SXSW '22: Self-Help Influencer ‘SISSY’ Canceled in Satirical Psycho-Thriller

Bullied as a child, Sissy (Aisha Dee) thought she left behind her childhood name. She‘s Cecilia now and she’s a self-help influencer. Popular on social media under the handle “Sincerely Cecilia”, the trendy twenty-something shares glossy selfie videos about mindfulness and self-love, topics she actually knows nearly nothing about. Deep down, she’s a traumatized child; projecting security, suppressing scars. Her 200k followers see Sincerely Cecilia™ but they don’t see Cecilia sincerely. They don’t know the true Sissy who lurks beneath.

When Cecilia runs into childhood best friend Emma (Hannah Barlow, also the film’s co-writer and director), a flurry of complicated memories – both good and bad – come rushing back. After a drunken evening of merriment, Cecilia finds herself invited to Emma’s hen party, even so many years later. Much to Cecilia’s chagrin, her childhood bully Alex (Emily de Margheriti) is also in attendance. Their reunion does not go well. Cecilia’s facade of having it all together begins to crumble as old wounds resurface and new wounds take shape. Bad turns to worse as bodies begin to pile up.

The film from Australian co-writer and directors Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes takes on toxic positivity and influencer culture with a carving knife, revealing the bones of a schlocky dark satire with something devilish to say. Their film uses sleazy B-movie appeal to poke fun at the bullshit of online persona sincerity, mixing gory, head-popping practical effects (and at times very noticeable CGI) in with its critique of modern online role models. The metaphorical horror of manufactured gratitude and image massaging is on display alongside the visual horror of rotting roadkill and scalped teens.

Vibe-wise, Sissy draws from campy teen slashers, queer horror, and tongue-in-cheek dark satires equally. There’s flashes of Sleepaway Camp, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, and Carrie, all run through with an extra filter of Australian shlock. The beast gets rather visceral at times and will surely please horror fans who like some snap, crackle, and pop with their kills. It’s never so much scary as it is cringy and bloody, as the horror of being stuck in a cabin in the woods with your childhood bully percolates with relatability. Clocking in at 102 minutes, Sissy runs longer than it needs to – a tight 90 surely would have sufficed – and the final stretch lags a bit consequently. But the intended effect is achieved nonetheless.

The social commentary on bullying and social media is omnipresent, Barlow and Senes reflecting a world where victims may escape the “real world” through social media, only to fall into the trappings of internet fame. Where the real self fades away, becomes a manufactured persona; false, fake, insincere. There, validation becomes addictive. And like anything truly addictive, those under its spell will kill for their fix.

CONCLUSION: This campy, queer B-movie teen slasher from Australia takes on bullying and influencer culture with the subtlety and style of Gallagher. It’s bloody, it’s uncompromising, and it’s fun.