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Prey has finally landed on Netflix with the hit two-season ITV drama now ready to stream.

Prey season two is filled with recognisable faces from the worlds of The Witcher, Unforgotten and Emmerdale.

Eleven years have gone by since British crime thriller Prey was last airing on ITV and now fans can re-live both epic seasons which sees DS Susan Reinhart (played by Rosie Cavaliero) investigate criminal cases around Manchester.

While the first outing revolved around a police officer trying to clear his name after the murder of his family, series two sees a prison officer forced to help an inmate escape after his pregnant daughter is kidnapped.

As fans start binge-watching Prey, here’s everything there is to know about the cast of Prey season two.

Inside Prey season 2 cast

DS Susan Reinhardt – Rosie Cavaliero

DS Susan Reinhardt connects both seasons of Prey as she struggles to deal with her inner demons while investigating officers at the heart of each series.

She is brought to life by actress Rosie Cavaliero who was Marion Kelsey in ITV’s Unforgotten season two, Elizabeth Cordingley in Gentleman Jack and Edwina, Countess of Dunvale in Channel 5’s A Woman of Substance.

David Murdoch – Philip Glenister

David is a widowed prison officer whose life is turned upside down when his pregnant daughter is kidnapped and he is blackmailed into helping an inmate escape.

He is brought to life by actor Philip Glenister who is famed for starring in Life on Mars, its spin-off Ashes to Ashes, Belgravia, After the Flood and, most recently, ITV’s The Lady.

Jules Hope – MyAnna Buring

Actress MyAnna Buring will be best remembered for playing Tissaia in Netflix ’s The Witcher, but also starred in The Twilight Saga as Tanya and Unforgotten season six as Melinda Ricci.

She is behind Jules Hope, the prisoner that David is forced to help escape.

DC Richard Iddon – Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

Quick-witted rookie police officer DC Richard Iddon is partnered up with DS Reinhardt to try and track down David Murdoch.

He is played by actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett who was Curtis Donovan in E4’s Misfits and Ian in the Channel 4 series Utopia.

Lucy Murdoch – Sammy Winward

Taking on the role of David’s kidnapped pregnant daughter Lucy Murdoch is actress Sammy Winward.

She is by far best known for starring as Katie Sugden, a role she took on as a teenager, in ITV’s iconic soap Emmerdale.

She has also had smaller roles in shows such as Fearless, The Long Shadow and Brassic.

DCI Mike Ward – Ralph Ineson

Rounding off the main cast of Prey season two is actor Ralph Ineson who plays Amycus Carrow in the Harry Potter franchise, Professor Krempe in Netflix’s Frankenstein and General Tarakanov in Chernobyl.

Ineson portrays DCI Mike Ward who is DS Susan Reindhardt’s superior officer.

Prey is available to watch on Netflix.

The Neighbourhood has arrived and a new family has already moved into the area.

The Neighbourhood welcomes another household after one family was kicked out of the cul-de-sac in an unexpected exit.

After all of the drama that went down in I’m A Celebrity last night, Friday, April 24, a new show has landed on ITV to fill that void.

Graham Norton’s The Neighbourhood has debuted with its second episode airing this evening, Saturday, April 25, introducing a new household with big plans.

Who are the Campbell Grahams?

Moving into The Neighbourhood with the remaining five families are the Campbell Grahams, made up of Donna, Ken and Thai.

Mum Donna, 43, is a firefighter with her 20-year-old daughter Thai working in hospitality and catering.

Donna is married to 43-year-old youth mentor and sports coach Ken and they’ve got major plans for the cash prize even before stepping into “KeepYourEnemies Close”.

“We are looking to move to Thailand, so that would help”, Donna told ITV when asked about the £250,000 prize pot.

Ken agreed: “I want to retire in Thailand and open my own chip shop in Thailand.”

However, not everyone seems to be on board with this plan as Thai jokingly exclaimed: “Oh my God – no one is going there, I’ll tell you that for free! It’s going to have one star on the food rating.”

Describing themselves as “happy, funny, genuine and competitive”, the Campbell Grahams shared that they don’t have a game plan.

Ken said: “We just want to enjoy the experience”, with Donna adding: “And be ourselves.

“That’s our strategy, to go in and be ourselves.”

Although Thai might not entirely agree it’s all about having fun as she admits she “can’t stand losing”.

Last night, one household’s journey in the Peak District came to an abrupt end.

The Kandolas and Samra house received the most votes and were eliminated from the show, forcing them to move out of the idyllic cul-de-sac for good.

So how will the Campbell Grahams fare when they move into the area tonight?

The Neighbourhood is available to watch on ITV and ITVX.

Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins will be among the stars competing for the Mirrorball Trophy.

“Summer House’s” Miller and “The Traitors” contestant Higgins — both publicly betrayed by men they trusted on their shows — are the first celebrities joining Season 35 of “Dancing With the Stars.” Disney announced the new season Wednesday during Hulu’s Get Real House event in Los Angeles.

Miller joins the cast less than a month after it was revealed that her “Summer House” castmate and ex-boyfriend, West Wilson, was dating her friend on the show, Amanda Batula. She teased her “DWTS” news with an Instagram video in which she wrote out her “Next Chapter 2026” to-do list, which included “prioritizing” herself, “taking risks” and “Dancing With the Stars.”

Higgins, who lost Season 4 of “The Traitors” in the finale after being blindsided by her friend and co-star Rob Rausch, rose to prominence on “Love Island” in 2019. Higgins shared her excitement in a video on Instagram, saying, “Please pray for me.”

“Get me on that dance floor. I want to win the trophy,” Higgins said. “I’ve manifested this.”

Higgins told reporters at the Get Real House event that Mark Ballas is her dream partner.

The announcement comes after a landmark season of “DWTS,” which saw a record-breaking number of fan votes. In November, The Times spoke with “DWTS” showrunner Conrad Green, who attributed the ratings spike to reviving “communal viewing experiences.”

“It’s been largely a question of keeping our existing audience and then finding a new audience of 18- to 30-year-olds. That’s partly fed by social media. It’s partly fed by a desire to have communal TV viewing experiences,” Green said. “That was something everyone had with ‘American Idol’ and ‘Dancing With the Stars’ 20 years ago, but TV doesn’t lend itself to that so much anymore.”

During the event, Disney also announced a new spinoff series, “Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.” “DWTS” Season 34 winner Robert Irwin will host the show. According to the synopsis, it “features 12 exceptional up-and-coming dancers who move into one house and compete in a grueling audition process, all vying for a coveted spot as a pro dancer on Season 35 of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’”

“DWTS” pro and three-time Mirrorball champion Ballas will host the show alongside his mother, former ballroom dancer Shirley Ballas. The series will premiere July 13 on ABC.

Actress Joanna Scanlan is starring as single mother Sarah in the upcoming Channel 5 drama Missed Call.

Channel 5 viewers are in for a treat this week as a brand-new crime drama is set to air.

Missed Call features Slow Horses star Joanna Scanlan as Sarah, a mother whose worst fears come to life after her daughter goes on a school exchange trip to the South of France. The trip is being supervised by teacher Neil Scott and Sarah’s boyfriend, Jason Bradley, who is driving the group to Saint-Michel.

Channel 5 viewers will see her daughter, called Katie, assigned to stay with the well-respected Morvan family, who also have a daughter called Emma. However, it’s not long before Katie finds herself wrapped up in the social life of the exchange students, as alcohol, parties, and tensions within the group begin.

When Sarah gets a late-night call from Katie that she misses, her worry grows when her daughter stops responding to her completely. While the school, supervising teacher and host family all insist Katie is out with friends, alarm bells start ringing for Sarah, who takes matters into her own hands.

A synopsis for the series reads: “When British teenager Katie Gleason vanishes during a school exchange in southern France, her mother Sarah rushes to Saint-Michel seeking answers.

“Met with evasive police and hostility from Katie’s powerful host family, the Morvans, Sarah launches her own investigation alongside local detective Lieutenant Virginie Taylor, exposing buried secrets, abuse, corruption, and trafficking within the tight-knit town.

“As bodies surface and suspicions reach influential figures – including Virginie’s father – alliances fracture. Betrayed and unravelling, Sarah learns that Katie may still be alive. Time is running out for them both and justice.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Missed Call.

When does Missed Call start?

The first episode of the five-part series will air on April 13 at 9pm on Channel 5.

It will then air each night consecutively until the series final on Friday, April 17.

A brief overview of episode one reads: “Unable to shake the feeling that her daughter is in danger, Sarah flies to France.

“Once in Saint-Michel, she finds a town reluctant to answer questions. The police appear slow to act, the Morvans seem strangely calm, and students at the school are evasive.

“As Sarah begins asking questions herself, she discovers Katie spent her last known night with a troubled local boy named Xavier and another unidentified girl. Surveillance footage soon confirms Katie was in town only hours before she vanished. Then Sarah receives a message from Katie’s phone – one that turns her worst fears into a terrifying possibility.”

Missed Call cast list in full

Viewers will see Joanna Scanlan take on the role of Sarah Gleason, while her daughter Katie Gleason is played by Emily Coates.

Claire Keim stars as Virginie Taylor, François-Xavier Demaison will play Jerome Ricard, Rupert Graves takes on the role of Jason Bradley as Robert Lindsay will star as Andrew Taylor.

Other supporting cast includes:

• Lise Laffont as Audrey Lambert
• Dean Fagan as Neil Scott
• Lya Lessert as Emma Morvan
• Xavier Lemaitre as Serge Henin
• Célia Diane as Caroline Morvan
• Hélène Azema as Yvette Henin
• Cole Martin as Ben
• Nicolas Van Beveren as Fabien Morvan
• Andrew Lee Potts as Mark Jones
• Daisy Axon as Lucy
• Thorian De Decker as Officer Remy
• Maxime Pipet as Xavier Henin
• Sandra Teles as Rebecca
• Arthur Combelles as Gabriel (The Pathologist)
• Oliver Jenkins as British Reporter

Where is Missed Call filmed?

Actor Dean Fagan, who takes on the role of Neil Scott, told his Instagram followers the series was filmed in Montpellier in the South of France.

Villeneuvette was the main filming location for the fictional village of Saint-Michel, while the home Katie stayed during her exchange was filmed at Domaine St Martin de la Garrigue, according to 4filming,

Meanwhile, the UK scenes were filmed in and around London, as fans will see Sarah travel to France via the Port of Dover in Kent.

Missed Call airs on Channel 5 on April 13 at 9pm.

The Beyond Paradise star shared a rare insight into the cast of the BBC show.

Death in Paradise may have wrapped up recently, but one Beyond Paradise is in full swing, with one star sharing details of a sweet cast reunion.

Felicity Montagu, who plays Margo Martins on the BBC show, discussed her time on Beyond Paradise on live TV today.

The 65-year-old actress appeared as a guest on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, which is hosted by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer.

Speaking about the Death in Paradise spin-off, which she has starred in since 2023, Felicity reflected: “I think the acting’s very good in it.

“I’ve acted for 43 years and I know when I’m acting with someone when I think it’s vacuous and nothing’s happening, and everyone’s really doing their job.

“It’s brilliantly directed and produced, and with Tony Jordan at the helm I just feel very, very safe.”

Tim and Simon then showed a clip of Felicity acting opposite Derry Girls star Dylan Llewellyn, who plays Constable Kelby Hartford on the BBC mystery show.

After the scene ended, the host praised Dylan as “such a lovely bloke”, prompting Felicity to reveal that a cast reunion is happening very soon.

“Yes, he is,” she agreed, “We’re all meeting up in a couple of weeks’ time, which is very nice.”

Asked where the show is based, Felicity confirmed: “In Devon. Shipton Abbott, it’s called in the programme.”

However, she then confirmed that the show is really filmed in Looe, which is located in Cornwall.

“It’s great,” she continued, “The fish mongers have gone really upmarket since we’ve been there…

“And I was going to talk to them because I thought their prices had gone up, but then I thought I’d better not start,” she quipped.

Beyond Paradise is set to return this Friday at 8pm, which is good news for fans missing Death in Paradise, which concluded its latest season two weeks ago.

Elsewhere on Sunday Brunch, Simon and Tim interviewed Keith Lemon comedian Leigh Francis and his wife Jill Carter, who admitted she was “nervous” about making her on-screen debut.

Trainspotter and social media star Francis Bourgeois was also included in today’s line-up, while Marvel actor Fra Fee and singer Jordan Rakei also appeared as guests.

Sunday Brunch airs every Sunday at 10am on Channel 4.

When the first two seasons of HBO’s teen drama “Euphoria” aired on Sunday nights, 25-year-old actor and singer Al-akhir Fletcher remembers racing online the second each episode ended, toggling between X (then Twitter) and FaceTime just to keep up with the collective reaction.

“I felt like I had to watch because I didn’t want any spoilers,” he recalled. “I didn’t want anyone to tell me about it. There was maybe one week I tried to wait to binge-watch it, and I couldn’t. Everybody was talking about it.”

That anticipation for Season 3, premiering Sunday, still lingers for Fletcher, though it’s tempered now by doubt and distance, thanks to a four-year gap between seasons. Nevertheless, Fletcher said he’ll finish the show.

“Only because I feel like I’ve invested so much already into the show and into the characters and in their stories,” he said. “So I do want to see it through. I want to know what happens, but there is a little bit of hesitation, especially with hearing about all of the politics and the behind-the-scenes drama of what’s happened with the show.”

When Euphoria last aired in 2022, it turned Maddy Perez’s cutout dresses into a going-out uniform, transformed Cassie Howard’s unraveling into a meme with a saying that everyone understood (“I have never, ever been happier”), and sent Labrinth’s score ricocheting across TikTok in slow-motion edits and tear-streaked montages. It also made bona fide stars out of its cast: Zendaya became an Emmy winner, in-demand actor and fashion icon; similarly, Sydney Sweeney has become an onscreen mainstay, and Jacob Elordi, an Oscar nominee this year.

And, crucially, for a stretch, “Euphoria” made HBO feel like a destination again, with episodes that demanded to be seen in real time and dissected instantly before the night was over.

In the four years since its previous season, though, Hollywood has endured dual labor strikes, streamers have tightened budgets and audiences have fractured into increasingly niche viewing habits. The monoculture that once lifted “Euphoria” has thinned, if it even exists at all.

So as the show returns after an unusually long hiatus, the question isn’t just what happens next for Rue and the gang, but whether “Euphoria” can still hit the way it once did. What we do know is the series isn’t picking up where it left off. Season 3 leaps forward five years, aging its characters out of high school and into a much murkier version of adulthood. Maddy (Alexa Demie) is working for a talent agent and navigating the blurry line between managing actors, influencers and potentially sex work-adjacent clients. Cassie (Sweeney) and Nate (Elordi) are set to marry, all while Cassie is attempting to start an OnlyFans account. And then there’s Rue (Zendaya), whose story can’t outrun the looming debt she owes a drug dealer.

“Euphoria’s” Season 3 returning cast, clockwise from left: Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie and Sydney Sweeney. (Partick Wymore / HBO) (Jeremy Colegrove / HBO) (HBO)

Can a series disappear for four years and reclaim its choke hold on the culture?

Uncertainty hangs over its return and whether more seasons could be expected. (The show’s creator, Sam Levinson, has been evasive about declaring it the final season, while Zendaya told Drew Barrymore this week she believed it was.)

Interviews with fans and media experts suggest there’s no consensus on whether viewers will flock back like before. Some see “Euphoria” as too big to fail, a brand with enough residual heat to dominate conversation on arrival. Others aren’t so sure, pointing to the long hiatus, the off-screen turmoil and a television landscape that no longer moves in lockstep.

What made the show a breakout hit

Part of what makes questions around the show so difficult to answer is how singular “Euphoria” felt when it first arrived in 2019. At the time, HBO wasn’t in the business of teen dramas. The network had long built its identity on adult prestige — crime sagas, antiheroes and sprawling family epics — not stories centered on high schoolers. “Euphoria” marked a strategic shift, one that aimed to pull in younger viewers without diluting the network’s edge.

“I think this was supposed to be their first foray into quote-unquote young adult programming,” said Michel Ghanem, who writes about television. “They were interested in capturing a younger viewership who maybe hadn’t watched that much HBO up until then.”

What emerged didn’t resemble the traditional teen drama playbook. “Euphoria” was moodier and leaned into storylines rooted in addiction, sex and emotional volatility. HBO began experimenting more broadly with shows like “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and “Generation,” but “Euphoria” stood apart in both tone and ambition. The risk paid off.

“It grabbed on to an audience that loved the cast and the performances and the soundtrack and the cinematography,” Ghanem said. “So I think all of those elements together sort of made it into appointment television.”

Hunter Schafer, left, and Zendaya in Season 1 of “Euphoria.” The show premiered in 2019, becoming a hit for HBO.

(Eddy Chen / HBO)

Beneath the glitter and surreal visuals, some viewers saw versions of people and situations they already knew.

“I found a lot of familiarity in it because of being from L.A.,” said Darryl McCrary, a creative artist who is based here. “I felt like I knew the teenagers. I knew the secret drug addict and the out drug addict and the drug dealers. It felt very familiar. It felt like home in a way.”

Aspiring actor and “Euphoria” fan Cheyenne Washington, who grew up in a small town in Connecticut, also recognized the characters. “I went to high school with people like this. My high school isn’t like how it is on Disney Channel. My high school was ‘Euphoria.’”

By its second season, “Euphoria” had become one of HBO’s most-watched series, with episodes drawing millions of viewers. The Season 2 finale pulled in more than 6 million viewers across platforms, cementing the show as a crossover hit.

“That was the show that my students were talking about,” said Jason Mittell, professor of film and media culture at Middlebury College. “‘Euphoria’ is the buzz show amongst younger people, amongst people who were sort of hyper-online, amongst critics; it was something that was really talked about. That’s the thing that sort of raises it up.”

Why production stalled

While the dual Hollywood strikes were one factor in the delay in production, “Euphoria” was also affected by the sudden deaths of actor Angus Cloud, who played Fezco, and executive producer Kevin Turen, who was considered a key force in the show. There were reports of creative tension between Zendaya and Levinson. At the same time, its young cast had transformed into a roster of in-demand movie stars, with schedules and expectations that look very different from when the show began.

“This new season has to kind of do something new and really break new ground to gain the buzz,” Mittell said. “There is a scenario, depending on how they market it, that it actually could get pretty good viewership. But I think that it’s also just ripe for disappointment. Can you just imagine all the takes that are being written right now? Like, ‘Why “Euphoria” shouldn’t have come back.’ There’s so many people eager to write that.”

And yet, the show’s scale and the fame of the people in it may insulate it from outright failure. “Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney — these are some of the biggest actors on the planet now,” Ghanem said. “Even if the show ends up being a creative flop, I think we’re all going to tune in because we want to see those actors together again and see what storyline Sam Levinson will come up with. There’s no possible world where this third season isn’t a massive hit. There’s just no way.”

Angus Cloud, who played Fezco in “Euphoria,” died in 2023 after an overdose. (Evan Agostini / Invision / AP)

“Euphoria” executive producer Kevin Turen also died in 2023. (Jack Plunkett / Invision / Associated Press)

What has shifted more dramatically is how the show and its creator are perceived, experts and fans said. Since “Euphoria” first aired in 2019, Levinson’s profile has evolved, particularly following the backlash to his HBO series “The Idol,” which was widely panned by critics and plagued by reports of behind-the-scenes turmoil. That scrutiny has extended back to “Euphoria,” with renewed criticism around its portrayal of sex, nudity and teenage characters.

“Since 2019, when the first season aired, there have been a lot of conversations around what Gen Z really wants to see on screen,” Ghanem said. “The show’s reputation isn’t unscathed. And I think people are more critical of Sam Levinson’s work.”

That shift may be especially pronounced among younger viewers, who may have been turned off by “The Idol’s” gratuitousness.

“We’ve had all of these recent studies about younger people who don’t necessarily want to see sexually explicit material anymore,” said Brandy Monk-Payton, assistant professor at Fordham University. “They want to see more development of platonic relationships and asexual connections.”

Can a time gap still lead to success?

Long breaks aren’t unheard of on TV, but they’re rarely this long for a show that’s still trying to hold on to cultural urgency. And history suggests that returning is one thing, but recapturing the same intensity of viewership and fandom is another.

Several recent dramas have tested that gap. “Stranger Things” stretched years between seasons as its young cast aged into adulthood, returning to massive viewership, but, some critics and fans argued, with an ending that felt obligatory.

“They weren’t reckless enough with their characters,” McCrary said.

“The Handmaid’s Tale,” once a defining show of the late 2010s, continued after extended pauses but struggled to maintain the cultural grip it once held.

“I think because of the social and political climate of that show, the interest in it waned,” Monk-Payton said. “We didn’t want to be in the world of Gilead anymore. So do fans want to reenter the world that is ‘Euphoria,’ that sensational world of drug addiction and sex and violence?”

Even “Severance,” which earned critical acclaim and awards recognition after its long-awaited second season, sparked debate among viewers about whether it matched the precision and novelty of its first. The pattern, experts say, is less about whether the audience comes back and more about what they come back expecting.

For Monk-Payton, that expectation functions almost like an unwritten agreement between a show and its viewers.

“It has to retain its contract with the audience,” she said, pointing to the balance between continuity and change. “There has to be some kind of familiarity in the characters and relationships, but also growth — something new that justifies coming back.”

That balance, she argues, is where many returning shows falter. Monk-Payton said in the case of “Severance,” what began as a sharply observed workplace sci-fi story expanded into denser mythology in its second season. Though Apple TV announced that “Severance” had become its No. 1 series, she said the show’s evolution didn’t land the same way for all viewers.

“When shows come back after a gap, they can misread what audiences connected to in the first place,” she said.

The risk for “Euphoria” is similar. If its return leans too far away from the emotional core that defined it, or reshapes its characters beyond recognition, it could strain the connection.

“If we don’t recognize Rue or the others in some fundamental way, that’s risky,” Monk-Payton said. “Some viewers will keep watching to see how it ends because they’re completionists. But others may feel that disconnect.”

It’s clear that “Forbidden Fruits” director and co-writer Meredith Alloway has marinated in plenty of ’90s teen movies and the kitschy pop-culture ephemera of that era. Her directorial debut, written with Lily Houghton and based on Houghton’s play “Of the woman came the beginning of sin and through her we all die,” is essentially a synthesis of “The Craft,” “Mean Girls” and “Clueless,” about a coven of catty witches who work at a boutique in a Texas mall.

But in “Forbidden Fruits,” it’s hard to shake the feeling that Alloway’s movie knowledge is just that — easily identifiable iconography without much innovation or depth.

Our clique comes storming down the mall food court in that classic slow-motion strut, letting us know right away what we’re in for. They’re known as the Fruits because they all happen to be named after them. The leader, Apple (Lili Reinhart), operates in the controlling mode of Regina George or Cher Horowitz; her lackeys are alt queen Fig (Alexandra Shipp) and blond bimbo Cherry (Victoria Pedretti). When they realize that a cute pretzel purveyor is named Pumpkin (Lola Tung), they quickly bring her into their circle as a fourth, seemingly only because her name fits the theme.

Apple runs her high-femme coven out of their store Free Eden with an emphasis on iconic women: The girls confess to their martyr Marilyn Monroe in a dressing room and practice dark magic with their panties and a silver cowboy boot. In the interest of helping each other “shine,” Apple also takes a page from Ann Lee and the Shakers — sex and boys are banned and communication is highly controlled.

It’s only when Pumpkin starts uncovering some of the coven’s secrets, including the existence of a former member named Pickle (Emma Chamberlain), that their controversial personal histories involving hexes, poison, fires and hidden boyfriends come to light, and the situation spirals out of control (literally — the climax happens during a tornado).

Alloway and cinematographer Karim Hussain craft a distinctive and unique aesthetic, a gauzy, highly artificial look that underlines the winky referential tone, but one that also lends “Forbidden Fruits” a strangely dreamlike quality that doesn’t always work for the genre.

While the actors, particularly Reinhart and Pedretti, are locked in with the tone and Reinhart delivers the fierceness required of such a role, the pace of “Forbidden Fruits” is at odds with the performers. The film is weirdly slow and sleepy and at least 20 minutes too long. The convoluted story, peppered with various twists, lacks momentum.

A stronger hand in the edit could have resulted in something more dynamic and engaging, but the plotting is mushy and then rushed. For a witchy horror thriller, it’s heavier on psychological violence than actual scares, and a third-act bloodbath and big reveal can’t save it when we finally get there.

The film’s theatrical provenance reveals itself in long monologues in the Marilyn confessional room and Pedretti delivers one that reveals the depth beyond Cherry’s ditzy exterior. We can see Houghton’s play in these moments, but then Alloway’s cheeky pop sensibility intervenes, the arch artificiality and ironic tone draining the emotional impact.

“Forbidden Fruits” can’t reconcile all of its influences and just ends up as a collection of references and high style without much staying power — it’s essentially the fast fashion of girly pop horror.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.