Review: Raw

At the screening of Raw, barf bags were handed out and we were informed that people had fainted at other screenings. This would suggest that Julia Ducournau's fierce debut is all shock and provocation. Raw is so much more than just its very effective body horror moments and deserves a high place in the canon of cannibal movies.

Evoking films such as Ginger Snaps and It Follows, Raw places its horror in a young woman who is coming of age and engaging in her sexuality. Garance Marillier gives a captivating performance as Justine, a virgin, vegetarian and vet student who is beginning her first year at the same veterinary school her sister goes to and her parents went to. Her older sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) does little to welcome her younger sister to her first year. Soon a ritual hazing begins and Justine is pushed to consume something that goes against her core beliefs, egged on by Alexia. 

Justine soon develops a rash on her body and starts to have strange cravings. Mixed in with all of this is her budding sexuality. Her gay roommate Adrien (Rabah Nait Oufella) is sexually frank and Justine soon finds herself attracted to him. The mixture of body horror, sexual awakening and cannibalism gives Raw a fresh feel and a constant allure. 

Ducournau has an assured style for this being her debut. She often fills the screen with Justine's face or close ups of bodies, emphasizing the focus of the physical body at this time in Justine's life. Images of coeds moved around like cattle and doused in animal blood raise all kinds of interesting themes within the film.

Marillier is a knockout as Justine, embodying her dark devolution into cannibalism. Her wide eyed innocence in the film's beginning is slowly transformed into something feral. Marillier's control over this progression and the restraint to play Justine as more addict than wild creature makes it the year's best performance thus far. 

Rumpf as Alexia is also very strong. She feels like the counterpart to the timid and innocent Justine. Oufella as Adrien takes what could be a side character and makes a strong impact instead. There is a natural believability to his friendship and eventual relationship with Justine. The whole ensemble are strong and make the film consistently grounded in character even as the horror elements ratchet up.

Cannibal coming-of-age films aren't too common and Raw makes a case as the strongest voice in horror so far this year. The film can be seen as feminist or anti-vegetarian or pure gross-out shocker but all those labels short the film's powerful portrayal of young sexuality. Do not let the marketing for the film deter you from seeing this hypnotic film.

4.5/5