‘September Says’ overview: An exploration of the suffocation of sisterhood

“If I lost a leg, would you get yours amputated too?”

“If I was kidnapped, would you offer to take my place?”

“If I die, will you die too?”

These are the interrogations September (Pascale Kann) poses to her youthful sister July (Mia Tharia) in September Says, Ariane Labed’s eerie directorial debut that asks the query, how shut is simply too shut in terms of siblings?

Tailored from Daisy Johnson’s 2020 novel Sisters, the horror-tinged drama begins because the not-quite-twins navigate teenage girlhood and strikes into an more and more harmful recreation. Not your typical coming-of-age story, the movie presents an advanced expertise of intertwined identities, exploring the power of household and sisterhood and what it feels wish to be a younger brown woman in white environments.

I did not realise I might been holding my breath till the credit began to roll, gripped by convincing performances from newcomers Tharia and Kann, and left with questions in regards to the lengthy shadows of sisters — and whether or not we are able to ever actually step out of them.

What’s September Says about?

September’s junior by solely eleven months, July is shy and quiet, eyes glued to the ground and arms tight throughout her chest. September, however, is assured and brash, working the gang at their mum Sheela’s (Intercourse Training’s Rakhee Thakrar) artwork present opening and slicing off the plait of July’s faculty bully. July is shoved firmly underneath September’s wing, whether or not she likes it or not, till an as-yet-unseen incident forces the trio to retreat to a relative’s vacation residence in Eire (within the guide it is North Yorkshire).

On high of the painful awkwardness of creating associates and having crushes, the ladies are mixed-race with an Indian mom and an absent father, a whisper of violence of their mother and father’ relationship. This extra layer of otherness doesn’t assist their outsider standing, July’s meekness a magnet for mocking and the pains of puberty tinged with racism as classmates chuckle at their darkish physique hair in a swimming lesson. Whereas neither Johnson’s guide nor Labed’s movie dives into the ladies’ mixed-race heritage, we see echoes of their unstable identities; September is overprotective and confident whereas July is introverted, not assured sufficient to take up house like her sister.

All of this attracts the sisters collectively in a bond that oversteps the boundaries of closeness. July appears as much as her older sister, claiming that September is who she all the time needed to be. September loves being within the highlight and prides herself on having the ability to “look after” July when depressive Sheela hasn’t been in a position to.

However September’s ego pushes her overprotectiveness into one thing extra sinister, extra controlling, a temper that ramps up as the ladies discover themselves left to their very own gadgets in Eire. With Sheela largely withdrawn to her bed room, the sisters raid the dusty alcohol cabinet, watch nature documentaries, and forage the fridge for chilly pasta. They should feed, clear and occupy themselves, with not even an web connection for leisure. So, they go old skool.

September Says performs with a childhood recreation to rattle relationship dynamics

Credit score: Despina Spyrou

It’s right here that the film’s titular recreation, a model of “Simon Says,” takes on a menacing tone, September relishing her energy over July. July is uncomfortable with the escalating instructions, which soar from consuming an entire jar of mayonnaise to slicing her neck with a knife. But when she doesn’t play by the principles, she’ll “lose a life.” “Silly July,” September laughs, demanding unyielding loyalty from her sister.

At first, July obeys each command. The mayonnaise is eaten, July’s neck bleeds. However an interplay (with a neighborhood teenage boy, in fact) on the seaside is a catalyst for July to start breaking freed from September’s maintain. Immediately the thing of another person’s curiosity, July begins to see what independence might appear to be — a boyfriend, even a lifetime of her personal — earlier than it is swiftly snatched away. It is this sexual awakening, teased earlier within the movie, that proves pivotal for the sisters’ relationship — and one which builds to an eerie crescendo within the third act.

Credit score: Despina Spyrou

With July changing into more and more petrified of September’s reckless behaviour and harmful calls for, the dependency between the sisters begins to splinter. July remains to be hooked on her sister’s consideration, craving autonomy and normalcy, even when she’s not fairly positive easy methods to obtain that. September’s presence turns into spectral, extra felt than seen, disappearing from rooms earlier than popping up behind July in lavatory mirrors. More and more, the sisters appear to merge right into a single presence. 

Threaded with hints of horror, from September and July’s twin-like virtually telepathic bond to the opening scene, the place Sheela clothes her daughters because the Grady twins from The Shining for a photoshoot, there’s a creeping sense of the supernatural about September Says. Pictures of razors, knives, and blood are overlaid with the sisters speaking with appears, touches, animalistic grunts and even whistles — July’s Pavlovian response to September’s sharp whistle marks an unsettling second in direction of the tip of the movie.

September Says subverts coming-of-age hallmarks with a twist

Credit score: Sackville Movie and Tv Productions Restricted

This isn’t your typical teenage coming-of-age story. There are hallmarks of the style – underage beers round a campfire, a primary kiss, rebellions in opposition to Sheela’s authority – however September Says explores one thing a lot deeper than discovering your voice. It’s a probing of intertwined identities, the power of household and what it feels wish to be a younger brown woman in white environments.

The movie’s twist is probably not solely unguessable, however that doesn’t detract from its quiet construct and more and more claustrophobic ambiance. With a sparse script, minimal rating and grainy visuals, plus the distant setting of the home in Eire, which appears prefer it’s been left untouched for many years, audiences are drawn into the sisters’ insular world.

Sisterhood is an advanced expertise — rising up with the identical blood or in the identical family is commonly portrayed to be like having a built-in greatest good friend or everlasting enemy. September Says places ahead a knottier actuality, September and July’s relationship mixing love and hate. The query we’re left with is how lengthy September’s maintain on July will final as she’s compelled to step out of her older sister’s shadow or whether or not the battle scars are far too deep to ever fade.

September Says was reviewed out of its UK launch in February 2025. U.S. launch to be introduced.