Puberty and murder are going hand in hand.
Whether it’s the new (and excellent) Netflix series The End of the F***ing World, the upcoming Heathers remake, or this week’s Thoroughbreds, it appears that 2018 is the year of the murderous teen on screen.
There’s a long history of teenagers as the protagonists (though more often the victims) in killer cinema. Setting murderous intentions against the tumultuous roller coaster that is puberty tends to make sense. But Thoroughbreds is unique in that it asks what happens if a person is devoid of emotion, focusing specifically on the relationship between two teenage girls living in upper-class suburban Connecticut.
Amanda feels nothing. Literally. She’s been through a variety of diagnoses, but simply put, she’s devoid of emotion. Meanwhile, Lily is reserved by choice. She seems to feel many things, but has been trained to repress them. Amanda and Lily’s relationship is a fascinating one because of Amanda’s brutal lack of verbal tact feels truer to a real life relationship than is often found on screen.
Amanda and Lily are played by Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and the upcoming Ready Player One) and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split), respectively. Both actresses are incredibly talented, and are definitely ones to watch. They manage to convey the often uncomfortable dynamic of a friendship between teenage girls with amazing accurateness. In spite of the backdrop of an extreme plot, the film is ultimately about their relationship.
While I don’t doubt we will always have a bevy of films centered around teenagers, I’m curious to see if the trend of homicidal hormonal youth (on screen) continues past this year. If the pedigree of the content is anything like Thoroughbreds, it may not be a bad thing.
There’s a long history of teenagers as the protagonists (though more often the victims) in killer cinema. Setting murderous intentions against the tumultuous roller coaster that is puberty tends to make sense. But Thoroughbreds is unique in that it asks what happens if a person is devoid of emotion, focusing specifically on the relationship between two teenage girls living in upper-class suburban Connecticut.
Amanda feels nothing. Literally. She’s been through a variety of diagnoses, but simply put, she’s devoid of emotion. Meanwhile, Lily is reserved by choice. She seems to feel many things, but has been trained to repress them. Amanda and Lily’s relationship is a fascinating one because of Amanda’s brutal lack of verbal tact feels truer to a real life relationship than is often found on screen.
Amanda and Lily are played by Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and the upcoming Ready Player One) and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split), respectively. Both actresses are incredibly talented, and are definitely ones to watch. They manage to convey the often uncomfortable dynamic of a friendship between teenage girls with amazing accurateness. In spite of the backdrop of an extreme plot, the film is ultimately about their relationship.
While I don’t doubt we will always have a bevy of films centered around teenagers, I’m curious to see if the trend of homicidal hormonal youth (on screen) continues past this year. If the pedigree of the content is anything like Thoroughbreds, it may not be a bad thing.
This article originally appeared on KFOG.com on March 9, 2018.
