Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Sissy’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Sissy’.
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When we are young, we like to believe that the friendships we forge, will last a lifetime and it makes sense as to why. For friendships in our youth are just so pure and there is little conflict within them, and little concern about if they make it to tomorrow. It’s just us and our buddies against the world, and who better to have by our side than our buddies or our besties? Because they just seem to know us at that age, and vice versa and that vibe and the joy really does seem as though it will never end. But just like that, we tend to drift apart from those friends and forge relationships with new ones… and that process continues along well until adulthood. Until we finally make friends with the people that will be with us to the end.
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That process exists, simply because, we learn as we grow that certain people fit certain needs through specific phases in our lives and vice versa. And when we change because of what we learn, we move onto people that fulfill that process until we finally find those proverbial soulmates that know us and vibe with us as we do with them. Which in turn helps us to learn that it is okay to change our friends and bring new people in our lives, because that’s the only way to know what kind of support network we need and having people leave gives us perspective and validation about the person we’ve become. Since we can look fondly upon that portion of our life and see how we grew at the right time. Which is why… it is so fascinating and troubling when people do their best to try and go back and reclaim friendships long gone.

Because it doesn’t make sense when we are in new phases of our lives, and why on earth would we want to recapture yesterday? For we cannot and we tend to learn that the hard way when we try to and that troublesome aspect of trying to recapture yesterday is top of mind today, because it is explored in a fascinating manner in a new horror film on Shudder entitled, Sissy. For this is a story that introduces us to an influencer named Cecilia who while living her best life, runs into her childhood best friend. Whom she hasn’t seen in years and has some rough memories with since their friendship ended on a very brutal day when a bully pushed Cecilia too far. But this surprise reunion brings Cecilia back into the fold of Emma’s life at a critical time. For she’s getting married and wants her old friend ‘Sissy’ to be part of the celebration and well… that’s a ‘yes’ that Sissy soon comes to regret. For the Bachelorette Party she’s been invited to, is also host to the very bully that created a divide in the first place and being around her again is going to make for a difficult and life changing weekend.

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Which is the perfect way to explore the subject of this film. Simply because it is obvious that Cecilia has tried hard to move on from those dark times and forge a different path as an influencer, one that looks toward tomorrow instead of behind and well, Emma and her tormentor do everything to drag her back into the thick of it. And their actions and immature behavior are what break down the central theme here. In that, people love to go backwards simply because they’re stuck or don’t like what the present offers them. So, they desperately hope that looking backward will recapture some wonder in a life that hungers for it, when in fact it just recreates that time and nothing more, and that makes so many of the characters here both tragic and relatable. Since we’ve known folks that are like that, who still grasp for yesterday with every ounce of their might. But what’s wild about this film, is that it goes even deeper in its storytelling than its central concept.
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For Sissy is no angel, either. She’s actually quite the violent and angry person because of the experiences of her past, and her real motivation in becoming a positive influencer, is in the hopes of using that to heal her wounds. Which of course, leads to some shocking surprises in this tale when Sissy is cornered and pressed by her former bully… but her journey explores a secondary theme. In that, while it is indeed important to leave the past in the past and recognize its impact upon us, that means nothing if we don’t reconcile it either. Because it is important to give both good and bad moments from yesterday, agency, and do our best to heal from them and grow from their lessons. Because to do so otherwise, traps us and brings us great harm and it can push us to be the person we do not want to be. As evidenced by Sissy’s wild turn in this particular tale. As to what she does, we won’t discuss here, because that’s a twist you need to experience first-hand, to properly experience its gravity.

However, while all of that sounds intriguing in its own right and engaging, none of that really appears to be grounded in horror elements. But have no fear, the scares are here. Because the surprise twist present in this story really does bring forth some chilling and unsettling scares. Plus, it also brings forth some stunningly amazing gore, the kind that actually makes you cringe in disgust as it plays out and really, in the end, all of these elements make this a complete and satisfying horror film. One that is intelligent and wicked and dementedly fun. Courtesy of the black humor present here as well and the best news of all, is that you can now analyze the majesty of this movie and its many themes, right now. For Sissy is streaming on Shudder and we here at NTG hope you give it a look. Because this one has plenty to chew upon and stays with you long after its ended, courtesy of the questions it asks us about whether or not we’ve made proper peace with our past and our pain.

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