Ladyworld
Ladyworld is a 2018 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Amanda Kramer.[1] The film stars an ensemble cast of young actresses, including Ariela Barer as Olivia, Annalise Basso as Piper, Ryan Simpkins as Dolly, Odessa A'zion as Blake, and Maya Hawke as Romy, portraying eight teenage girls isolated in a remote mansion during a birthday party.[1][2] Following a massive earthquake that severs their connection to the outside world, the girls face dwindling food and water supplies, leading to escalating tensions, power struggles, and a gradual erosion of their sanity and social bonds.[1][2] The plot unfolds entirely within the confines of the earthquake-damaged house, emphasizing the girls' internal conflicts and the formation of precarious hierarchies reminiscent of William Golding's Lord of the Flies, but reimagined through a female lens focused on emotional and psychological disintegration.[3] One girl mysteriously goes missing, intensifying paranoia and accusations among the group as they grapple with fear, hunger, and isolation.[1] The screenplay, co-written by Kramer and Benjamin Shearn, draws on themes of adolescent femininity, group dynamics, and survival instincts without adult intervention.[4] Production on Ladyworld began in 2017 under Love & Death Productions, with filming taking place in California.[1] Kramer, making her feature directorial debut, aimed to subvert traditional coming-of-age narratives by confining the story to a single location and highlighting the complexities of female relationships under duress.[5] The film premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2018, followed by screenings at the BFI London Film Festival and other events.[6] It received a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 2, 2019, through Cleopatra Entertainment, with video on demand availability starting August 27, 2019, and later a special edition Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome in 2024.[2][7][8] Critically, Ladyworld holds a 52% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 21 reviews, with praise for its strong performances and stylistic direction but mixed responses to its pacing and abstract elements.[2] On Metacritic, it scores 54 out of 100 from six critics, indicating average reception.[9] Audience scores are lower, with a 3.5 out of 10 on IMDb from over 600 ratings, often citing the film's intense claustrophobia and exploration of toxicity among peers.[1] The movie has been noted for launching early roles for actors like Hawke, who later gained prominence in Stranger Things and other projects.[1]Premise and Narrative
Plot Summary
Ladyworld begins with eight teenage girls gathered in a spacious house for a birthday celebration hosted by Eden (Atheena Frizzell). The group, consisting of Olivia (Ariela Barer), Dolly (Ryan Simpkins), Piper (Annalise Basso), Blake (Odessa A'zion), Romy (Maya Hawke), Amanda (Tatsumi Romano), and Mallory (Zora Casebere), engages in typical party activities like dancing, eating cake, and playing games, filled with laughter and camaraderie.[10][11] Suddenly, a massive earthquake strikes, causing the house to shift dramatically and become partially buried underground, with all doors and windows blocked by debris and earth. The girls awaken amid the destruction, the chandelier smashed and walls cracked, realizing they are trapped with no electricity, running water, or means of communication. Initial panic gives way to attempts at organization: they search for exits, assess their limited food and water supplies from the party—soda, snacks, and cake—and begin rationing to survive. Olivia emerges as a voice of reason, advocating for cooperation and conservation, while others like Dolly grapple with anxiety over the unknown outside world.[12][10][13] As days pass without rescue, group harmony deteriorates under the strain of confinement and dwindling resources. Boredom sets in, leading to idle games and uneasy interactions, but tensions escalate when Eden mysteriously disappears, fueling paranoia about an intruder—rumors spread of "the man" lurking in the basement, possibly responsible for her absence. Leadership struggles intensify, splitting the group into factions: Olivia leads a more rational subgroup focused on survival and awaiting help, while Piper takes charge of a wilder faction that hoards supplies, applies warpaint-like makeup, and resorts to psychological intimidation and cruelty to assert dominance. Romy pushes for no formal leadership, pretending to make calls on a non-functional phone to maintain hope, but the divisions deepen rivalries and secrets.[14][10][12] The breakdown accelerates into chaos and hallucinations as hunger and isolation take hold. The girls arm themselves with knives, frantically searching the house for the imagined threat, their chants and dances devolving into tribalistic rituals. Violence erupts sporadically—fights over resources, accusations, and a symbolic power struggle involving a decorative crystal—punctuated by surreal moments of hysteria and regression to primal instincts. Piper's group targets the others with mean-spirited tactics, while Dolly's mental state frays further amid the escalating fear. Key twists reveal the earthquake's reality as ambiguous, potentially a collective hallucination born from the girls' unraveling psyches, with no clear escape or resolution; the film ends on a note of divine light exposing their shame, leaving the fates of Eden and the group unresolved.[13][14][10]Themes and Influences
Ladyworld explores the fragility of female solidarity when subjected to extreme isolation and scarcity, depicting how a group of teenage girls initially united by circumstance devolves into factionalism and betrayal. This fracturing highlights the pressures of adolescence, where interpersonal conflicts amplify insecurities and lead to primal behaviors, as the characters navigate emerging sexuality and survival instincts without adult guidance. Director Amanda Kramer has noted that the film delves into the "delicate time" of teenage years, where individuals "hurt each other quite a bit" while learning tribal dynamics, emphasizing the raw, animalistic undercurrents of youth.[15] The narrative critiques societal expectations imposed on young women, particularly the pervasive fear of male violence, symbolized by an unseen intruder that exacerbates group paranoia and hysteria.[16] The film draws direct inspiration from William Golding's Lord of the Flies, reimagining its core premise through a gender-swapped lens to interrogate patriarchal norms and the myth of inherent female civility. In Golding's novel, boys descend into savagery on a deserted island; Ladyworld transposes this to an all-female ensemble trapped in a suburban home after an earthquake, using a crystal as a symbolic stand-in for the conch shell to govern discourse and power struggles. Kramer aimed to "take a deep dive" into such classic literature, subverting expectations by portraying girls not as harmonious but as capable of the same destructive impulses, thereby challenging clichés about gender and aggression.[15][16] This adaptation critiques societal norms by foregrounding "rapephobia" and the psychological toll of anticipated sexual threat, absent any actual male presence, to underscore how cultural anxieties shape female interactions.[16] Kramer's stylistic approach amplifies these themes through dreamlike sequences and a lo-fi, theatrical aesthetic that evokes alienation and unease, drawing from influences like Rainer Werner Fassbinder's framing and Brechtian techniques to distance viewers from the action. The film's slow pacing and avant-garde sound design, featuring haunting ambient vocals, create a phantasmagoric atmosphere that mirrors the characters' unraveling psyches and group hysteria, infused with feminist undertones that reject victimhood narratives in favor of complex, manipulative female agency.[16][17] By focusing on the "destructive kind of beauty" in the girls' descent into chaos, Kramer portrays hysteria not as weakness but as a potent response to patriarchal shadows, aligning with post-#MeToo reflections on female autonomy and enmity.[14][17]Cast and Characters
Principal Cast
The principal cast of Ladyworld (2018) features an ensemble of young actresses portraying a group of teenage girls trapped in a remote house following an earthquake. Ariela Barer stars as Olivia, the level-headed protagonist who attempts to maintain order among the group.[18] Annalise Basso plays Piper, a character marked by her assertive and sometimes volatile personality. Ryan Simpkins portrays Dolly, embodying vulnerability and emotional intensity. Maya Hawke appears as Romy, a role that highlighted her emerging screen presence shortly after her television debut in the 2017 BBC miniseries Little Women, where she played Jo March, marking one of her first major acting credits before gaining wider recognition in Stranger Things (2019).[19] Odessa A'zion (credited as Odessa Adlon at the time) takes on the part of Blake, contributing to the film's exploration of group tensions. Supporting roles include Tatsumi Romano as Amanda, Zora Casebere as Mallory, and Atheena Frizzell as Chloe, each adding layers to the isolated dynamics.[20]| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Ariela Barer | Olivia |
| Annalise Basso | Piper |
| Ryan Simpkins | Dolly |
| Maya Hawke | Romy |
| Odessa A'zion | Blake |
| Tatsumi Romano | Amanda |
| Zora Casebere | Mallory |
| Atheena Frizzell | Chloe |