Time: 99 Minutes
Age Rating: R18 – Violence, horror, sex scenes & content that may disturb
Cast:
Garance Marillier as Justine
Ella Rumpf as Alexia
Laurent Lucas as Father
Director: Julia Ducournau

Justine, a lifelong vegetarian, is forced to eat raw meat during her time in veterinary school. From then on, her life turns upside down as she develops a taste for meat.

I had heard about Raw previously, all I knew about it was that it was a French horror movie about cannibalism. It wasn’t originally high on my watchlist, but seeing the high amount of praise it received got me interested enough to check it out. I was surprised by how much I loved it.

With cannibalism being a key part of the story, it’s no surprise that Raw is very gnarly, and it definitely delivers on being a horror movie. At the same time, it is so witty and entertaining that it is hard to look away. The dark humour definitely helped to make it more watchable, and it mostly came from the absurd scenario at the centre of the film: a vegetarian tries meat once and quickly becomes a cannibal. At its core, Raw is a compelling and layered coming of age tale and character study, it just so happens to involve eating people. The ridiculous scenario also allows for effective commentary and metaphors, as it examines identity, self discovery, sexuality, familial relationships and generational trauma.

The performances are excellent, and the characters are fleshed out pretty well. It mostly comes down to Garance Marillier, who plays the lead role of Justine really well. She’s a likable lead and conveys her coming of age and self discovery over the course of the movie. Ella Rumpf plays Justine’s sister, she really sells the emotion, and the two are convincing as sisters. 

This is Julia Ducournau’s feature film debut, and her work here is stellar. The cinematography is stunning, particularly with a great use of colour. It well and truly delivers on the gore that you’d expect from a movie about cannibalism, though it wasn’t quite as bloody as I thought there would be. The practical effects for the body horror are visceral and grotesque, and really sell those moments. Raw is also accompanied by a moody and atmospheric score from Jim Williams, which helps to set the tone.

Raw is a very unique and witty horror movie and coming of age story, stylishly directed, and incredibly written and performed. While it’s definitely not for the squeamish, I found it to be oddly compelling and a very rewarding experience.