Sabrina Carpenter References Psycho, Halloween Ends, and More in New Music Video

Sabrina Carpenter's new video for Taste is inspired by Death Becomes Her, Psycho, Kill Bill, Halloween, and more!

By Matthew Aguilar - August 24, 2024 06:26 pm EDT

Sabrina Carpenter's highly anticipated album Short n' Sweet is finally here, and to coincide with the launch Carpenter released one of her best music videos yet. The video is for the album's lead track Taste, and features Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in a hilarious and often gory battle that involves shotguns, fences, knives, fire, and more. The video also pays homage to several other beloved properties throughout, and we're here to break down the big references and inspirations, including Death Becomes Her, Kill Bill, and more. Let's start with one of the biggest inspirations for the video, which also turns out to be one of Carpenter's favorite films.

Death Becomes Her

From the opening fight, you can clearly see the video takes big inspiration from the 1992 Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep dark comedy Death Becomes Her. The film had Hawn and Streep attempting to kill each other over a man, but with both women now immortal thanks to a potion, that task proves quite difficult and leads to some unforgettable scenes.

One speck part in the video has Carpenter sitting up in the hospital after being gravely injured, and reveals a gaping hole in her stomach. That's a direct reference to one of the film's most iconic scenes where Hawn says "I have a hole in my stomach", and you can clearly see through to the other side. As for the kiss in the video, that is also tied to a memorable kiss line in the original film.

Ginger Snaps

The reason Carpenter ends up in the hospital is because Ortega throws her out of a second story window, causing Carpenter to be impaled on a white picket fence. After she lands on the fence, Carpenter flips Ortega the bird (pricelessly I might add). That's a direct reference to the 2000 film Ginger Snaps, which features the same type of death, and the bird is flipped in a final act.

Kill Bill

During the hospital scene, Carpenter is supposed to be getting patched up, but she never has a chance to recover, as Ortega is there dressed as a nurse that might look awfully familiar. That's because Ortega has a red-cross eye patch just like Daryl Hannah did in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Ortega would fit right in with that movie, as she picks up a defibrillator and shocks Carpenter with it multiple times. The font used throughout the video seems to homage Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction as well.

The Addams Family Values

Carpenter does eventually recover from the fence, the defibrillator, and being set on fire, and makes her way to the mansion to face Ortega. She does so wearing a white feather boa that seems to be inspired by Joan Cusack's famous villain Debbie Jelinsky in The Addams Family Values. Carpenter's blonde hair also echoes Belinsky's blonde look from the film, and we think Jelinsky would be quite impressed by the lengths Carpenter is willing to go to win this fight.

Psycho

When Carpenter makes her way into the house, she also recreates an iconic moment from the horror classic Psycho, opening up the shower curtain and attempting to stab Ortega with a knife. Ortega is prepared though and has s blade of her own, which she promptly uses to cut off Carpenter's arm. The two continue to battle as they make their way downstairs, and despite losing an arm, Carpenter keeps fighting back, though ultimately loses to Ortega.

Halloween Ends

In that Psycho-inspired scene, there's another nod to the horror genre, though this one is tied to Halloween Ends. The man the two are fighting over is played by Rohan Campbell, who played Corey Cunningham in Halloween Ends. In this scene he's in the shower with Ortega and screams when she cleaves Carpenter's arm off, causing blood to spatter everywhere.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

After a prolonged battle between these two, their fight heads by the pool as Ortega takes out a chainsaw. Ortega then stabs Carpenter with the chainsaw and knocks her into the pool. The juxtaposition of the chainsaw and grisly death with the picturesque scenery in the daylight also screams Texas Chainsaw Massacre, though the chainsaw itself kind of makes that clear.

Short n' Sweet Tracklist

Taste
Please Please Please
Good Graces
Sharpest Tool
Coincidence
Bed Chem
Espresso
Dumb & Poetic
Slim Pickins
Juno
Lie To Girls
Don't Smile Lyrics

What did you think of the new music video and of the album? You can talk all things music with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!