A birthday party quickly devolves into chaos when a mysterious earthquake traps eight teenage girls alone in a house, challenging their friendships, identities, and what it means to be human. The girls quickly divide into two camps, led by the mostly rational Olivia (Ariela Barer) and the mostly carnal Piper (Annalise Basso), alliances are made, broken, back-stabbing occurs, plans made, and defeat resigned to. Kramer’s debut may play out as psychological, female-centric version of Lord of the Flies, but really it’s the perfect metaphor for growing up. And like their male counterparts, the characters of Ladyworld show just as much propensity for malevolence. This uncomfortable film divided audiences at Fantastic Fest in the best possible way. -BF