Sissy begins with wellness influencer Cecilia (Aisha Dee) extolling the virtues online of hyperventilation exercises and Elon Mask face treatments before turning off the camera and slumping on the sofa with day-old pizza. And it is this satirical look at social media that infects all our lives and lies at the heart of Hannah Barlow and Kane Seres’ dark comedy. Initially at least anyway, as at roughly the halfway mark there is a distinct tonal shift and what was a potentially intriguing social thriller delves into more formulaic slasher territory.
Having bumped into her former childhood best friend Emma (Hannah Barlow) Cecilia is invited along on the latter’s hen weekend, only to be confronted by Alex (Emily de Margheriti). The pair clashed violently as teens and their meeting sets the weekend, and Cecilia into a spiral from which neither recovers.
There is much to like in Sissy despite slightly cloudy intentions. The social media angle is interesting and topical, with the concerning temptation for some to use it as a flimsy shield being a strong central theme. Yet Barlow and Seres use this as a vehicle to push the narrative in a more familiar direction: a fairly traditional slasher albeit with inventive and gory kills. What holds the film together is the performance of Dee who exudes likeable innocence, hiding her macabre side from her Insta-followers.
Witty and occasionally surprising Sissy is a fun take on the slasher genre that has something to say about our reliance on social media, even if that message is slightly muddled and messy in places.
Sissy hits Shudder on September 26th.
