Rating: 3.5/5
Oh My Horror 2025 | 23/52 | LGBTQ+ Horror
Ruth Willmore is dying—neither the pills in her medicine cabinet nor the crucifix hanging over her bedroom wall will change that. Her daughter, Charlotte, has been a talented cellist since childhood, gaining admission to a prestigious music school in Boston called Bachoff. However, when her mother fell ill, Charlotte gave it up to care for her. When Ruth finally dies, it leaves Charlotte with a decade of bad memories, scars on her wrists, and uncertainty for her future. She reaches out to Anton, the head of Bachoff, in hopes of joining him and his wife, Paloma, wherever they are scouting for new talent. Following them takes her to Shanghai.
Once in Shanghai, Charlotte attends a finalist concert whose winner will receive a full scholarship to Bachoff. Judging is Elizabeth Wells, or Lizzie, who has taken Charlotte’s place as Anton’s star pupil. Charlotte is a massive fan of Lizzie, and it turns out that Charlotte inspired Lizzie in her younger years. Lizzie and Charlotte flirt at the recital. Later, the father of one of the finalists vomits and collapses. A local reports a contagion in Hunan that is causing people to hemorrhage. Anton and Lizzie were just scouting there. The two perform a duet, go out clubbing, and have sex at their hotel.
You have been and will always be the person who makes my heart skip a beat when you play.
Lizzie is going on a trip through rural China to get away from all the pressure and invites Charlotte to come along. But the next morning, Lizzie is feeling sick. Will this be Charlotte and Lizzie’s chance to let loose? Did Lizzie contract that Hunan disease?
The film explores the role music plays in people’s lives. For prodigies and preternaturally gifted individuals, their community expects them to play their part and refine their sound for the world. The notion of playing for oneself, one’s pleasure, becomes a distant memory, if ever a memory at all. Charlotte had the opportunity to relearn that when left alone. Lizzie hopes to have it someday, but knows that won’t come anytime soon.
The film also plays with the classic lesbian trope: do I want to fuck you or to be you? Why not both? The intercutting of the sex scene and the cello duet with Charlotte climaxing as the song finishes is chef’s kiss. It’s cool that Allison Williams and Logan Browning learned to play cello for the movie. They don’t do anything mindblowing, but they’re good enough to sell it.
The perspective on rural China through the eyes of two American women isn’t entirely tasteless, but there’s more than a hint of “this food is gross, this bus is gross.” Lizzie speaks Mandarin, but she never uses it, putting Charlotte in positions where she yells at Chinese people in English to do what she says, even though they don’t understand her.
I’ve hinted at it above, but it’s worth stating explicitly: this film has people vomiting, defecating, and all sorts of gross stuff, and the camera does not look away that often. So, if those things bother you, either be ready to close your eyes or don’t bother.
If you’ve seen horror movies, you might be able to predict some of the directions the film takes. It also makes some choices that I would not call coherent. You’ll either be on its wavelength or not.
No one who worked on this movie knows music. Like, at all. It’s kind of funny when the film gives up before it makes it too obvious.
I want that “Made in China” neon sign in Lizzie’s hotel room!