One of the things that I always try to do for Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween is that I always try to watch some foreign horror because they get it. The film I chose for today had a lot of hype surrounding it for just how different of a horror film that it was. The film that I am talking about is the French/Belgian co-production known as Raw (original title was Grave). Justine (Garance Marillier) is your typical teenage girl who is about to go to a prestigious veterinarian school , but the only problem is that she is a vegetarian. During the school’s rush week, she is forced to taste some raw meat and something happens to her that she can’t explain. Her body is going through some changes and she just starts to crave more meat and this could pose a problem for others at her school. The film also stars Ella Rumpf (The Divine Order) as Alexia, Rabah Nait Oufella (The Class) as Adrien, Laurent Lucas (With A Friend Like Harry…) as Le père, Joana Preiss (Paris, je t’aime) as La mère, Bouli Lanners (Rust And Bone) as Le routier, Marion Vernoux (Bright Days Ahead) as L’Infirmière, Jean-Louis Sbille (This Is Our Land) as Professeur évaluations, and the film was written and directed by Julia Ducournau (Mange).
First things first and I have to say that this is visually a very beautiful film even though there are some real graphic images in the film. The colors and the way she sets up certain shots, it’s just visually stunning of a film even though it can be a little uncomfortable at times. I have to give Julia Ducournau a lot of credit considering this was her first feature film that she directed and it came out looking amazing. Did I mention that she also wrote the screenplay for the film making her a true auteur of cinema. We have heard of coming of age films and what not, but this is a coming of cannibal as one reviewer mentioned on IMDB and he is absolutely right. We are literally watching her turn into a cannibal right before our very eyes as the film moves on and we notice that she isn’t the only one in the family either. There is a big reveal at the end of the film as to why they are vegetarians to begin with and I just thought that was an awesome touch to end the film. You’re sitting there wondering why this girl is turning into one because it can’t simply be just because she tasted meat for the first time. Hell, I love eating meat, but I have no desire to eat humans. The cinematography is amazing, the story is amazing, and you won’t be able to stop watching this so check it out for yourselves. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade. I also want to remind you that the film is entirely in French with English subtitles.
Moshpits And Movies 