‘Sissy’ (2022) is a horror comedy that follows Cecilia, a social media influencer who runs into an old childhood friend, Emma. The two meet after a decade of no contact and Emma invites Cecilia to her bachelorette weekend. Trapped in a remote cabin in the sticks with Emma’s friends and her high-school bully Alex, Cecilia has to make it through the weekend as she copes with her past trauma.
Opening with one of Cecilia’s self-help videos, ‘Sissy’ quickly reveals the state of Cecilia’s existence, - she is a mental health advocate/influencer, yet lives a very shut-in and mundane life. On meeting with Emma, she is reminded of the bond the two young girls shared, how close they were and how fast things changed once Alex showed up.
During the hen do, it is made painfully clear that Cecilia has led a solitary life and is overjoyed at Emma and Fran’s karaoke party. As the group travel to the remote lodge for the hen do for the weekend, Cecilia learns that Alex will be there, revealing through a further flashback that Cecilia was bullied by Alex, resulting in the little girl stabbing Alex in the face with a trowel. Presumably shut out and completely ignored thereafter, Cecilia has been harbouring resentment and anxiety about what had transpired.
Not holding back, Alex makes it known she does not want Cecilia there, inciting others to form the same opinion. The following morning, the group gather by the river to enjoy the day, with Cecilia finding the group talking behind her back. As soon as everybody disperses and it is only Alex and Cecilia by the water, Alex tries to make Cecilia admit that she attacked her as a child, prompting Cecilia to smash her head in with a nearby rock.
After Cecilia buries Alex, one of the group, Jamie, wanders in the trees to releave himself, and finds her. Cecilia soon gives chase and pushes him off a cliff in fear of him warning the others. Distraught, Cecilia makes her way back to the house where she finds Tracey, trying to convince her that Alex attacked. Scaring her off, Cecilia pusher her in the tub, effectively drowning her.
Trying to get away from the house, Cecilia finds Fran wandering out to the main road, trying to find everybody. Joining her in the car, Fran fails to buckle her seat-belt, with Cecilia causing her to be thrown from the car as she screeches to halt. Seeing her struggle to get up, Cecilia drives over Fran, killing her.
In the woods, Alex regains consciousness and wanders back to the house. There Cecilia decides to hurt herself and live stream, asking her followers for help stating that Alex is after her. With Emma arriving soon after, she figures out that something is off with Cecilia, prompting her to tie up Emma and re-enact a childhood play-date. With Emma freeing herself from her restraints a fight ensues. Alex arrives at the house, and unable to see, she hacks at who she believes to be Cecilia. Unknown to her until it is too late, Alex kills Emma and is shot in the head by a responding police officer.
The film closes on Cecilia enjoying a growth in her followers and making a new self-help video, promoting a biographical book recounting her traumatic experience.
‘Sissy’ is an odd film as it tries to navigate the themes of past trauma and mental well-being, exploring the issues through a mix of suspense and dark comedy. The film draws a lot of its comedic moments from highlighting the modern trends as they relate to people promoting mental health and encouraging kindness. Best exemplified through the opening sequence, as we can view the drastic transition between one of Cecilia’s videos and her actual life.
Not trying to sugar-coat Cecilia’s past, one of the stand-out performances of the film comes from Emily De Margheriti who portrays Alex. Without a doubt, one of the more infuriating film characters in recent memory, De Margheriti depicts a toxic and controlling persona, quick to anger if she does not get her way and manipulating in turning everyone against someone she does not like. Relentlessly cruel and despicable, Alex’s personality goes a long way for explaining Cecilia’s breakdown.
‘Sissy’ works very well in allowing us to become Cecilia, to feel her pain of being belittled by Alex and understanding how she could snap. What sets ‘Sissy’ apart from a plain revenge story, is how Aisha Dee’s Cecilia proceeds on a horrifying, and at times even farcical, rampage stemming from her deranged delusions of trying to revive a friendship between her and Emma. Now living in a fantasy world, the film keeps hinting at how Emma never stood up for Cecilia, allowing Alex to keep pestering her, serving as a stark reminder that allowing for harassment to continue can have grave repercussions.
Aisha Dee presents a young adult in Cecilia who has had trouble in coping with her past, showcasing her ability to switch between her online persona and the actual, insecure and hurt individual, left to her own devices to do the best she can. Repeating a mantra to get her through attacks of anxiety, Cecilia is also shown to rely on social media to calm her, depending on likes and positive comments as a safety blanket when it comes to escaping reality.
Playing heavily into the bizarre and zany circumstances, ‘Sissy’ goes the distance into showing us how unresolved trauma and continuous abuse with no solid support system in place has lead Cecilia to unspeakable actions, all the while taking a crack at the social media wellness landscape, showing us that you can turn a profit with a good enough narrative behind you.
Score: 2.5/4
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