How Brand New Cherry Flavor Compares To The Original Book

Here’s how Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor compares to the book, an original cult horror novel by Todd Grimson. In terms of basic premise, both the Netflix series and the novel follow the incredibly twisted journey of filmmaker Lisa Nova, who gets enmeshed with the supernatural in 1990s Los Angeles. However, beyond basic narrative and character similarities, the TV show and Grimson’s source material remain markedly different, as emblematic of most journeys from the page to the screen.

Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor is a macabre tale of power, temptation, and revenge, triggered when producer Lou Burke (Eric Lange) dupes Lisa Nova (Rosa Salazar) into signing an agreement that robs her rights as director in terms of her own work, Lucy’s Eye. While what Lou does to Lisa is a telltale example of the convoluted power structures and exploitation inherent within the glittery world of Hollywood, Lisa’s quest for revenge is nothing short of cruel and ruthless. Vowing to set Lou Burke’s world on fire, Lisa enlists the help of the supernaturally-gifted Boro (Catherine Keener) to snatch away every vestige of hope from the corrupt producer’s life, opening a portal to a hellish world in the process.

Related:

Interestingly, the Netflix show takes the element of the grotesque and the macabre up several notches in comparison to the book, taking inspiration from David Lynch’s nightmarish surrealism and David Cronenberg’s unique brand of body horror. Witchcraft plays a seminal role in the enactment of Lisa’s revenge, which unwittingly exposes her to the horrors of the spirit world and the ghosts of her own past. Here are the key differences between the Brand New Cherry Flavor show and book, and how Lisa’s story plays out in a markedly divergent way in the Netflix adaptation.

Brand New Cherry Flavor: The Show Vs The Book

It’s important to acknowledge the fact that show creators Lenore Zion and Nick Antosca understandably approach Grimson’s novel from a postmodernist point-of-view, as opposed to the author writing about his own time. At the crux of both pieces lies the character of Lisa Nova, who, in the show, makes an almost immediate breakthrough after her short film, Lucy’s Eye, is circulated among top producers and the Hollywood elite. In the novel, Lisa’s struggle is more pronounced, as she has already co-directed a feature named Girl, 10, Murder Boys, centered around the brutal, real-life murder of Mary Flora Bell. Apart from this, Lisa’s other shorts are even featured in a film festival in Seattle, granting more depth to her filmmaking career while offering a comprehensive glimpse into her multifaceted talents.

While the Netflix show sets up Lisa’s arrival in Los Angeles with her being noticed by an A-list producer right off the bat, the novel opens with Lisa struggling to make it in the city of dreams for a span of two years. In contrast, the show adds a twist of the macabre to the process of Lisa adjusting to Los Angeles, be it in the form of the creepy, decrepit apartment building she chooses to move in, or the lurid reality of being duped by powerful men who intend to own her in one way or another. However, while Zion and Antosca add a touch of sentimental nostalgia to the city, wherein an optimistic Lisa sails smoothly upon arrival, Grimson paints Los Angeles as a death trap, an infernal hellhole, with scores of talented artists like Lisa indulging in rituals of debasement just to make it through the day.

As Brand New Cherry Flavor season 1 adapts certain parts of the novel, several characters like Lou Burke are imbued with greater agency in terms of Lisa’s journey. In the novel, Burke is a minor character who Lisa willingly sleeps with, and then ditches when he is unable to grant her an assistant director job as promised. In comparison, Lisa’s vengeance against Lou in the series is triggered by the latter’s nonchalant abuse of power, as he decides to snatch away ownership of her film due to the fact that she had refused his sexual advances early on in the series. While Lou’s fate in the series is slow and agonizing, even heartbreaking at times, Lou’s treatment in the book is brutal, quick, and not dwelled upon. The novel presents Lou being raped and tortured by Boro’s catatonic bikers, eventually murdered and cut into pieces.

What The Show Left Out From The Novel

As the show decided to adapt only a small chunk of the novel, at least for season 1, a lot has been left out or altered for the sake of advancing the plot. For instance, in the show, A-list actor Roy Hardaway is presented as Lisa’s ally, as he, despite his self-destructive tendencies, finds solace in her company. Having experienced intense moments together, such as their time together in the motel when Lisa births a kitten via an unexplainable opening on her torso, or the controversial sex scene that follows after, Roy and Lisa form an unlikely, yet solid bond. In the novel, Hardaway is more of a creep, obsessed with the idea of Lisa starring in a pornographic film, with the two rarely meeting in person or forming a bond of any sort. The same can be said for Boro’s character, gender-swapped for the show, who can jump from one body to another – a trait missing in the novel.

As the novel presents Boro as a witch with no covert intentions towards Lisa, the onus of responsibility is fully owned by our protagonist, who dives headfirst into terror with ease. In terms of what the novel totally leaves out is Lisa’s adventures in Brazil, which could potentially be the central plot in Brand New Cherry Flavor season 2, assuming it happens. In the novel, Grimson dives deep into Lisa’s morbid past, while she undergoes a series of transformations, including reuniting with her father and undergoing an intense exorcism that pushes her to the brink of death. Another seminal character missing from the show is Lisa’s best friend, Christine, although the character of Mary Gray, the lead heroine of Lucy’s Eye, acts as a stand-in, as both Mary and Lucy are Lisa’s former collaborators who seek out Boro for revenge.

What Brand New Cherry Flavor Season 2 Can Take From The Book

While it’s too early to speculate the exact direction in which a potential Brand New Cherry Flavor season 2 might branch, it is clear that the next season, if it happens, will delve deeper into Lisa’s past in Brazil. As the jaguar creature is revealed to be her mother, and her oft-repeated visions of a moisture-laden forest haunt her, it will be interesting to witness how Lisa will react to the hidden caverns of her past. Too little is known about Lisa’s ancestry, and how she came to be possessed by an entity during the filming of Lucy’s Eye, which can be explored in greater depth, with direct inspiration from the novel. Also, as Boro’s tale is nowhere near over, as she jumps into Mary’s vessel towards the end of Brand New Cherry Flavor, a power tussle between the two is inevitable. As per what the show can take from Grimson’s tale, the element of Lisa ingesting rare psychedelic drugs to transfer her directorial vision onto a 16-mm film stock might be interesting.

About The Author

Debopriyaa Dutta
(328 Articles Published)

Apart from being a features writer and critic at ScreenRant, Debopriyaa is a news writer at /Film. She is also a contributor to High on Films & Fansided, and an editor at Digital Mafia Talkies. Her poetry has been published in a wide array of journals, such as Gideon Poetry, White Noise Magazine, and Literaria. Find her on Twitter @angelusatani.

See also  Spider-Man: Far From Home - 5 Superpowers Mysterio Keeps Hidden (& 5 Strange Weaknesses)

More From Debopriyaa Dutta