Raw

This exhilarating French-Belgian debut from writer/director Julia Ducournau is a feast for ravenous cinephiles, an extreme yet intimate tale of identity crises that blends Cronenbergian body horror with humour and heartbreak as it sinks its teeth deep into the sins of the flesh.

When a young woman arrives at veterinary college, her primary desire is to fit in, to follow in the footsteps of a proud family tradition. But when rookie hazing rituals force her to taste forbidden fruit (specifically, raw rabbit liver), the devout vegetarian discovers previously suppressed appetites. One minute she’s a strait-laced, straight-A student, the next she’s drooling at the sight of a freshly severed finger and lusting after the tempting torso of her muscular room-mate. What follows is a cross between Claire Denis’s taboo-breaking Euro-shocker Trouble Every Day and the deadpan cannibal drama We Are What We Are (both Jorge Michel Grau’s Mexican original and Jim Mickle’s US remake). Described by the director as “a modern ancient tragedy about too much love”, Raw is a gleefully Grimm 21st-century fairytale, subversively told from within the walls of a brutalist gingerbread house.

Directed with the same cross-genre dexterity as Kathryn Bigelow’s seminal vampire western Near Dark, Raw is a thrillingly confident and vigorously executed work. From the chilling opening shot of a car crash to the woozy, single-take sojourns through drunken student raves, Ducournau and cinematographer Ruben Impens lead us effortlessly into Justine’s underworld. A tethered horse on a treadmill canters in slow motion through Justine’s tortured dreams, while scratching fits and metamorphosing sweats are captured from within the claustrophobic confines of imprisoning bed-sheets.

“An animal that has tasted human flesh is not safe,” Lucas’s stoical père tells his daughter. He’s speaking of a beloved family pet, but could just as easily be describing his own brood. As for Ducournau, she has tasted victory with her first feature: it scooped prestigious prizes at festivals in Sitges, Cannes and London. I have no doubt that far greater accolades await this brilliant film-maker. The world is her oyster. Watch her swallow it whole.