, or Sissy Spacek (and that did come to mind later). For the first half of the film everything seems nice. We are introduced to two little girls, best friends for life – Sissy and Emma – filmed together in home movies, declaring their friendship, burying their treasures in a secret place. [Scenes from these home movies will recur throughout the whole film.]

It will depend on our attitudes towards personalities seeking fame and followers on social media as to our response to Sissy as she grows into a young woman. Not only does she have a program, exerting her charm full-on on screen, seeing herself as something of a therapist for her followers, advocating various products, and delighting in the number of followers and online comments. To those wary of online gurus, she begins to seem a bit much. She is glamorous, has a pink rope she places around herself for boundaries, and is into affirmation that she is loved.

So, where is this going? In a major scene, it actually goes to the local supermarket, Sissy, now professionally calling herself Cecilia online, is careless of others, knocking twice into a pregnant woman without too much worry. However, the main point of the visit to the supermarket is she is reacquainted with Emma, whom she has not met for years. Emma does not holding Sissy in her memories as much is Sissy would like. Sissy discovers that Emma is in relationship with another woman (who turns out to be a genuine psychologist doing a doctorate).

So far, so non-horror that the poster and the trailers highlight. It is when Sissy agrees to go with Emma and her friend, and friends, for an outing to the home of another woman from school, Alex, the tensions arise. There is criticism from Emma’s friends (though Emma always defends Sissy) about her exploiting products and running the danger of harming viewers. Alex is particularly disagreeable. (For those becoming a bit impatient for the horror, it now begins – and a flashback to explain Alex’s injuries and animosity.)

It is then that the memory of Sissy Spacek comes to mind, especially for her early and groundbreaking role as the disturbed teenager, Carrie, and the vengeance she wreaks. Sissy gets involved in all kinds of situations, loses it, continues to lose it, and there are a couple of twists to surprise us.

Sissy is a survivor, and Cecilia continues her charm outreach to her followers. Would a sequel showing us Cecilia’s coping/not coping in the future be in order? (Sissy is played effectively by Aisha Dee, Hannah Barlow who plays Emma, wrote the screenplay and co-directs.)