Brand New Cherry Flavor was a mind-bending horror series on Netflix, but one bizarre scene in particular sparked befuddled reactions from audiences.
The following article contains discussions of sexual assault and graphic sexual content
The mind-bending horror miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor didn’t make a huge splash when it debuted on Netflix in 2021, but one scene in particular polarized audiences with its gonzo visuals and disturbing sexual content. Based on the novel of the same name by Todd Grimson, Brand New Cherry Flavor takes place in 1990s Hollywood, where aspiring filmmaker Lisa Nova arrives with the intention of becoming a big-shot director. Lenore Zion and Nick Antosca brought the poignant themes of the book to the screen as a chilling eight-episode limited series.
Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Lisa scores a meeting with hotshot producer Lou Burke, played by Eric Lange, who seems fascinated by her vision and offers her the chance to direct her first feature film. However, she soon discovers the dark side to Hollywood when Lou fires Lisa from her own movie when she rejects his sexual advances. While Brand New Cherry Flavor received mostly positive reviews from critics for its striking imagery, timely social commentary, and terrific lead performance by Alita: Battle Angel star Rosa Salazar, one particularly jarring sequence was met with a divided response.
Brand New Cherry Flavor Episode 4 Features A Disturbing Sex Scene
Seeking revenge against the predatory producer who sexually harassed her, Lisa consults with a witch – Boro, played by Catherine Keener – who puts a curse on Lou. The witch’s curse is effective against Lou, but it ends up having unexpected (and very unusual) consequences for Lisa herself. She starts vomiting newborn kittens and develops a big, nasty wound in her abdomen that, much to her surprise, is capable of birthing kittens. When she inspects the wound in Brand New Cherry Flavor episode 4, “Tadpole Smoothie,” Lisa finds that, not only does touching it not cause her any pain; it actually arouses her.
When Lisa seduces her love interest – movie star Roy Hardaway, played by Jeff Ward – she asks him to pay specific attention to the wound in her abdomen and touch it while they have sex. While Roy starts off on top, Lisa promptly switches places with him and the scene ends as she stares blankly into the camera. This fits in with Lisa’s character arc of defying her powerlessness and taking control, but the use of shocking body horror imagery means that character growth is easy to miss.
Brand New Cherry Flavor's Sex Scene Complicates The Story's Themes
This scene is so unsettling and borderline unwatchable that it’s become a popular TikTok challenge to watch the scene and share a reaction to it (via Indy100). This Brand New Cherry Flavor sequence first went viral when TikToker Cody (@siriuslycody) asked his followers to share their own reactions to “the most messed-up sex scene I’ve ever seen in my life.” The fact that reacting to the scene has become a social media challenge suggests that the episode’s director, Matt Sobel, went a little too far with this scene and audiences ended up missing the point as they were too unnerved by the hand-in-abdomen action to read the subtext.
Arriving a couple of years after the #MeToo movement exposed the rampant sexual misconduct in the Hollywood film industry, Brand New Cherry Flavor’s story of a predatory producer harassing an aspiring director explored timely themes. The wound that appears on Lisa’s abdomen initially appears to be a visual metaphor for the lasting trauma left behind by Lou’s inappropriate behavior. But the fact that this wound becomes a turn-on complicates the themes of sexual trauma. This confused message might have contributed to Brand New Cherry Flavor failing to become the hit it could’ve been.
