The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
K-12
Fantasy · Horror · Music · 2019
Cry Baby, a strong and sensitive girl, is sent off to a disturbing sleepaway school that’s hidden underneath a grandiose façade. Luckily, she has a sweet and unapologetic best friend who sticks up for her when she gets bullied by the other students whose brains are under control by the Principal and his wicked staff. With the help of the magical friends they meet along the way, as well as an Angelic Spirit Guide, they are able to gain the strength they need to fight off the school’s belligerent patriarchal conditioning.
Movie details
K-12
“When the bell rings, you must be in your assigned seat…”
2019 Fantasy · Horror · Music 1h 32m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.8 / 10
Community rating
Cry Baby, a strong and sensitive girl, is sent off to a disturbing sleepaway school that’s hidden underneath a grandiose façade. Luckily, she has a sweet and unapologetic best friend who sticks up for her when she gets bullied by the other students whose brains are under control by the Principal and his wicked staff. With the help of the magical friends they meet along the way, as well as an Angelic Spirit Guide, they are able to gain the strength they need to fight off the school’s belligerent patriarchal conditioning.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over K-12?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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When a group of teenagers inadvertently kill his only son, Ed Harley seeks the powers of a backwoods witch to bring the child back to life.
Dolls
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The Bride!
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The Company of Wolves
Horror · 1984
An adaptation of Angela Carter's fairy tales. Young Rosaleen dreams of a village in the dark woods, where Granny tells her cautionary tales in which innocent maidens are tempted by wolves who are hairy on the inside. As Rosaleen grows into womanhood, will the wolves come for her too?
Heavy Metal
Animation · 1981
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
Look Away
Horror · 2018
A timid and socially alienated 17-year-old high school student's life is turned upside down when she switches places with her sinister mirror image.
Gretel & Hansel
Fantasy · 2020
A long time ago in a distant fairy tale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.
Snow White: A Tale of Terror
Fantasy · 1997
When young Lili's mother dies in childbirth, her father remarries Lady Claudia, a woman ruled by an evil mirror with the power to make her queen of all living things. After escaping an attempt on her life, Lili finds herself lost in a dark forest, where living happily ever after seems unlikely.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Melanie Martinez
Written by
Melanie Martinez
Melanie Martinez
Cry Baby
Elita Harkov
Angelita
Megan Gage
Celeste
Maggie Budzyna
Kelly
Zión Moreno
Fleur
Marsalis Wilson
Ben
Zinnett Hendrix
Magnolia
Court is in session
Put K-12 on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.