
Last month, the news broke that Chloé Zhao’s planned reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer would not be going through at Hulu, breaking the hearts of fans who longed for a return to Sunnydale. But there’s no need to mourn, Scoobies: The spirit of YA-influenced supernatural horror-romance lives in The Serpent’s Skin.
Now 21 years old and on her sixth feature, Australian writer-director Alice Maio Mackay specializes in DIY movies that take familiar genre frameworks and refracts them through her own experiences and those of the queer community that surrounds her. Mackay’s films have matured alongside their creator, slowly gaining the confidence to move beyond camp and into something more heartfelt. The Serpent’s Skin is that tipping point.