'Fifteen' Review
- John Odette
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Release Date: --/--/-- [Festival Run]
Genre: Comedy. Drama. Horror.
MPAA: Not Rated.
The Verdict: A Must-See
The universal appeal of horror movies comes from the genre’s ability to project our worst, uncomfortable fears into a story. Beyond whatever gore, violence, or scares befall us, we can ultimately deeply relate to, or strongly purge, the heaviest human emotions through this medium. Perhaps that’s why horror can be such a turn-off for many filmgoers – we get faced with the harsh truth and precarious complexities of human nature.
But it’s facing these details that let us know we are not alone, and that’s why Fifteen, or Quince, works so well. Multiple real-life issues and challenges faced by young women are explored and highlighted, and it shows that life experiences know no cultural border or language boundary.
Filmmakers Jack Zagha Kababie and Yossy Zagha squeeze every drop out of their $2 million Mexican horror film and have crafted a story that is as sweet as it is horrifying.
Best friends Ligia (Greta Martí) and Mayte (Macarena Oz) are inseparable, dutifully and excitedly preparing for their upcoming quinceañera. This fifteenth birthday celebration is a cultural milestone for these young ladies, marking their transition from little girls to young women.
There are many common high school tropes about bullying, puberty, and peer pressure, all of which are important and pay off in the film’s climax. The girls attend a Christian school, where they must contend with the resident mean girl, Genoveva (Aminta Ireta), and their tough, disciplinary principal. While Ligia and Mayte distract themselves with party planning, Ligia also has her boyfriend, Joel, who pressures her to take their relationship to the next level. After Joel is attacked by a mysterious sewer creature, he and Ligia uncomfortably and aggressively have sex.
Now contending with an unwanted pregnancy, Ligia is adrift and lost, leaning on her mother and Mayte for aid and understanding as her pregnancy becomes accelerated and the baby inside her may not exactly be all human.
I mentioned film tropes earlier, describing the high school experience, but the horror clichés thrive in Fifteen as well. There is demon possession, body horror, witchcraft, creature horror, and yet the storytellers allow the elements from both columns to seamlessly blend.
Fifteen works so well because of the performances and their conviction of the story’s circumstances. Yes, a sewer creature attacking Joel in the middle of the night, which then causes Joel himself to morph into a monster, is silly in concept, but the consequences of that incident reverberate throughout the film.
The themes of consent, desire, connection, fear, adulthood, and responsibility are right on the screen, obvious and overt. However, Fifteen never comes off as condescending or preachy. Rather, there is an immersive quality that makes you care for the characters even as the gore and violence escalate.
There is a tender, humorous dream sequence at the beginning of the film, showing the girls’ fantasy of walking into their party and being celebrated, only to be ignored, thus turning the girls to cutting themselves and finally getting acknowledged after they are covered in blood.
While this scene does telegraph the film’s climax, it holds a mirror to a young girl’s experience and serves as an allegory for the rite of passage they're destined for. That reflection need not be subtle, and perhaps Fifteen, being a horror movie, is precisely the right vehicle to send the message home.
I loved Fifteen’s boldness; it is violent, gory, and sick, yet compassionate, humorous, sweet, and comforting. Every woman can relate to this; I hope every man can understand it.
Where to Watch:
