Matthew Wilson sinks his teeth into Raw, the new cannibalistic horror sensation that everybody’s been talking about.
The film opens with protagonist Justine (Garance Marillier) starting her first year at Veterinary school. The same school her sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) is currently studying at.
Justine is a firm vegetarian who struggles with the school’s heavy use of hard music and even-harder partying. During the hazing rituals, Justine is forced to eat raw rabbit kidney; resulting in a violent allergic reaction to it and a bad rash breaking out on her body. However, something changes inside Justine and she soon finds herself with a hunger for meat.
Fighting against her stalwart vegetarianism, Justine is only able to confide in her roommate, Adrien (Rabah Naït Oufella), about her cravings. But following an incident with her sister, Justine slowly opens herself up to the wild parties the school has to offer, becoming more outgoing, more sexual and more animalistic.
Think Ginger Snaps with a much darker, and much meaner, streak running through it. Justine’s transformation takes centre stage with the hunger for flesh being literal and figurative. On the surface, you have a low-key horror about a girl discovering her taste for human flesh and fighting her ever increasing urges. But, beneath that, you have a tale of a young girl’s social, academic and sexual horizons opening and her internal struggle between diving in, head-first, or playing it safe. There’s no big surprise in the story but between a sisterly rivalry, and Justine’s own awakening, there’s enough to carry you through.
The cast is fairly limited but focus is kept only on the important players. Adrien is openly gay, and caught numerous times in sexual situations which start to fuel Justine’s blossoming libido. Not a huge role but, towards the second half of the film, it becomes an important one.
Alexia is the polar opposite of her sister, where Justine is bookish and quiet, Alexia is loud and stubborn. Often pushing her sister into situations she doesn’t want to be in. It’s established that Justine is seen as the responsible sister, whereas Alexia is the lost cause, so, while the two of them are friendly, Alexia resents her sister’s status. There’s a strange quality to Alexia where you can’t tell if she’s on Justine’s side or not. At times she’s very friendly, at others cruel and it creates a dynamic of confusion that felt very realistic to a sibling relationship.
The transformation Justine goes through is palpable, you can almost literally see her change in front of you. For the first half, she’s this socially awkward new girl. Uncomfortable in the claustrophobic environments of the school’s party rooms but so desperate to fit in nonetheless. There’s just something about her body language that screams closed off and guarded. Even after she gets a taste for meat, she still tries to keep her head down but there’s a part of her that’s slowly opening her up to experimentation and it’s incredible to witness.
First time feature director Julia Ducournau makes a big impact, particularly with feminist themes. Not to go into too much detail but there’s elements that try to make Justine’s condition part of who she is. The more she tries to fight it, the harder it gets for her to accept herself. Rather than substituting violence for sexuality, or vice versa, Ducournau has embedded the two of them together.
Recommending Raw is difficult because it helps to know what you’re getting into. It’s not for everyone but it wasn’t made to be. This is a new high for modern horror lovers looking something with bite. Between the transformation storyline, the brave performance from Marillier and the unnerving, stylish, atmosphere - Ducournau has presented a film with a progressive attitude to violence and sexuality that will challenge its audience as much as it disturbs them.
Raw is out now in cinemas.
