Once a year, usually around the time I’m thinking about cancelling my Netflix subscription, the streamer will put out something that keeps me going for another year. Be it The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, The Irishman or a new Mike Flanagan jam, their algorithm seems to know just when I’m about to tap out & sends along something right in my wheelhouse.
This years subscription saver is Brand New Cherry Flavour, the limited 8 ep series, a ‘90s set Hollywood horror noir nightmare which is equal parts Mulholland Drive, Melrose Place(?) & Channel Zero (& is co-created by Nick Antosca formerly of C0).
Lisa Nova (an excellent Rosa Salazar) comes to Hollywood on the back of a short film that has sleazy producers such as Lou Burke (Eric Lange - just as good) wooing her & pulling some Weinstein moves (groping/kicking her off her the feature version of her own film). Lisa then falls in with LA Witch Boro, played by a typically fun Catherine Keener, to put a curse on the slimy Burke, bringing forth a twisted nightmare for both of them.
Throughout the 8 episodes, we get lots of kittens being vomited up (at least one per episode), twitchy demons, zombies, hallucinations aplenty & sexy shenanigans with movie stars. I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed by another Lynch aping stab at surrealism mixed with a Hollywood is fucked narrative, but this show won me over pretty quick & is a total blast. It’s dark, hilarious, disgusting (that body horror scene in ep 4 would give Cronenberg a boner) & just flat out fun.
And most of the weirdness kind of makes sense by the end - not that it needed to but look at Netflix’ Maniac show which really wanted to be a Charlie Kaufman knockoff but failed.
There are not many shows that I rewatch ever (Twin Peaks / Hill House) but this one I will go back to again. Also, check out @plastic_cheapies great review as well if you’re not sold yet.
4.5 vomited kittens out of 5
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