Bold revelation: a witchy thriller is redefining a familiar tale, and it’s shaking up expectations from its very teaser. Forbidden Fruits casts Lili Reinhart in a lead role as a magnetic cult leader, pushing boundaries and blending campier horror with piercing social undercurrents. Diablo Cody, stepping back into production, teams with Meredith Alloway for a feature debut that promises a spellbinding push into genre territory.
Set to hit theaters in 2026 via Independent Film Company and Shudder, Forbidden Fruits centers on Free Eden employee Apple. By night, Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult from the basement of a mall storefront, joined by accomplices Cherry and Fig. The arrival of a new hire named Pumpkin disrupts their power dynamics, forcing the group to confront their own poisons—or be dragged into a bloody downfall.
The ensemble is a who’s-who of rising and established talent, including Lola Tung (The Summer I Turned Pretty), Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Hill House), Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls), Gabrielle Union (Breaking In), and Emma Chamberlain. The film adapts Lily Houghton’s stage play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die, with Alloway and Houghton co-adapting for the screen.
Diablo Cody previously expressed fervent enthusiasm for the project, calling it “one of the craziest, most creative, beautifully bonkers” endeavors she’s ever worked on. She described feeling lucky to collaborate with Alloway and Houghton, who have quickly become influential inspirations.
Producers behind Forbidden Fruits include Mason Novick, Diablo Cody, Trent Hubbard, and Mary Anne Waterhouse, with Charlie Traisman and Katherine Romans serving as executive producers for Madhouse Films. Casey Durant and Rachel Douglas from Range Media Partners also contribute in executive roles.
If the new teaser is any guide, audiences will get tantalizing, rapid glimpses of the horror to come, paired with a crisp, glossy presentation that heightens the film’s mystique and menace. The film’s central question lingers: what happens when power, tradition, and desire collide within a secretive sisterhood?
Thought-provoking questions to consider as the trailer unfolds: How does control operate within a tightly knit group that masks its darker impulses? And when faced with external challenges, will loyalty give way to self-preservation, or will the coven redefine power on its own terms? Share your take on these dynamics in the comments: does this portrayal of female-led dark magic challenge stereotypes, or reinforce them in new and provocative ways?
