Grave (original title)
(2016) 99 min
Rated: R (gore, nudity, sex, animal corpses)
Country: France | Belgium | Italy
Director: Julia Ducournau
Starring: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella
Links: IMDB | Wikipedia
Rating: ★★★★★
A young woman enters veterinary school and develops a taste for flesh.
Synopsis:
Justine (Marillier) is a lifelong vegetarian and is sent to her first year of veterinary school by her parents. It is the same school that her sister Alexia (Rumpf) is attending and where her parents originally met.
On her first night at the dorms she is awoken by other students in masks and is forced to follow the other freshmen into a large warehouse where a party is held.
During their hazing the “rookies” are covered in “blood” and made to eat a rabbit livers. Justine is very hesitant and explains that she is vegetarian. Her sister, Alexia, tells her it’s no big deal and eats one to demonstrate. She puts one in Justine’s mouth and Justine reluctantly eats it.
Later during classes Justine is scratching her skin. At night her skin itches and a rash is seen on her leg. She wakes up to find large rash marks on her stomach, arms, and legs. She goes to the nurse who gives her some cream and advice to lay low during the hazing.
Her gay roommate Adrien (Oufella) sees her steal a burger patty from the lunch line. Justine has a growing hunger for meat. The pair go off school grounds so Justine can eat some shawarma. Later Adrien finds Justine rooting through the fridge at night. She lies to him that she is getting cereal, but instead she eats a raw chicken breast.
Justine spends some time with Alexia and they go back to her room. Alexia starts to give Justine a Brazillian wax but it is too painful for her. Alex tries to cut off the wax with scissors but scared, Justine kicks up, causing Alexia to cut off one of her own fingers. Alex faints at the sight of her bloody hand and Justine tries to find the finger. Once she does she has an overwhelming urge to lick the blood, then chew and eat pieces of the finger. Alexia wakes up to see her sister eating her missing finger.
In the hospital, Alexia is wheeled out and has a bandaged hand. Justine and Alex decide to leave and go to the side of a road. Alex runs into the street as a car comes. It swerves to avoid her and hits a tree. The two passengers inside are severely injured and one appears to be dead. Alex gets up and opens the car door. She starts to eat one of the men in the car. Justine is disgusted and leaves.
During one restless night, Justine walks down the hall and is painted blue and forced into a closet with a guy painted yellow. They are told they aren’t allowed out until they’re both green. Justine and the guy start to make out, but Justine bites off a piece of his lip and he escapes the room.
Later, Justine feels unsatisfied and Adrien and she end up having sex. Justine attempts to bite Adrien but he pushes her off and Justine bites her own arm as she climaxes. Adrien strokes her head.
During class Adrien gets agitated with Justine and tells her that the sex was a mistake.
At a party Justine gets very drunk and tries unsuccessfully to kiss several people. Alex finds her and takes her to a nearby morgue. She wakes up in the morning still in her party dress and goes to class. All the students stare at her as she takes a seat. After class Adrien shows her a video of last night. She was drunk, on all fours like an animal and trying to eat a corpse. All of the students at the party watched in disgust.
Justine blames her sister for not helping her, since she teased Justine at the party. The two fight in public and bite each other. After a while they calm down and Alex puts a bandage on her sister’s cheek wound.
Justine sleeps with Adrien in his bed and in the morning she finds that Adrien is asleep. She touches him a bit and notices he has blood on his body. She pulls back the blanket to reveal that Adrien is dead with a stab wound in his back and most of his right thigh is eaten.
Horrified, Justine walks over to a catatonic Alex who is dripping in blood. Justine is angry and points a ski pole (which was used to stab Adrien) at Alex as if to kill her. Instead, Justine decides to wash her sister in the shower.
Next we see Alexia behind glass in a prison. Justine waves goodbye to her and they share a moment of sibling camaraderie. At home, Justine’s mom tells her to eat all her vegetables or she won’t be allowed to leave the table. Her father, on the other hand, tells her it isn’t her fault or Alex’s. He tells Justine that when he met her mother he was her first kiss. He unbuttons his shirt to reveal scars with flesh missing all over his chest. He assures Justine that she will find a way to deal with her situation.
Review:
Raw is a great metaphor for the awkwardness of being a young woman growing up, becoming an adult and trying to fit in with her peers. Justine is smart, so she is admonished for making other students feel dumb. Justine starts out completely awkward. Her family is a bit cold and even her sister treats her roughly. She must navigate this new setting on her own despite being a little different. As she’s forced to adjust, Justine’s true nature emerges. She’s not a shy wallflower, but a woman on the prowl with a voracious appetite.
Many scenes of Justine’s journey are juxtaposed with scenes of her fellow rookies undergoing hazing rituals. It’s a rough first year for everyone. And though Alexia seems to have her own methods of dealing with her hunger, it turns out she isn’t so much in control. Whether through jealously or opportunity she manages to kill and eat Justine’s only friend in the school.
This film is paced well and well acted. It’s laden with gore, nudity and sexuality, but it’s also a great and engaging story. It’s definitely worth watching for any genre fan and those who can stomach it.