Overview
- Forbidden Fruits, which opened in theaters Friday via Independent Film Company with a Shudder window to follow, expands nationwide after its SXSW premiere.
- Critics praise the cast—especially Lili Reinhart—and the film’s costume and production design, while many cite uneven pacing and a late swing into slasher-style violence as weak points.
- The feature marks Meredith Alloway’s debut, co-written with Lily Houghton from her stage play, and stars Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti and Alexandra Shipp, with Emma Chamberlain and Gabrielle Union in smaller roles.
- Set in a Dallas-area mall boutique where a quartet runs a secret coven after hours, the film targets retail culture and performative “girlboss” feminism through Lilith and Garden of Eden imagery without revealing key plot turns.
- Coverage ranges from IndieWire’s “messy” critique to raves like But Why Tho’s cult-classic prediction, with several outlets noting night shoots in a working Toronto mall and forecasting niche appeal ahead of its Shudder run.