College is a crazy ride. From living on your own for the first time to trying to balance school and a social life, it’s a time of finding out who you really are. The new French-Belgian horror film, Raw, shows the horrors of the college experience and the effects it has on students. The film tells the story of a young and brilliant veterinarian student, Justine (played with surprising depth by Garance Marillier), who must adapt to the extreme hazing that goes on at her school. There’s the typical bed being tossed out the window, embarrassing outfits that must be worn, and blood dumped on new students. Typical stuff really. Atop of the countless rules new students must obey, Justine is constantly ridiculed for being vegan (something that is brought up in the opening scene). She struggles with the bullying and begins to lash out in surprising ways.
While the start of the film is shocking in terms of the actions done by these college students, nothing can really prepare the viewer for where this movie goes. Justine comes to school both a vegetarian and a virgin, and she is certainly not the same person by the time the end credits roll. The film relies on metaphors of how fragile the state of a person is in between their teenage years and adulthood. It’s a coming-of-age story you have seen countless times, and while you have never seen it quite like this, the film shows Justine’s transition with metaphors and symbolism that is both meaningful yet lacking impact since the actual story is rather simple.
Raw can be classified as a horror movie mainly because of the gore and intense bursts of violence throughout the movie. There are no real scares other than seeing the transformation of Justine, but again that is more intense from a metaphorical standpoint than a literal one. The violence is very intense at moments because of its realism and these scenes are shot with an unflinching conviction by first time director Julia Ducournau. The violence might turn off some viewers, but if you buy in then you are in for a mostly satisfying ride.
Overall, Raw is heavy on metaphors and symbolism, I just wish there was more meat on these bones. The performances are all impressive given the level of commitment shown by each one of the actors and actresses, especially newcomer Marillier. The movie has some shocking moments of violence, but does not do anything terribly new with the coming-of-age storyline. There are impressive cinematic moments from director Ducournau and I’m excited to see what she cooks up next.
WHERE TO WATCH: (powered by JustWatch)
| Producer: | Jean des Forets |
| Release Date: | March 10, 2017 (limited) |
| Starring: | Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss, and Bouli Lanners |
| User Rating: | |
| Writer: | Julia Ducournau |
| MPAA Rating: | R |
| Director: | Julia Ducournau |
| Distributor: | Focus World |
