Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Drama
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Garance Mariller, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufelia, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss, Bouli Lanners, Marion Vernoux, Thomas Mustin, Marouane Iddoub, Jean-Louis Sbille, Benjamin Boutboul
Description: A young woman (Garance Mariller), studying to be a vet, develops a craving for human flesh.
Review: Central is Justine, a young student who has just applied for an education to become a veterinarian. Justine is a convinced vegetarian and that immediately gets in her way during the hazing ritual at the university. The older students force her and all other students to eat raw rabbit kidneys and they also get buckets of cow blood poured over them. The penetrating slow-motion image show us that there is no way back for Justine. The events on campus have unleashed something dark in her, something that no longer can be restrained. She begins to crave raw meat, but most specifically human flesh.
Particularly successful is the contrast between Justine and the other students. Where everyone gets drunk and parties, Justine remains inconspicuously in the shadows. Like a kind of predator, she develops a morbid obsession from the sidelines, which goes hand in hand with her sexual liberation. The clever thing is that debuting director Julia Ducournau shapes that process almost exclusively with powerful images. For example, by filming claustrophobically under the sheets, while at night Justine is drive to madness by a remarkable skin irritation.
Although “Raw” can be classified as a cannibal horror film, it shouldn’t be lined up with the obscure works like “Cannibal Holocaust” and “Green Inferno”. The French director deliberately stays away from the obscene style of the aforementioned filmed by using a bright color palette and expressionistic images. It’s filmed very stylishly.
Ducournau wisely chooses to let the tension between Justine and her older sister Alexia fester. No continuous massacre in B-movie style, but mysteriously sensing tension that often gets a shocking unsettling feel. Truly brilliant is a gruesome scene in which Alexia loses the top of her finger and Justine begins to gnaw on it. It’s especially the way Alexia reacts to this situation, which creates a strange images and feel of secrecy within their family.
The script is just a few steps ahead of the viewer, which can certainly be called peculiar. The combination of an intelligent screenplay, stylish imagery and the occasional gore make it a fantastic film for both gore and quality horror. When the film was showed to the public, many left vomiting and at some showing the audience was even provided with a vomit bag. I could stomach, but for anyone with a weak stomach, it’s not an easy watch. But a really good, strong and impressive horror film that I would definitely recommend to fans of the genre. For them is a must-see.
Rating: 4 / 5
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten