Forbidden Fruits (2026): Release Date, Cast, Plot & Why This Witchy Horror Is Already a Must-Watch

Every once in a while, a horror movie drops with a vibe so strange, stylish, and deliciously unhinged that it instantly becomes the year’s cult obsession. Forbidden Fruits (2026) is exactly that movie — a neon-lit fever dream about girlhood, power, witchcraft, and the darkness bubbling under mall culture.

With Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, and Alexandra Shipp leading the chaos, this film is shaping up to be Mean Girls meets The Craft — but bloodier, weirder, and way more twisted.

Forbidden Fruits (2026) is an upcoming American horror film starring Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, and Alexandra Shipp. Directed by Meredith Alloway, the story follows a secret witch cult operating inside a mall store and the new hire who threatens to expose their rituals. The movie releases in theaters in 2026 and is set to be distributed by Independent Film Company and Shudder.

🍎 A Mall Store, A Witch Cult & A Secret That Can Kill

At Free Eden — a bright, wholesome mall store that looks like a cross between Bath & Body Works and a Pinterest dream — something rotten is growing in the basement.

Apple (Lili Reinhart), the head employee with a perfect smile and a flawless retail attitude, is hiding a vicious after-hours secret. Beneath the racks of scented candles and motivational signage, she runs a witchy femme cult, joined by her coworkers:

• Cherry (Victoria Pedretti) — anxious, intense, quietly dangerous

• Fig (Alexandra Shipp) — charismatic, loyal, but hiding her own fears

Together, they believe they’re creating a sacred sisterhood — a space where women reclaim power, rewrite identity, and carve out a world of their own.

But like all good horror stories, the pretty surface hides rot.

Enter Pumpkin (Lola Tung), the newest hire — sweet, observant, and much harder to manipulate than expected.

Pumpkin notices things.

Pumpkin asks questions.

Pumpkin sees the cracks the others pretend aren’t there.

And that’s when the sisterhood begins to unravel.

One of the film’s standout lines comes early: “Sisterhood isn’t magic. It’s work. And sometimes… it’s war.”

🎃 Pumpkin’s Arrival: The Beginning of the End

Pumpkin isn’t the villain — she’s the mirror.

And the moment she walks into Free Eden, every woman in the cult has to face what they’ve been avoiding:

• their insecurities

• their envy

• their performative feminism

• their toxic rituals dressed as empowerment

• their hunger for belonging

• their fear of being replaced

The telepathic link we saw in your previous movie? Here, the connection is emotional — psychological.

Pumpkin exposes the truth: Not all “girl power” is real power.

Not all sisterhood is safe. Not all rituals heal — some destroy.

When Pumpkin quietly says, “If this is unity… why do all of you look so afraid?” you suddenly know the story is headed somewhere dark.

🩸 The Horror: Feminine, Stylish & Brutal

This isn’t a jump-scare movie.

It’s a slow dread movie — the kind that crawls under your skin.

Expect:

• ritual scenes drenched in neon

• unsettling fairy-tale symbolism

• blood-red lighting

• twisted “self-care” gone violent

• witchcraft tied to insecurity, jealousy, and identity

• psychological breakdowns

• ritualistic consequences

The horror is tied to womanhood — the pressure to be perfect, to belong, to stay beautiful, to stay loyal. Forbidden Fruits takes these themes and asks:

What happens when the expectation becomes the curse?

🌺 The Cast: A Dream Team of Horror & Drama Talent

This lineup is STACKED — one of the most exciting all-female casts in recent horror.

Lili Reinhart as Apple

A role that lets her break free from soft romance and dive into something edgy, manipulative, and morally complex.

Lola Tung as Pumpkin

A breakout role for the Summer I Turned Pretty star — Pumpkin is sweet, but not naïve. Smart, but not invincible. She’s the heart and the threat.

Victoria Pedretti as Cherry

Nobody does unstable, vulnerable, quietly explosive energy like Pedretti. Fans of You and The Haunting of Bly Manor know exactly how terrifying she can get.

Alexandra Shipp as Fig

Strong, stylish, conflicted — the perfect counterbalance to Apple’s intensity.

Emma Chamberlain & Gabrielle Union

Emma joins in a mysterious supporting role, while Gabrielle Union plays a character connected to Apple’s past — and possibly the cult’s origins.

This is the kind of cast that carries energy, star power, and fan hype all on their own.

🔮 Based on a Provocative Stage Play

The movie is inspired by Lily Houghton’s acclaimed work:

“Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin, and Through Her We All Die.”

Yeah… that title alone tells you everything.

Expect themes of:

• inherited shame

• patriarchal scripts flipped upside down

• the weaponization of femininity

• women reclaiming — or destroying — identity

• the myth of “perfect girls”

This source material is sharp, feminist, and unapologetically bold — exactly the vibe the film promises.

🎬 The Team Behind Forbidden Fruits

• Director: Meredith Alloway

• Writers: Lily Houghton & Meredith Alloway

• Producers: Mason Novick, Diablo Cody, Trent Hubbard, Mary Anne Waterhouse

• Production Company: MXN Entertainment

• Distributed By: Independent Film Company & Shudder

• Country: United States

• Language: English

With Diablo Cody producing — the mind behind Jennifer’s Body — expect dark humor, feminist bite, and a rebellious tone.

🍒 Release Window: When Forbidden Fruits Hits Theaters

Releasing in theaters — 2026

More regions and streaming details (likely Shudder) will follow based on festival reception and distribution.

Given Shudder’s involvement, expect a streaming release typically 45–90 days after theatrical.

💥 Why This Film Has Major Breakout Potential

Here’s why Forbidden Fruits could easily become a 2026 anthem film:

• all-female ensemble cast

• stylish witchcraft aesthetic

• mall-culture nostalgia

• feminist psychological horror

• Gen-Z appeal

• themes of identity, belonging, and power

• Diablo Cody’s edgy influence

• Shudder’s built-in horror fandom

Plus, the concept alone — witches working retail — is a goldmine of symbolic horror.

🩷 Final Verdict: The Witchy, Weird, Must-Watch Nightmare of 2026

Forbidden Fruits is bold, messy, fierce, and entirely in its own lane.

It’s a film about girlhood gone wrong, rituals gone violent, and sisterhood that cuts deeper than any blade.

If you love:

• The Craft

• Jennifer’s Body

• Bodies Bodies Bodies

• Heathers

• The Love Witch

…this movie belongs at the top of your 2026 watchlist.

It’s stylish horror with something to say — and something to spill.