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Boro shrugs, less than bothered. \u201cFine, no more throwing up kittens,\u201d she says as she steps back into the shadows, disappearing into the lush jungle that\u2019s overtaken her Los Angeles home. Lisa\u2019s temporarily mollified \u2014 until she experiences the bodily result of that request, which is, to say the least, far worse than any of her previous retching. Resigned, she sighs. \u201cTell her I\u2019ll go back to puking,\u201d Lisa says to Boro\u2019s stupefied lackey (Mark Acheson), who can only grunt in response as he shuffles away. This sequence of events is only unusual in the world of \u201cBrand New Cherry Flavor\u201d insomuch as it demonstrates something akin to a sense of humor about its gross-out surrealism. Otherwise, the limited series is moreso impressed with its own daring to Go There, or to be as disgusting as the freedom of a streaming service will grant it. A dark and twisty series that delights in getting truly gross, Netflix\u2019s newest tells a scattered tale of vengeance and ownership that\u2019s lucky to have a stellar performance at its center.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrand New Cherry Flavor\u201d \u2014 adapted by \u201cChannel Zero\u201d producers Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion from the novel by Todd Grimson \u2014 feels like an R.L. Stine book come to visceral life, if Stine\u2019s \u201cGoosebumps\u201d series were rebooted for the adult David Lynch devotees his imaginative kid audience eventually became. The series takes place in a neon-tinged, pulpy version of early \u201990s Los Angeles that owes more than a little to horror B movies and paperback books that historically have existed in media\u2019s margins. To this long avowed horror wimp, though, the show isn\u2019t particularly frightening so much as unsettling (though I wouldn\u2019t recommend that anyone follow in my footsteps by trying to eat lunch while watching it \u2014 a huge, if obvious, mistake).<\/p>\n
Lisa\u2019s thirst for revenge is aimed squarely at Lou Burke (Eric Lange), a predatory horror director who takes advantage of Lisa in order to steal her short film for his own material gain. Lisa, focused and furious, quickly takes up Boro\u2019s offer to destroy his life without fully realizing how that choice might affect hers, too. Keener is clearly having fun embodying the malevolent spark that is Boro, but it\u2019s the reluctantly symbiotic relationship between Lisa and Lou drives much of the show, and both actors quickly lock into that particular dynamic to the show\u2019s benefit. Other actors such as Manny Jacinto and Jeff Ward do their best in supporting roles, but few are fleshed out beyond the core trio of Keener, Lange and Salazar.<\/p>\n
Salazar is the show\u2019s clear star, making it plain why experimental shows and films like \u201cUndone\u201d and \u201cAlita: Battle Angel\u201d have depended upon her magnetic performances to keep them somewhat grounded. Even when the series loses track of who Lisa is as a character, Salazar rarely does. No matter how hyperbolic a scene gets, she imbues every one of them with vivid emotion that almost \u2014 almost \u2014 grounds the show\u2019s self-consciously weird reality. Any time \u201cBrand New Cherry Flavor\u201d gets specific about Lisa\u2019s pain, it comes close to working. Too often, it loses her personality and motivation to Boro\u2019s jungle, Lou\u2019s ego, or the omnipresent viscera of her own blood and guts betraying her along the way. For those curious about getting lost right alongside her, perhaps proceed with a bit more caution than Lisa on her rapid descent into a hell of her own making.<\/p>\n