Nerdly » Frightfest 2022: ‘Sissy’ Review

05th Sep2022

Frightfest 2022: ‘Sissy’ Review

by Matthew Turner

Stars: Aisha Dee, Hannah Barlow, Emily De Margheriti, Lucy Barrett, Yerin Ha, Daniel Monks | Written and Directed by Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes

A social media influencer unravels when she accidentally meets her childhood bully in this blackly comic horror, co-written and co-directed by Australian husband-and-wife filmmakers Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes. With a thematically rich, genre-savvy script, some delightfully nasty gore moments and a terrific central performance from Aisha Dee, this is one of the best horror movies of the year.

Sissy centres on Cecilia (Dee), who used to be called Sissy at school, where she was the target of bullying. Now in her early 20s, Cecilia has reinvented herself as a social media influencer, offering self-help advice and mental health tips. However, there are hints that Cecilia’s life isn’t quite as together as she likes to make out, at least if the off-camera state of her apartment is anything to go by.

Whilst buying tampons at the supermarket, Cecilia runs into Emma (co-writer, co-director Barlow), her former BFF, until a mysterious incident at school leads to their estrangement. The past apparently forgotten, Emma enthusiastically invites Cecilia to her hen weekend, in advance of her lesbian wedding to Fran (Lucy Barrett). However, on arrival, Cecilia discovers that the isolated hen weekend house belongs to her former school tormentor Alex (Emily De Margheriti), and the resulting atmosphere of tension and resentment becomes increasingly unbearable.

Barlow and Senes’ delightfully genre-savvy script explores several resonant themes, from the facade of the influencer lifestyle and the way we construct perfect versions of ourselves on the internet, to the trauma induced by bullying and the poisonous effects of toxic friendships. It also plays fascinating games with audience sympathies – we immediately connect with Sissy and root for her to succeed, only to find ourselves with conflicted emotions when that actually starts happening.

Without giving too much away, Sissy pulls off an exceptionally clever rug-pull in the middle section, which only really works because of Dee’s astonishing central performance. She’s utterly adorable, with a face – frequently shown in extreme close-up – that makes you feel weirdly protective towards her (she’s a bit like a grown-up Kayla from Eighth Grade), all of which adds a fascinating layer of emotional complexity to the second half of the film.

The supporting cast are equally good. Barlow is terrific as the friend who doesn’t realise the enormous psychological damage her invitation has done to both Alex and Sissy, while Emily De Margheriti finds hidden layers in what could have been a standard antagonist part. There are also colourful comic turns from Yerin Ha and Daniel Monks as Emma’s obnoxious friends.

Barlow and Senes are unabashed horror fans and their love of the genre is immediately apparent in their deployment of some spectacularly gloopy gore effects (in a Q&A at the Edinburgh Film Festival, they enthused about their favourite head crush moments). They also have an astute sense of escalation, starting small and building to a shockingly violent climax that pulls out all the stops.

On top of that, the filmmaking duo get the tone exactly right, nailing the tricky balance between laugh-out-loud moments of black comedy and out-and-out horror. They also manage to pack Sissy with a multitude of fun references to their favourite films – Sissy’s choice of t-shirt is a particular case in point that’s certain to provoke snorts of recognition with homegrown audiences.

In short, Sissy is a delight from start to finish, delivering a multitude of shocks, scares, twists and thrills, shot through with jet-black humour. It also marks out Barlow and Senes as serious horror talents to watch – their follow-up feature can’t come fast enough. Don’t miss Sissy when it hits Shudder later this month.