Films
Cramps! A Period Piece
A film by Brooke H. Cellars
USA, 2025, 89'
National Premiere
Agnes Applewhite, a dreamy young woman, lands a job as an assistant at a lively beauty salon, against the wishes of her traditional family, dominated by a sanctimonious mother and a sister perpetually on the verge of a nervous breakdown. But as she begins to assert her independence and navigate the worlds of work and love, Agnes is tormented by debilitating menstrual cramps that blur the line between reality and nightmare. In a psychedelic universe where the bizarre and excess colour are the norm, this surrealist camp horror comedy mixes monsters made of blood, menstrual fabrics and plenty of hairspray in a hallucinatory journey into the 1960s. Inspired by the irreverence of John Waters, the macabre of Mario Bava and Fellini’s dreamlike vision, it is Brooke H. Cellars’ feature debut, drawing on her own painful experience with endometriosis to create an exemplary body horror that is as much fun as it is an expression of the female gaze.
Agnes Applewhite, a dreamy young woman, lands a job as an assistant at a lively beauty salon, against the wishes of her traditional family, dominated by a sanctimonious mother and a sister perpetually on the verge of a nervous breakdown. But as she begins to assert her independence and navigate the worlds of work and love, Agnes is tormented by debilitating menstrual cramps that blur the line between reality and nightmare. In a psychedelic universe where the bizarre and excess colour are the norm, this surrealist camp horror comedy mixes monsters made of blood, menstrual fabrics and plenty of hairspray in a hallucinatory journey into the 1960s. Inspired by the irreverence of John Waters, the macabre of Mario Bava and Fellini’s dreamlike vision, it is Brooke H. Cellars’ feature debut, drawing on her own painful experience with endometriosis to create an exemplary body horror that is as much fun as it is an expression of the female gaze.
Credits
Director Brooke H. Cellars Script Brooke H. Cellars Producers Brooke H. Cellars, Madeleine Yawn, Wicken Taylor Cast Lauren Kitchen, Brooklyn Woods, Harlie Madison, Martini Bear, Wicken Taylor Language English Subtitles Portuguese Sales Warped Witch Cinema
Brooke H. Cellars
Director