Cannibalism. It’s one of the oldest taboos imaginable, and has unsurprisingly served as the basis for multiple horror and thriller films over the years, even more if one includes zombie movies under the cannibal heading. From the backwoods psychos in movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn, to more erudite flesh-eaters like Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter, the fear of being eaten alive by another person is a pretty universal one, and is unlikely to stop being a popular premise in fiction anytime soon.
The latest movie to add itself to the cannibalism subgenre is Raw, a French production that memorably drew attention after reports of viewers passing out and needing medical attention during a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, Raw eschews the current zombie craze for a look at a much more human cannibal, one fighting her horrific urges at that. North American distributor Focus World has released the official red-band trailer for the film, which can be seen above.
Raw stars actress Garance Marillier as lead character Justine, a teenager hailing from an entire family of veterinarians. Naturally, Justine heads to veterinary school, ready to follow in her family’s footsteps. Unfortunately, a hazing ritual for new students leads to Justine violating another family rule: do not eat meat. This turns out to be a big mistake, as Justine soon develops a terrible rash all over her body, overly aggressive tendencies, and an insatiable appetite for human flesh.
Horror coming-of-age stories are of course nothing new, with movies such as Carrie and Let the Right One In serving as top examples. More recently, It Follows stood out in this regard, literally having its young heroine relentlessly perused by a sexually transmitted demon. Perhaps the closest analogue to Raw in the genre is 2000 cult favorite Canadian werewolf flick Ginger Snaps, which used a high school girl’s transformation into a lycanthrope as a clear analogue for her journey into womanhood.
Will Raw live up to the hype that has surrounded it ever since that fateful Toronto screening? It’s hard to be certain if it will from a violence standpoint, although the above trailer certainly looks gory enough. Quality wise though, Raw seems like a pretty safe bet for horror fans, judging by the 89 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating it currently holds.
Raw bites into U.S. theaters on March 10, 2017.
Source: Focus World
