SXSW 2026 included a number of exciting world premieres, but there was one this film critic was particularly looking forward to. Forbidden Fruits is an exciting new film directed by Meredith Alloway, who also wrote the screenplay alongside Lily Houghton, this being both Alloway and Houghton’s feature-film debut. Based on a play also written by Houghton, Forbidden Fruits follows a group of young women working at a mall. When the new hire enters their little coven, dark secrets are exposed, often with violent ends.

Forbidden Fruits is like a deranged combination of Jennifer’s Body and The Craft. Houghton and Alloway have crafted a film that harkens back to Y2K mall culture, but with more modern sensibilities, such as the fashion. The film first introduces Apple, Cherry, and Fig. These three are the current employees at Free Eden, the most exclusive shop at the mall. Apple is the clear leader of the group, and all the young women have to follow very specific rules in order to be in their little coven. Pumpkin is then brought into the fold as the newest Free Eden employee. Her arrival begins a domino effect of chaos. It’s clear she has a secret driving her to join the coven, and her quest begins to expose a number of secrets within the group. It leads to a battle for power, unravelling the threads that used to tie these women together, culminating in a deadly lock-in during a destructive storm. Forbidden Fruits is absolutely dripping with camp, embracing the absurdity of these women, the strange rules they follow, and their power dynamics. The coven also embraces a sort of faux-feminism as they drink from bags of cheap wine and chant about things like thigh gaps. It makes it abundantly clear the goal is more about control than it is embracing and uplifting other women. Everything leads to a climax where everyone’s secrets are revealed, often with deadly consequences. Some revelations will be more obvious, while others are sure to leave jaws on the floor. Although the camp and outrageous dialogue definitely won’t appeal to all audiences, those who embrace the insanity will fall in love with what is sure to be an instant cult classic.

Every single woman in Forbidden Fruits is a joy to watch on screen. Lola Tung (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Chasing Summer) stars as Pumpkin. Tung is known for portraying the girl next door stereotype. This is also true with her portrayal of Pumpkin, but the film allows her more room to play. Pumpkin has her own secrets and hidden agendas, which allows Tung to convey a certain level of cunning that fans of her work have yet to see. Lili Reinhart (Riverdale, American Sweatshop) plays the leader of the group, Apple. This is such a different role for Reinhart, playing a character who is a secretive, controlling, unrelenting femme fatale. It’s a great role for her, especially when Apple drops the mask and lets her true nature come to the surface. Alexandra Shipp (Barbie, Tragedy Girls) plays Fig, the more down to earth employee at Free Eden. Fig is definitely the most relatable of the group, as she enjoys being with the girls, but she also has her own hopes and dreams. Shipp is fantastic, as usual, and many audience members are sure to connect with her character the most. Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Hill House, You) plays Cherry. This is such a different role for Pedretti. Cherry is silly, ditzy, and absolutely boy crazy. Pedretti really embraces the role and gives a hilarious performance, but she also delivers a heartbreaking monologue that’s like a punch to the gut. All four of these women are wonderful individually, but they’re even better when acting together as they convey sisterhood, power struggles, animosity, love, and mistrust.

Aesthetics are an important part of Forbidden Fruits, making everything vibrant, eye-catching, and girly. The first thing audiences will notice is the amazing costume design. All four of these young women have very distinctive, individual styles, yet there’s also a uniformity to how costumey their looks can sometimes be. Each look is hyper feminine, yet exudes power as well. The production design for the mall itself is also fantastic. It creates a nice balance as they make up names for the different shops, yet they’re just familiar enough for the audience to figure out which real-life stores they’re based on. While it’s entirely saved for the climax of Forbidden Fruits, there is also a shocking amount of blood and absolutely incredibly practical effects guaranteed to have audiences clutching their pearls. When it comes to the witchy elements, there’s a lot of glitter and kitsch, making it known that these women learned about witchcraft from movies and TV shows rather than any real books about magic. Most of the visual aspects are great, with the exception of the wigs worn by Reinhart and Pedretti. Reinhart’s is the least offensive. It’s obviously a wig, but the look fits her character quite well. Pedretti’s wig looks okay when styled in an updo, but there are a couple of scenes with her hair down in which the wig looks quite ratty and synthetic. The film also features a score composed by Anna Drubich (Barbarian, Sting) that’s feminine, dreamy, and dangerous.

Forbidden Fruits highlights the secrets and toxicity within sisterhood, delivering a camp-filled work of art with bite. It’s a truly outstanding feature film debut for both Alloway and Houghton that will have audiences everywhere chomping at the bit to see what they do next. The way the film depicts these young women, their coven, and the hidden layers might lean a bit too silly for some audiences, but fans of hyper-femme camp classics like Jennifer’s Body and Death Becomes Her are sure to fall in love with Forbidden Fruits. The story is a compelling one, the visuals are eye-catching, and the performance from all four leads are absolutely breathtaking. If you missed the world premiere of Forbidden Fruits at SXSW, don’t fret, you can see it exclusively in theaters beginning Friday, March 27th. And when you do see the film, be sure to stick around for a fun little mid-credit scene.

OVERALL RATING: 8.5/10