If you’re a human being who’s gone through life with a uterus, then you’ve most likely experienced the physical torture of getting your period. For one week (or more, if you’re unlucky enough) out of the month, you’re plagued with bloating, debilitating cramps, back pain, nausea, migraines, and ruining every pair of underwear in your possession. And if you have endometriosis? Forget about it. Brooke H. Cellars channels those very experiences into her campy and glamorous feature film debut, The Cramps: A Period Piece. 

Agnes Applewhite (Laura Kitchen) is a young woman who struggles with terrible periods that include monstrous cramps. While she’s navigating menstrual malaise, she’s also forced to deal with an incredibly uptight mother and a younger sister who hangs on their mother’s every word. To combat this stifling life, Agnes gets a job at a local beauty salon as the shampoo girl, despite her mother’s adamant wishes against it.

At the salon, Agnes finds her people: a cotton candy-haired Satanist, a glamorous drag queen who owns the salon, and a foul-mouthed stylist. Sure, some of the customers are a pain in the ass, but they have each other. As Agnes thrives (and even gets a date) in her new workplace, her cramps only get worse. Like supernaturally worse. Think The Blob, but make it glamor. Now, Agnes has to try to navigate her newly liberated life while wrangling a uterus full of something more than blood and tissue.

Also Read: ‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ Review: A Gore-geous Animated Spectacle

The Cramps: A Period Piece is both quite literally a piece about periods, as well as set in a version of the past, think 1960s John Waters Baltimore, but ever-so-slightly more wholesome (there’s no one eating literal shit in this one). Everything is gorgeously and impeccably styled, from Agnes’ house to the intricate details of the hair salon. Cellars and her team are really committed to their aesthetic, never skimping or half-assing when it comes to creating the dreamy world of The Cramps. 

Laura Kitchen as Agnes is appropriately saccharine, delivering her lines like a caricature of someone like Tracy Turnblad. She’s plucky, naive, and ready to branch out, while also trying to navigate the hatred that her family exudes whenever she enters the room. Kitchen is a shining star here, willing to commit to the bit and never falter for one moment. It helps sell the film’s dream-like vibe even more.

Also Read: ‘The Mannequin’ Review: A Shocking Supernatural Slasher [Popcorn Frights 2025]

While the vibes, design, and performances are all incredible, the biggest stumbling block for The Cramps: A Period Piece is pacing and trying to balance character development with the film’s actual horror elements. While the commitment to the bit is a huge part of the film’s charm, it takes a little too long to get to the point. The horror elements simmer in the background while Agnes and her new friends confront rude competitors and terrible clients. When there are moments of monstrosity, they’re impeccably executed, featuring gnarly blood clots covered in glitter. 

With The Cramps: A Period Piece, Cellars crafts an incredible callcard for her style, tone, and overall approach to crafting unique and campy pieces of cinema. While parts of the film are meandering, it’s overall a deeply charming film that takes a horrendous reality and makes it into something worth cheering for. I cannot wait to see what weird, delicious world Cellars creates next, because I’d like to reserve some real estate in there for me and my cats. 

• The Cramps: A Period Piece

Summary

With ‘The Cramps: A Period Piece’, Cellars crafts an incredible callcard for her style, tone, and overall approach to crafting unique and campy pieces of cinema.

Tags: Fantastic Fest

Categorized:Reviews