'Raw' (2016) Review

    

     For my tenth and final film for my blog posts, I watched a movie that's been on my watch list for years titled ‘Raw’. ‘Raw’ is a French horror film from 2016 that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. The film instantly made noise and started controversy due to its disturbing imagery. This is the third foreign language horror (non-dubbed) I have seen after ‘Goodnight Mommy’ and ‘Train to Busan’, all three making a huge impact here in the United States. I was worried pre-watch because as someone who gets easily influenced by movies, I was worried my appetite was going to be off for a bit after. I was right. 

‘Raw’ tells the story of a young vegetarian named Justine taking the next step in her life. She is moving away from her parents and going to veterinary school with her older sister Alexia. When being hazed for initiation purposes, the upperclassmen force her to eat a raw rabbit kidney. Justine then unravels into a version of herself having an undeniable craving for meat... raw meat… raw HUMAN meat. What surprised me was the coming of age tones of this horror film. Justine, played by Garance Marilier, is a reserved introverted character. Throughout the story (with a dual symbolism between being a virgin and a vegetarian) we see her transform into her real self in a shocking ending reveal. Whether that's a good thing or not, debatable. Marilier does a fantastic job at seeming so innocent despite the fact that she is eating people. Her sister Alexia played by Ella Rumpf, plays the exact opposite being the experienced extroverted type. This contradiction was perfectly done by helping grow the characters on the screen by showing it instead of saying it. The acting was fantastic but overshadowed by the unsettling imagery that it is known for.

‘Raw’ doesn't shy away from showing you anything. From choking down raw chicken to throwing up
long pieces of hair, there is not much left to the imagination. While I personally didn't like watching some of the scenes because of its disturbing nature, I have to give it credit for holding my interest. Even when I was looking away, there was no way I could turn off the TV. When looking up this film I found articles about how people had vomited, passed out and walked out of the theater at its premiere. Most horror films would use this as a way to promote it, claiming it's ‘so scary that people were fainting’ (which ‘The Exorcist’ famously claimed in its marketing back in 1973). Surprisingly, ‘Raw’ didn't use this as a marketing technique. In fact it was treated as an indie film prior to its release. So what audience was it aiming for? I am still unsure. As for the filming, the cinematography was excellent. It was so good that it was noticeable unlike the previous films I reviewed. Even with all the nastiness almost every shot had something beautiful where it looked like painting in a museum. 

If you were ever considering going vegetarian, ‘Raw’ is definitely the movie that will push you towards it. If you enjoy films like ‘Suspiria’, ‘Let The Right One In’ or ‘The House That Jack Built’ then you would be into this movie. I give this a 4.5 out of 5 because this was an original idea for a movie and so well done in almost every aspect. I would caution watching if you are squeamish but if you want to push your limits, I’d say go for it.