Director: Meredith Alloway
Writer: Lily Houghton, Meredith Alloway
Stars: Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Alexandra Shipp, Victoria Pedretti
Synopsis: At a mall store, Apple leads a secret witch cult with coworkers Cherry and Fig. New hire Pumpkin questions their sisterhood, forcing them to confront inner darkness or meet violent ends.
Film fans make a massive deal about a director’s first movie. In some ways, we seem to expect a slow start. And if we don’t get that, we expect a sophomore slump. This is not a wholly negative view. Instead, it is indicative of just how hard filmmaking can be. It is hard enough just to get a film made, and doubly hard to make one that is even slightly above average. And let’s not get truly started on how much harder it is for female filmmakers. If they do not have an immediate success, getting funding becomes a near impossibility. So, when a filmmaker arrives on the scene with a genuine style and takes some actual risks, it is worth taking notice, even if there is no guarantee of a repeat. But now that I have seen Meredith Alloway’s first feature film, Forbidden Fruits, hope spring eternal.
Forbidden Fruits, dripping with style and charged with energy, takes place almost entirely in a mall and, between laughs and scares, manages to make more than a few statements about female friendship and even the effects of traumatic parenting decisions. The plot follows three women who work at a store, Free Eden, and who, oddly, are named after fruits. Apple (Lili Reinhart), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), and Fig (Alexandra Shipp) are the queens of the mall, a point driven home humorously by whispered disembodied comments as they stride through the food court. Here, after discussing their co-worker who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances, they are introduced to another possible member of their squad, happily with another fruit moniker, Pumpkin (Lola Tung).
It would be easy to view Forbidden Fruits as shallow or silly. This would be a tremendous error on your part. This is a film that works on more than one level. Yes, it is devilish fun. But beneath its surface is both darkness and depth. As the plot involving a possible coven (or cult?) is slowly revealed, the script, from Alloway and Lily Houghton (based on her stage play), finds a way to become both engaging and mysterious. By the time the film wraps up, Alloway has so many balls in the air, that it is a wonder that very few are dropped. While the script may be imperfect (the post-credits scene is particularly galling), in the hands of Alloway as the director and a wildly game, almost all-female cast, there is literally never a dull moment.
Reinhart and Tung, in particular shine the brightest, but singling them out feels mildly unfair. Given the structure of the plot, these two have the most opportunities to stand out. But Reinhart, as the leader of the pack, relishes every opportunity to absolutely devour the whip-smart dialogue. Her knowing, almost predatory facial expressions would make any film watchable, so here it has an additive effect that makes the viewer lean in all the closer. However, Shipp and Pedretti are also equal parts funny, terrifying, and shockingly genuine. Their arcs, by the end, actually rival those of the co-leads. It is a real gift when a film this heightened in style and dialogue is still able to hit home emotionally. You can certainly watch this film as a comedy-horror hybrid and never think about it on a deep level, but I believe that, on rewatch, this will make an even deeper mark.
What this film does best is show the allure of friendship and how it can easily go too far. Many times, it has been opined that the breakup of a true friendship is much worse than a romantic one. For this reason, the introduction of a dedicated sexual relationship from one member of a friend group can feel like a betrayal. Watching these women navigate the dangerous waters of life, judgment, romance, and growing apart is truly a wonder and is aided by the alternately sharp and deeply edgy cinematography from Karim Hussain.
These emotional journeys are, of course, surrounded by violence (both physical and emotional) and the tangled web at least one of the main characters is weaving. As everything comes to light, much like life, there are no purely virtuous humans or distinctly evil ones. Despite the fact that some characterization may seem slight at first glance, each and every one of these women is well thought-out, has motivations and desires, and an internal logic that is rare in this particular subgenre.
More than one movie already in 2026 has been propped up as a possible future “cult classic,” but this is the example I would put my money on. However, I still hope that it finds an audience immediately. Forbidden Fruits is proof that Meredith Alloway should be given great leeway and even greater budgets moving forward. She, along with her team, has an incredible eye and a wicked sense of humor that the cinema world could use right now. The film never pulls punches (or fingernails) and is unafraid to poke fun at itself, all while saying something worthwhile about the cultures that it portrays. Forbidden Fruits is more than worth your time on a lot of levels, but especially on one of pure devilish enjoyment.
