‘Forbidden Fruits’ Review – A Wickedly Fun And Bloody Mall Drama

As a child who grew up in a small town, I always saw the mall as something that was the peak of coolness. How many times you’d gone in the last month was a check on the popular kids’ list of criteria. On the chance I found myself at our local mall, I saw those who worked at the trendy stores as the epitome of chic. Needless to say, Forbidden Fruits is exactly what a teenager would think working in a mall is like—stylish to an envious degree with dedicated performances; it’s one of the year’s most wicked surprises.

Retail jobs market themselves often as being a “family” with your coworkers, manufacturing a closeness with people you wouldn’t spend free time with if you had the choice. But what if you could pick your colleagues? Meredith Alloway’s debut feature, Forbidden Fruits, revolves around four Texas teenagers who work at Free Eden, a pricey store that attracts women of all ages, where someone can only work there if they meet the cool-girl standards. A place that asks the applicant to go through a grueling process consisting of tasks like drinking blood, tears, and other witchy items from a boot.

As Forbidden Fruits opens, there’s an immediate myth that follows the current three employees of Free Eden. The fiery-haired leader is Apple (Lili Reinhart), with the lover girl Fig (Alexandra Shipp), and the giggly beauty Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), who turn head after head as they go on their lunch break, all getting their meals for free, of course. Their moves are coordinated, like they rehearse each other’s movements, maybe because they know all eyes are on them. Fig acts as though she’s the manager of their work, giving her coworkers, who are also her friends, tasks in and out of work.

Fortunately for Pumpkin (Lola Tung), Free Eden is hiring. She’s looking for a new job; her current work at the pretzel vendor isn’t cutting it. First interacting with Fig in the cafeteria of the mall, which leads to Pumpkin landing a chance to join the Free Eden crew, Pumpkin’s actions at first seem like those of a friendly girl who was at the right place at the right time. But as she makes a perfect impression on Apple, there’s a sense of ease that Pumpkin exudes, almost as if she knew that she would ace it.

When Pumpkin joins their crew—rather, a coven by their own description—Apple, Fig, and Cherry ramp up the mystic elements of Forbidden Fruits, at least that’s how they appear. After drinking a concoction of vials of each other’s blood and a tear from Apple, Pumpkin officially is in. They spend a large amount of their time together; essentially, their lives revolve around their coven, one that has several rules, many of which put women first. Yet that doesn’t stop Fig from breaking the communication-with-men rule that states they can only send them emojis, and also the rule about no sex, which Cherry breaks at least once a week.

Apple is described by her sisters as a girl boss, and she does make sure all their work gets done so their faceless (until the credits, that is) manager doesn’t get on their butts, mainly because all of their witchcraft and hangout time happens after hours in the same store they work in. In fact, all of Forbidden Fruits takes place in a mall, with stores that many people will recognize. She also gets mad quickly, especially when she has to investigate a snake in their ranks, shooting looks at those who even hesitate to go along with her incantations. And when cracks begin to form in the sisterly bond, secrets reveal themselves, and fingers are pointed within the coven.

Then there’s Fig and Cherry, who represent two sides of the same coin; they both seek love. Although Fig is more into the courting aspect of dating, as she secretly dates another employee from the mall, wanting to be able to say more than just a few emojis and have actual conversations to express their love. Cherry wants love, but more of a physical love, taking any opportunity she can get to sneak away and fool around in the changing rooms of other stores in the mall with willing participants. Apple picks mostly on Cherry, making sure to point out which of her personality traits isn’t attractive, while getting the most pushback from Fig, who isn’t a total believer in the craft.

Alloway’s debut is filled with pop culture slang and outfits that will make any style enthusiast green with envy. What her screenplay, which she co-wrote with Lily Houghton, does so well is that it balances all the tense, catty exchanges with laugh-out-loud situations, like Apple throwing her steaming hot coffee on the crotch of a grown man exposing himself to her, to a gory death-by-escalator scene. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet still allows charming moments to seep through.

Reinhart undoubtedly is the film’s star performance, and she plays the stone-cold, Regina George-esque leader to perfection. Her words are sharp, and her delivery often carries a double meaning. But she’s not the only standout performance, with Pedretti making the airy Cherry a lovable darling, giving her an innocence that is taken advantage of by Apple. Shipp and Tung also do solid work, but Reinhart and Pedretti get some of the most exploration that allows the performances to come full circle.

The fashion of Forbidden Fruits is what will launch the film into cult stardom, thanks to costume designer Sarah Millman’s work. Mini skirts, sequins, and all different heights of boots are a blend of early 2000s style with modern twists. Charm bracelets with unique charms to match the names of each of the girls are paired with modern phones and tech accessories. Millman develops a unique style for each of the self-proclaimed witches: Cherry wears light, soft colors with nails that are too long to function; Fig is more into leather and goth styles; Apple is the bold one, with patterns and colors. Pumpkin’s style evolves throughout the film, and Millman captures her character’s journey through clothing.

Forbidden Fruits captures what a teenage me envisioned mall employment was like—food court flings and backroom witchcraft. From the costuming to the on-point performances, it’s the Mean Girls for a new generation, just with a lot more blood and magic spells.

Forbidden Fruits will debut exclusively in theaters on March 27, 2026, courtesy of Independent Film Company and Shudder.