Forbidden Fruits review: mall-set teen witches channel The Craft

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• A new kind of coven: mall girls with dangerous rituals
• Cast choices and character dynamics that shape the film
  • Performances that hit and miss
  • Relationships drive the plot more than logic
• From stage to screen: origin story and creative team
• Visuals, pop culture references, and the film’s tonal experiments
• Religious echoes and thematic clutter
• Genre shifts: from teen comedy to horror and back
• What works and what doesn’t: strengths and weaknesses
• Plot wrinkles, a mid-credits reveal, and lingering questions
• Final notes on tone and who might enjoy this movie

When teen fashion, mall culture, and witchcraft collide, the result in Forbidden Fruits is loud, glittering, and unpredictable. The film reimagines coven stories for a pop-filled generation, swapping black robes for sequins and eye rolls for ritual rites. It premiered at SXSW and aims to be a candy-colored answer to 1990s witch movies — but it doesn’t always land.

A new kind of coven: mall girls with dangerous rituals

Forbidden Fruits sets its story in “Free Eden,” a chic retail space where status is decided by sales floor charisma. A trio of curated cool girls rule the shop and the food court. They recruit a shy newcomer, and the initiation mixes high school cruelty with literal spells.

• Apple is the alpha: composed, commanding, and hungry for a protégé.
• Fig is the quiet brain, more science than smudged eyeliner.
• Cherry flashes sweet looks and secret rage beneath her pastel wardrobe.
• Pumpkin is the outsider who is pulled into their orbit, for reasons kept mysterious.

Cast choices and character dynamics that shape the film

Performances that hit and miss

Lili Reinhart gives Apple a frosty magnetism. Alexandra Shipp brings warmth to Fig’s nerdy kindness. Victoria Pedretti leans into Cherry’s volatility with relish. Lola Tung’s Pumpkin is more enigmatic than engaged, which leaves the film’s emotional center blurry.

Relationships drive the plot more than logic

The movie tracks power moves, petty betrayals, and staged rituals. The girls act like a hyper-stylized clique from teen comedies, but the plot often shifts into horror tropes without fully explaining motivations.

From stage to screen: origin story and creative team

Director Meredith Alloway adapts Lily Houghton’s play for the screen in her feature debut. The script retains the play’s provocative title origins, but resets location and tone to avoid legal issues and sharpen the retail-mall aesthetic.

• Playwright: Lily Houghton — original stage piece provided the film’s spine.
• Director: Meredith Alloway — transitions to feature filmmaking with a bold visual approach.
• Setting tweak: the movie swaps a real brand for the fictional “Free Eden.”

Visuals, pop culture references, and the film’s tonal experiments

The film revels in bold colors and consumer-era iconography. It layers references to cultural touchstones and social-media-age idols. That collage can feel clever.

But at times, the montage of influences becomes muddled. The movie leans on slogans, Barbie-adjacent props, and celebrity nods instead of deeper character work.

The result is often stylish showmanship that prioritizes image over insight.

Religious echoes and thematic clutter

The source play’s lengthy biblical phrase appears as a prop and motif in the film. The scripture’s harsh view of womanhood is quoted and repurposed as part of the coven’s mythology.

Still, the movie rarely excavates that reference. Instead, it uses it as another flashy element among many. The spiritual angle adds texture but not much thematic clarity.

Genre shifts: from teen comedy to horror and back

Forbidden Fruits hops between genres. It starts in teen-clique satire, drifts into witchy mystery, and ultimately pivots toward brutal horror. These abrupt transitions are meant to jolt the audience.

Sometimes the jolts work. Other times they feel abrupt and leave narrative gaps.

What works and what doesn’t: strengths and weaknesses

• Strengths:

  • Distinct visual style and production design.
  • Strong supporting turns, especially in the coven’s inner circle.
  • Bold willingness to mix genres and shock viewers.

• Weaknesses:

  • Main character motivations are underwritten.
  • Pop-culture collage sometimes feels shallow.
  • Sudden third-act brutality undercuts earlier emotional investment.

Plot wrinkles, a mid-credits reveal, and lingering questions

The film withholds key information about Pumpkin’s motives. That mystery is intended to build suspense but often creates distance from the protagonist.

A mid-credits scene delivers a significant twist. It reframes certain events and opens a hole in the story’s logic for some viewers.

For some, that reveal will feel clever; for others, it will feel like a plot contrivance.

Final notes on tone and who might enjoy this movie

If you like glittery gore, acidic teen banter, and genre mashups, Forbidden Fruits has moments to savor. It delights in visual excess and mean-girl theater.

If you prefer character-driven drama or coherent thematic excavation, the film may frustrate. It trades depth for swerves and style.

Forbidden Fruits premiered at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival and opens in theaters on March 20.