With her newly released album “Short n’ Sweet” already making waves and a brand new music video which stars the fabulous Jenna Ortega, Sabrina Carpenter proves she sure knows how to do a pop rollout of new songs and music videos.
If you’ve seen the music video, already you know it takes you on a journey appearing as a mini movie with Carpenter and Ortega brawling (literally and figuratively) over Carpenter’s ex, who is played by Rohan Campbell. But its cinematic themes are quite prevalent, throughout the video there are homages to actual films so, let’s take a deep dive and find these easter eggs together!
Death Becomes Her
The overarching theme of the entire video seems to pay tribute to a ‘90s hit called “Death Becomes Her” which starred the incomparable Meryl Streep and fantastic Goldie Hawn. How the video references the movie is incredibly fun with the main setting being a gigantic mansion where escapades are sure to ensue, much like in the film itself. Carpenter and Ortega both survive gory injuries and mishaps such as one part in the music video where Carpenter is impaled on a white picket fence but does not die and is instead respawned.
Psycho
An homage to another classic was to the tune of “Psycho” by Alfred Hitchcock, where in the music video Ortega and Campbell’s characters share a steamy smooch in the shower when shortly after, Carpenter opens up the curtains to be revealed with a sharp knife but is surprised when Ortega is ready for her attack and subsequently cuts off her arm.
Kill Bill: Volume 1
The movie starring Uma Thurman and directed by Quentin Tarantino “Kill Bill: Volume 1” also receives a shout out when Ortega dresses up similarly to Elle Driver who was played by Daryl Hannah, in a white nurses uniform and an eye patch to match with a red cross in it.
Ginger Snaps
Referencing back to Carpenter’s impalement on the white picket fence, it also ties into another classic horror film “Ginger Snaps” which was released in 2000 where after Ortega fires a shotgun at Carpenter which sends her sprawling backwards, over the railing and onto said picket fence, Carpenter still manages to send a dagger flying back and into Ortega’s eye which adds a bit of comedy relief into a blood soaked moment between the two characters.
Halloween Ends and Scream
It should also come as no surprise that with all of the eclectic horror centered film references throughout the video, that not only one but two of the stars would be no stranger to horror movies. Jenna Ortega is probably what horror lovers would dub a “scream queen” with her onslaught of horror and thriller films she has in her repertoire from “X” to the two newest editions to the “Scream” franchise, “Scream 5” and “Scream 6.” The actor who plays the ex-boyfriend, Rohan Campbell, has also starred in a horror flick “Halloween Ends” alongside another horror movie vet Jamie Lee Curtis.
“Addams Family Values”
An outfit worn by Carpenter, the beautiful white feathery dress, is another horror easter egg. The dress is paying homage to the sequel of “The Addams Family” where Joan Cusack’s character in the film wears something very similar after being discovered as a sinister murderer who is after Uncle Fester’s money, instead of his love.
“Please Please Please”
In the music video for “Please Please Please,” Oscar-nominated actor Barry Keoghan, who stars as the lead, plays a role inspired by the iconic Bonnie and Clyde narrative, with stylistic nods to Quentin Tarantino and the famous celebrity couple Bennifer (Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck). The video ends with a memorable image of Barry wearing lipstick-marked duct tape over his mouth. In a subtle nod to this, Carpenter’s music video for “Taste” opens with a teddy bear wearing the same kiss-marked tape, creating a clever visual reference for viewers familiar with her previous work.
