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From Child's Play To Kill Bill: A Look Into Horror Movie Easter Eggs In Sabrina Carpenter's Taste Music Video
Sabrina Carpenter's Taste pays homage to some of the best horror classics, from Child Play’s Chucky to the chaotic arc of Death Becomes Her and the hallways reminiscent of The Shining.
Sabrina Carpenter may have earned herself a bloody spot in Hollywood’s horror genre with the release of the music video for her latest single, Taste. The piece of art, credited to Dave Meyers, pays homage to some of the best horror classics, presenting nods to an array of movies, from Child Play’s Chucky to the chaotic arc of Death Becomes Her and the eerie hallways reminiscent of The Shining.
The newly-released music video, following a parental advisory and viewer discretion warning, takes a deep dive into the iconic horror/slasher references, even costarring Jenna Ortega, best known for Wednesday and Scream 6, with dark and humorous nuances from the cult-classics but with a fresh playful take that somehow makes the gory scenes greatly wild and appealing to the genre fans and beyond.
Here’s a look into all the best horror easter eggs in Sabrina Carpenter’s Taste music video:
Death Becomes Her
While the Taste music video is brimming with thrilling movie references, the horror-comedy narrative perfectly mirrors the 1992 cult-classic, Death Becomes Her starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn where they engage in a gruesome battle after they fall for the same man.
Sabrina Carpenter and Jenna Ortega, similarly, battle it out throughout the video, with the eerie mansion becoming a central character in its own right. Much like the movie, much of the bloody action takes place within a lavish mansion as Carpenter tries to behead Ortega in her bed with a machete.
Another scene depicts the infamous gaping hole in Goldie Hawn’s body after Streep attempts to kill her with a shotgun. In the video, Carpenter falls off the balcony and lands on the fence, sustaining a gaping wound around her stomach but returns to torment Ortega and separate her from her boyfriend, likening to the magical potion ingested by Streep and Hawn that revives them after every threatening injury.
The ode to Death Becomes Her does not end there, but continues until the very last minute of the music video. The duo attend the boyfriend’s funeral but a spark of friendship glimmers as Carpenter and Ortega break a smile and toss their rivalry, hinting at their newfound friendship. They happily leave the boyfriend’s funeral amidst other grieving women, and walk down the stairs, calling back to Death Becomes Her’s final scenes where Streep and Hawn topple down losing limbs.
Child’s Play
One of the other prominent Easter eggs is the Child’s Play film series, as the video pays homage to the classic’s characteristic killer doll Chucky. Further into the music video, Carpenter shows off a voodoo doll, echoing the sinister doll in the Don Mancini-helmed films, that she uses to torment Ortega as she spends a romantic moment with her boyfriend, and even snaps its head off.
The Wednesday actor gets hold of a similar blonde-haired voodoo doll and tosses it into the fire, as revenge for Carpenter’s antics, setting her aflame. The fleeting scene pays tribute to the ‘90s horror classic whose fandom has transcended generations.
Released in 1988, the original Child’s Play film vaulted into a slasher media franchise over the years that revolves around the evil doll Chucky, who has entrapped the soul of a serial killer and unleashes terror and fright in the city.
Kill Bill
The Taste music video is impressively graphic in its depiction of the nurse with an eye patch, Elle Driver in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Right after the gaping wound reference from Death Becomes Her, Ortega steps to lodge electric shocks on Carpenter while donning the white nurse attire and a white eye patch with a red cross imprinted on it. The scene where Carpenter stabs Ortega in the eye resonates with Kill Bill’s gore and violence
The original character was played by Daryl Hannah in 2003, to portray Elle Driver, a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, out to kill Uma Thurman’s The Bride.
Psycho
Horror fans would be enthralled by Sabrina Carpenter’s version of the spine-chilling shower scene in Psycho. The deserved nod in the palette of horror classics, a jealous Carpenter barges in with a knife to stab Ortega, who is enjoying a peaceful shower with her partner, echoing the violence in the 1960 film starring Anthony Perkins.
The video, however, deviates from the original plot and shows Ortega slashing Carpenter’s arm off with humorous undertones. The seamless blend of gore and humor showcases Carpenter and director Dave Meyers’ ability to pay homage to iconic films whilst introducing fresh twists and a unique narrative.
The Shining
Out of all the flashy and violent film references, the underrated nod to the lavish hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining might miss one’s sight. Since the beginning, viewers catch glimpses of the beige-themed walls, maze-like hallways, the grand stairwell, and walls lined with vintage wallpapers, recalling the haunted Overlook Hotel taken care of by the Torrances.
Beetlejuice 2
The Taste music video does a great job promoting Jenna Ortega’s upcoming Beetlejuice sequel. The cult classic that originally premiered in 1988, charts the iconic story of the ghosts of Barbara and Adam.
For the 2024 sequel, the music video refers to the first-look teaser where Jenna Ortega’s Astrid Deetz and Winona Ryder’s Lydia are clad in black attires, seemingly attending a funeral scene, as depicted in the music video.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Taste is out on all digital music platforms.
ALSO READ: Sabrina Carpenter's Short N' Sweet: Tracks, Collabs, And More To Know
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