Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In 1984, American heavy metal band Twisted Sister became a global sensation. For 30 years, they been synonymous with hairspray, women's clothing and tasteless album covers. Until now. Ten years ago, director Andrew Horn was granted access to the archives of Twisted Sister founder Jay French and he explores the decade that preceded their breakthrough.
A deep-dive documentary into Twisted Sister's pre-fame decade of grinding club gigs, 'We Are Twisted Fucking Sister!' benefits from remarkable archival footage and an honest, unvarnished portrait of perseverance in the rock trenches. The narrative structure is engaging for fans and music documentary enthusiasts alike, tracing the band's evolution through the New York club scene with genuine intimacy. However, the talking-head segments and interview portions are fairly standard documentary fare, and the cinematography is largely constrained by the quality of archival materials rather than stylistic ambition. Novelty is moderate — the 'years before the breakthrough' angle is a well-worn documentary template, though the sheer volume of rare footage gives it a distinctive texture. The ending, while satisfying in a 'they finally made it' sense, is somewhat anticlimactic given viewers already know the outcome. A solid, earnest music doc that will delight Twisted Sister fans but offers little to challenge genre conventions.