Grafted Movie Review: Messy Body Horror to the Max

Introduction

Body horror cinema often grapples with societal expectations and the pressure to conform to beauty standards, and Hope Madden’s debut feature, Grafted, dives headfirst into this unsettling territory. With a narrative that intertwines personal struggle with broader themes of assimilation, identity, and the grotesque impacts of modern science, Grafted introduces audiences to Wei, a young woman burdened by her family’s tragic past and marked by a physical manifestation of their struggles. The film navigates Wei’s journey as she seeks acceptance among her peers while simultaneously delving into her father’s haunting research.

Though Grafted draws inevitable comparisons to Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, it forges its own path through an exploration of social anxieties and racial dynamics within the context of a unique horror experience. Co-written by Rainbow, Lee Murray, and Mia Maramara, the film seeks to balance a host of complex themes within a brisk 96-minute runtime. Despite moments of brilliance, the film occasionally feels unfocused, leaving viewers contemplating its ambitious reach. As audiences engage with Rainbow’s vision, Grafted ultimately poses the question: how far will one go to escape the confines of societal norms?

Grafted

An ambitious yet socially inexperienced exchange student strives to elevate her status in pursuit of popularity.

Initial release: 2024

Director: Sasha Rainbow

A Horror Movie Review by Hope Madden

Well, Sasha Rainbow knows for sure that there’s an audience for body horror enraged at the pressure to fit a certain standard of beauty. The fact that her feature debut Grafted will face constant comparisons to Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance is less of a positive note. (There’s even a scene of someone gorging on shrimp, I swear to God.)

Rainbow introduces us to Wei (played in youth by Mohan Liu) and her father (Sam Wang). Both father and daughter are marked with some kind of red tissue across their faces, and while working on a cure, tragedy strikes, and Wei is left on her own.

Years later, she obtains a scholarship to a university in New Zealand and goes to live with her aunt (Xuai Hu) and cousin, Angela (Jess Hong). Try as she might, Wei (Joyena Sun) cannot fit in with Angela and her beautiful friends (Eden Hart, Sepi To’a), but she has other things on her mind—finishing her father’s research.

Rainbow, who co-wrote the script with Lee Murray and Mia Maramara, masterfully wraps an intricate web of themes such as social anxiety, assimilation, misogyny, sexual politics, the ludicrous nature of scientific advancement, racism, nationalism, and more around Wei’s descent into madness, creating a complex narrative that challenges viewers at every turn. This ambitious approach encapsulates the multifaceted struggles that modern society faces, prompting a reflection on how these issues intersect in real life. However, this overarching thematic depth might be just too much to take on in the constricted timeframe of 96 minutes, potentially leaving audiences grappling with an overwhelming amount of thought-provoking content rather than fully absorbing the film’s message.

Sun, Hong and Hart have fun, making the most of their onscreen personality swapping and Rainbow’s focus is most on target during these sequences. Jared Turner entertains as your typical vain professor, and To’a delivers enough empathy to give the film a touch of humanity.

But Grafted bites off more than it can chew. It too often feels unfocused, random, and superficial. It suffers not only in comparison to Fargeat’s film but to New Zealand’s pretty epic history of body horror.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad. There are some great ideas at work here, and every performance, large and small, brings its own weirdness to the screen. It’s certainly enough to keep me interested in seeing what Rainbow does next.