Before the opening titles rolled on Do Revenge at the film’s premiere in Hollywood on Sept. 14, director-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and her leading ladies, Maya Hawke (who plays Eleanor Levetan) and Camila Mendes (who plays Drea Torres) took to the stage to introduce the film with their favorite piece of prose about cinema (borrowed from Nicole Kidman’s AMC ad): “Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.” 

Paying homage — and, let’s call it like it is, lovingly trolling — a beloved cinematic touchstone could not have felt more like Do Revenge, which serves as a send-up to the ’90s comedies Robinson and her co-writer, Celeste Ballard, adored growing up. At the same time, they twist these tropes on their heads to tell a story for a new generation of teens about two best friends seeking to “do revenge” on each other’s enemies.

“That was something we talked about a lot. How can we not only just make it feel modern but also just kind of deconstruct the genre itself?” said Ballard, who was kvelling about attending her first red carpet ever. Ballard had worked with Robinson on the series Sweet/Vicious before Robinson reached out to her to adapt a “very general idea” of Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, but set in high school. 

The cast of Do Revenge, many of whom touted themselves as ’90s babies to Tudum on the red carpet, happily embraced the ’90s teen movie nostalgia that the film nourishes, with Paris Berelc (Meghan Perez) citing John Tucker Must Die as her source of teen movie gospel. “My aunt actually said that this movie is like John Tucker Must Die, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, you’re right.” 

Ava Capri, who now bears her character Carissa’s “human Birkenstock” label as a badge of honor, claims hers as She’s the Man. “I was obsessed with that movie for a very long time. The Gouda cheese!”

“[Do Revenge] is a love letter and a parody at the same time” added Outer Banks star Jonathan Daviss (Elliot Tanners). “It’s so beautiful that it’s very deliberate.”

The talented cast were well aware of the waters they were diving into when signing onto the project, and they had their fellow Revengers castmates to help educate them if need be. Rish Shah, who plays the cool motorcycle-riding, blue hair-dyed Russ Dara, shared with Tudum that Mendes showed him 10 Things I Hate About You for the first time. 

The very close-knit ensemble have bonded through ’90s film parties and via their group chat, which is lovingly called “The Revengers.” Capri joked that “if someone’s wronged, then we all go after them.” 

Talia Ryder, who plays Gabbi, Rosehill Country Day’s unofficial welcoming committee of one, echoed that “once you’ve got a group chat name, the name sticks.” Though she added that everyone in the chat makes fun of her word choices, since she was the youngest in the cast. “I’ll say, ‘That’s fire,’ and they’ll all be like [in a mocking tone], ‘Oh, that’s fire.’ But, hey, this premiere? It’s freaking fire.”

What’s also fire? The fact that Ryder basically wore her own wardrobe for the role. “I haven't said this, but I’ve been wanting to say that she and I have the same style. Jenn let me wear what I want[ed] to wear in the movie.” And that includes her earrings, which Ryder wore to the premiere.

Hawke, who was filming Season 4 of Stranger Things at the same time as Do Revenge, admits that she didn’t exactly assemble as a Revenger on-set. “I was, like, the quiet geek in the background falling asleep on a beanbag,” she joked about pulling double-duty. 

While most of the actors were first-timers working with Robinson, Sweet/Vicious veteran Eliza Bennett (who plays Sophie Turner’s character’s minion, Jessica) viewed her role as a support to her longtime pal, “being a boss bitch on set,” she said. “I did her first ever project with her, and I knew then how special she was. It’s kind of incredible watching everyone else figure it out.”

Do Revenge Main Trailer

Ballard and Bennett both agreed that Turner’s character, Erica Norman, was an ideal showcase for her comedy chops. “It’s a lot different than what she does on Game of Thrones,” Ballard said. “But Sansa really does know something about doing revenge... ”

See the Revengers in action on the red carpet at the Netflix Tudum Theater in our gallery above. Do Revenge premieres on Netflix Friday, Sept. 16. Prepare to get destroyed.