"Sissy" - Shudder Film Review
Very early in Sissy, the illusion of Cecilia, aka Sissy (Aisha Dee), is ruined. When the audience first meets Cecilia, she’s a young kid (Amelia Lule) talking about Emma (Camille Cumpston), her best friend in the whole world. Next, Cecilia’s in her twenties and a very popular influencer. The picture-perfect image Cecilia has created is antithetical to the untidy apartment she lives in and the sweatpants she wears to the local convenience store. It’s at that store where she runs into Emma (Hannah Barlow) for the first time in a very long time. Why this seemingly perfect childhood friendship fell apart isn’t clear, and when Emma invites Cecilia to her upcoming bachelorette weekend, things take a violent turn.
Much like Jennifer’s Body, there is something fanatical and vaguely terrifying about the intensity of female childhood friendships. As Needy (Amanda Seyfried) says at the beginning of Jennifer’s Body, “Sandbox love never dies.” That’s the case with Emma and Cecilia. As hesitant as Cecilia is to reconnect, for reasons at first unknown to the audience, the connection she has with Emma is impossible to fully tamp down. They fall into jokes they shared when they were young, feelings come rushing back, and they find it easy to get lost in those overwhelming emotions all over again.
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Sissy is equal parts unnerving for its horror elements and its exploration of the awkwardness of being the person who doesn’t feel like they belong in a group of friends. Cecilia finds herself alone at the secluded vacation home of her middle school bully, Alex (Emily De Margheriti), and her only lifeline is someone she hasn’t spoken to in years. It’s painful to watch Cecilia be forced back into the traumas of her youth. No one listens to her when she tries to speak, people don’t respect that she goes by Cecilia instead of Sissy, and Alex insists on dredging up a mysterious incident from their past.
“I am loved. I am special. I am enough. I am doing my best. We all are,” is the mantra that Cecilia recites to herself over and over. Dee’s performance is quite extraordinary. She’s the film’s beating heart, and manages to convey so much rage beneath her smiling exterior. For as much as Cecilia preaches about mental health and being a peaceful person, there are a multitude of emotions swirling inside her. The downward spiral of Cecilia is interesting to watch, even as it gets darker and darker, because of Dee’s breakout performance.
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Sissy is the bloody spiritual sister to Not Okay from earlier this year. Both films focus on the toxicity of social media and its harmful impact on self-worth. Not Okay’s Danni (Zoey Deutch) would find a kindred spirit in Cecilia, although neither of them would likely admit to any similarities. They both live for their followers and use social media to hide their insecurities. Cecilia is obviously struggling with her mental health, but paints herself as a guru. Her notifications and likes are what keep her happy, not the mindful meditation she preaches.
Despite Sissy’s darkness, the film is a visual treat. The title is painted across the screen in sparkly glitter, there’s a neon hue to the vacation home where most of the film takes place, and a bizarre (but lovely) score that features a church choir on more than one occasion when someone is dying. The film has touches of magical realism that help sell the eccentricity of the plot.
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If the audience doesn’t think too much, Sissy is a fun, gory slasher flick that’s perfect for sleepovers and viewings with large groups of friends. If anything, Sissy could have gone further in its reflections on the enduring effects of childhood bullying. Social media is used here to allow the audience to ogle as a person’s need for validation becomes all-consuming, rather than looking deeper into the circumstances that have led these characters to make these decisions. Despite showing some of the strangest death scenes in recent years, Sissy is holding its punches. It’s a bloody good time that sticks the landing, but it’s not quite a ten.
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