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From the gory mega-hit Squid Game to the masterfully creepy Midnight Mass, Netflix has spent the last couple of months releasing a bunch of horror goodies that fans loved.
But one that’s flown a little under the radar is Brand New Cherry Flavor. Set in ’90s Hollywood, this slick, surreal thriller follows the young filmmaker Lisa Nova as she sets out to have her short film turned into a big-budget movie. She ends up entering into a pact with an eccentric suburban witch, giving Netflix viewers plenty of reasons to watch this gem.
10 It Reinvents Classic Horror Tropes
Everyone’s seen a cackling witch before, but what about one who makes her potions in a smoothie machine? Zombies are all too common in horror, but in Brand New Cherry Flavor, viewers get a gruesome look into how they’re made and what it looks like when one goes to dinner with his dad.
The show features enough classic tropes to please long-time horror fans, while still managing to stay fresh and interesting. It feels simultaneously like watching a grindhouse flick and the slick contemporary series that it is.
9 Viewers Will Never Know Where It’s Going Next
Among other things, Brand New Cherry Flavor plays like an exercise in escalation. What starts as a simple desire for Lisa to get revenge ends up involving more and more people and weirder and weirder rituals. Viewers never know what Boro’s going to pull out of her bag of tricks. And that’s without even mentioning the way that loyalties change at the speed of light. However, the plot never feels convoluted. It unfolds as if it were all inevitable, thanks to characters who always act like real people.
8 The Soundtrack Is Perfect
Since it’s set in the ’90s, it makes sense that it should have a soundtrack made up of plenty of ’90s rock. From all-time classics like Zombie by The Cranberries to incredibly emotional pieces like Tomorrow, Wendy by Concrete Blonde, each episode closes with a tune that will have viewers singing along.
This grunge rock soundtrack perfectly fits the show’s atmosphere as well as its time period. It’s easy to imagine the rebellious Lisa rocking out to all the featured songs, even as the world she knows falls apart around her.
7 It’s Available For Free On Netflix
Many people have Netflix accounts these days, so one of the great things about Brand New Cherry Flavor is that this unique, subversive horror is available to a huge audience at no additional cost.
However, one of the downsides of a show being available on Netflix is that it’s easy for it to get lost in the huge amount of interesting-looking, binge-able shows viewers are bombarded with.
6 The Main Character Is Likeable & Realistic
Lisa Nova is a young underdog fiercely chasing her dreams in Hollywood, and as such, the audience immediately roots for her. The story is partially a revenge thriller in the vein of classics like I Spit on Your Grave, and having the viewers on the main character’s side is vital.
Brand New Cherry Flavor doesn’t make things that easy, however. As the episodes go by, the show masterfully plays with the audience’s sympathies, forcing them to question how “in the right” Lisa actually is. This is particularly true when her film’s lead actress enters the story.
5 It’s A Retro Throwback
The ’90s are back in fashion again, and viewers can relive them through some spine-chilling horror. This is a show that, while it features its fair share of fun ’90s fashion and music, is more interested in examining the darker aspects of the decade, particularly the toxic environment of Hollywood at that time.
However, one of the best things about Brand New Cherry Flavor is that it doesn’t feel stuck in the past. Instead, it strikes the perfect balance between nostalgia and giving the audience something new.
4 The Set Design Is Gorgeous
It’s easy to get distracted by the series’ excellent scares and grotesque imagery, but a big part of its atmosphere comes from what’s going on in the background of every scene. Brand New Cherry Flavor has some of the best set designs ever seen on TV.
From the tropical jungle that Boro lives in, to the bright pink, dilapidated apartments that Lisa wanders through at night, every scene in this show has a dreamy feel. Maybe this is Hollywood as Lisa sees it: an impenetrable jungle.
3 It Features Complex, Complicated Characters
In just about every episode of Brand New Cherry Flavor, viewers’ opinions on each of the characters are likely to change several times. These are characters who refuse to stay in neat boxes. Boro is the witch who helps Lisa, but it’s unclear whether or not it’s for selfish reasons. Meanwhile, Lou treats Lisa despicably but truly loves his son.
The ambiguity this brilliant characterization creates makes the series feel both more absorbing and more realistic. There are plenty of fascinating side characters in this show, and they’re all given a rich internal world.
2 The Plot Is Scarily Topical
Brand New Cherry Flavor might be set in the ’90s, but in the wake of the MeToo movement, the story of a female director fighting not to be blacklisted from the industry for turning down a producer’s advances seems more relevant than ever.
No doubt plenty of women will be able to relate to Lisa’s righteous anger. And through its dark revenge story, the show acts as a scream of frustration from those marginalized in the industry. Maybe the true horror is how little has changed over time.
1 It’s Genuinely Frightening
Yes, the show features brilliantly-written characters and thoughtful social commentary, but there’s also something for viewers who just want a good scare. From the terrifying, vaguely humanoid creature that stalks Lisa in the early episodes, to the gruesome body horror seen all the way through, there’s plenty here for even the most hardened fans of the genre.
In particular, Brand New Cherry Flavor doesn’t shy away from the gross factor or from various bodily fluids. It truly feels like David Cronenberg with a fresh twist. Unfortunately, it’ll be hard to look at a kitten the same way again.
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