Review: Brand New Cherry Flavor on Netflix is an early Halloween treat

Brand New Cherry Flavor is a brand new horror series on Netflix. Is it destined to become everyone’s favorite flavor, or have these cherries gone sour? Let’s get into it.

What is Brand New Cherry Flavor about?

Brand New Cherry Flavor follows the story of Lisa Nova (Rosa Salazar), an up-and-coming film director arriving in Los Angeles. A short she made, “Lucy’s Eye,” caught the attention of prominent Hollywood producer Lou Burke (Eric Lange). The two meet and develop a mentorship, but after Lou reveals his true intentions and betrays her, Lisa seeks out the help of Boro (Catherine Keener), a witch. They plant a curse on Lou and opens up a can of worms — or rather, kittens — that wreaks havoc on Lisa and everyone around her.

While the story is a little slow in the early going of this eight-episode series, things pick up when Lou enters the picture, and again when Boro comes in. From the onset Lou comes off as an egotist who dominates conversations with interruptions and rambling anecdotes. Boro, meanwhile, is a powerful woman who wins you over with her light-hearted attitude and cool demeanor. Together with Lisa — who is a very mysterious, stone-faced, silent type of person — the three of them are a trifecta of interesting characters to follow. Salazar, Keener and Langer all do a wonderful job with their roles. They play off each other really well, making any scene with any two of them engaging and tense.

The supporting cast is unfortunately not as strong. For starters, they just aren’t given that much room to shine; whenever they’re around, it often feels rushed or forced. Second, I think the show as a whole has a problem with its characters — particularly the supporting cast — not giving the kinds of reactions you would expect given the circumstances, although I don’t think this is the fault of the actors. It seems like they’re being directed to act subdued. Personally, I think it’s because if the supporting characters did react appropriately to situations, that would derail the story. I can’t really give examples of this without getting into spoilers, but if you watch through the show I think you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I have a love-hate relationship with the plot of this show. I enjoy the building conflict between Lisa and Lou in the first half of the season, how they each go further and further to hurt the other. I also really enjoy Lisa and Boro’s dynamic, and Boro as a character. Her recipes and spells read as classic witch, but the requirements and ingredients feel new and fresh. And I like that Boro can’t do it all herself; Lisa must get involved to put the curse into effect, like when she has to get Lou to ingest a flower’s pollen. It makes for lots of fun scenes.

However, the story can also be lazy, and leaves blanks that the audience has to fill in with assumptions. For example, early in the season Lou kicks Lisa off her dream project and replaces her with a new director, a very minor character we had seen only once before. Here’s the thing: When that character was introduced, it’s made clear that he’s just as small-time as Lisa and hasn’t met Lou yet, and Lisa obviously has no intention of introducing them. But then he’s the director picked to replace Lisa? How did they meet? The show doesn’t tell us.

Another example from Episode 2, when Lisa gets arrested. Roy Hathaway, a big-time actor, comes to post her bail. Okay, but how did he know she was in jail? They only met once before, and it was fleeting. I suppose we can assume that Lou told him, but I don’t like that the script leaves those blanks. It comes across as sloppy.

The biggest problem with Brand New Cherry Flavor

Alright everyone, in order to get to my biggest gripe, we have to give away some SPOILERS, because the show starts to fall apart for me in the second half, mainly because its morality gets all out of whack.

First, a quick plot summary: Lisa curses Lou, but the curse gets out of control and hurts unintended victims. So now she wants the curse to stop, but Boro either won’t or can’t. So Lisa digs into the witch’s past to get some leverage over her. And then, basically, at the end of the episode Lisa stops caring about the damage she’s done to people, still choosing to see Boro as an ally despite all the harm they’ve caused together.

Now, to be fair, Lou hires people to kill Lisa, but does that change the fact that Lisa’s actions kill two people and put another in the hospital? My point here is that by the second half of the season, every character becomes unpleasant. They do horrible things, and don’t really seem remorseful. As a result, I’ve basically got no one to root for. Once that relatability is gone, you’re just there watching things happen. The mystery and stakes might keep you engaged, but as far as caring about the characters, all that’s gone.

Honestly, after Episode 5 the show just became a huge mess for me. It would be arduous work listing all the reasons why, so let’s cap it here.

Is Brand New Cherry Flavor good?

So would I recommend watching Brand New Cherry Flavor? Well, it’s a mixed bag. If you’re really into horror and the supernatural, you may have a good time if you don’t think about the details too much. If you like stories with satisfying conclusions, then no.

As for myself, I found things to like and things to hate, and depending on your taste you might lean more one way or the other. In that way the title is appropriate. How is one to know if you’ll like this brand new flavor, until you unwrap it and give it a lick?

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