Kay Adelaide’s The Rebrand doesn’t just poke fun at influencer culture—it surgically dissects it, all while delivering one of the funniest horror comedies you’re likely to see this year. For anyone steeped in the algorithmic drama of YouTube and TikTok, the idea of a “rebrand” isn’t new—it’s survival. But Adelaide goes deeper, using the term as a metaphor for the masks we wear, the mistakes we make, and the social capital we’re often handed without earning it.
At its core, The Rebrand is a smart, self-aware slasher romp that pulls double duty as both genre playground and biting satire. Nancy Webb stars as Thistle alongside Andy E. McQueen’s Blair—two darlings of the queer mommy influencer scene whose brand implodes after a mysterious “incident.” Now, with the help of a documentarian named Nicole (played by Naomi Silver-Vinzia), the couple attempts to salvage their image and reclaim their platform, documenting the process every step of the way.
Told through a clever mix of found footage and documentary-style framing, the film plays with form as much as it does with expectation. Adelaide laces each moment with barbed humor, but never lets her characters become caricatures. In fact, that’s part of the brilliance here—these aren’t “queer characters” as a trope or gimmick. They’re people. Messy, flawed, funny people. And they just happen to be queer.
Cancel culture simmers just under the surface, but the film never gets preachy. Instead, it leans into the absurdity of performative online personas and the deeply human impulse to be liked—even when we don’t deserve it. And it’s funny. Like, consistently funny. The Panic Fest crowd was in stitches from start to finish, and I was right there with them.
Nancy Webb’s performance as Thistle deserves its own paragraph. She owns the screen. Horror fans know how rare it is for a villain (if you can call her that) to haunt you outside the movie, but Webb burns herself into every frame with a charisma that’s both magnetic and terrifying. It’s the kind of breakout role that makes you think, Oh, she can do anything.
The supporting cast brings layered, lived-in energy, with sly commentary on queer representation and how it’s often boxed in by cliché. Adelaide’s script gleefully sidesteps every one of those traps and instead delivers something that feels fresh, feral, and absolutely necessary in 2025. It’s a queer horror comedy that doesn’t ask for permission—it just does its thing, confidently and hilariously.
The Rebrand is a reminder of what happens when smart filmmakers are given room to play in the genre space. It’s timely, biting, and unapologetically fun. More than anything, it’s proof that queer creatives aren’t just part of the horror landscape—they’ve been building it from the ground up.
Catch this one with a crowd if you can. The laughter is infectious, and the commentary is razor-sharp—even if we’re not calling it that.
3.5/5
Director: Kaye Adelaide
Screenwriter: Kaye Adelaide, Nancy Webb
Producer: Mariel Sharp
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