The Flacalta Effect

The scouts

A horror-comedy that weaponizes beauty standards against itself—zombification as the logical endgame of anti-aging desperation—is exactly the kind of premise that makes people uncomfortable for the right reasons, and Jeffrey leans into that tension without winking.

The film situates itself in a lineage of body-horror satire and Black feminist cinema, but the execution feels more scattershot than considered; the tonal oscillation between genuine dread and comedy doesn't quite achieve the formal control that would elevate it beyond its concept.

The single choice that makes this work is the casting chemistry between the sisters—how their banter about survival and vanity becomes inseparable, turning what could be generic zombie fare into something that feels lived-in and specific to their particular exhaustion.