Welcome to The Daily Cup a movie blog/writing project by Kyle B. Dekker, presented by Hot Chocolate Media. You can read series concept here. The basic rules, Kyle must watch 365 movies in 2018 and write about all of them. 292 of them have to be movies he's never seen before. Thanks for reading.
Every once in a while I encounter a movie that really digs into my head and sticks there. This happens when a movie does something that I haven’t seen in a film before, it causes me to rethink everything I know about film for a while. Raw (2106) from writer/director Julia Ducournau is a intense, hard to watch and utterly chilling horror movie, that did just that. I’m still not sure if I like the movie, but I won’t ever forget watching it, or the obvious amount of work and skill that went into it.
Raw is the story of Justine (Garance Marillier) a first year veterinary student and vegetarian. The film jumps right in at her first night in school where immediately we learn this version of French Veterinarian school is truly a terrifying place. The entire freshman class is drenched in animal blood, and Justine is force to eat raw rabbit kidneys. The vegetarian student gets a taste of flesh for the first ever time.
Holy shit, they take hazing to 11 in France
The school continues to be a hotbed of hazing, hardcore drugs, drinking, and sex. The dorms and facilities are worn down, graffiti covered momuments of brutalist architecture. The upperclassmen wear lab coats covered ganglike designs, dead and live animals are all over the place. The school itself is a nightmare that Justine is living in. Justine starts to have her own awakenings after eating the rabbit kidneys. Her hunger grows for more sophisticated flesh and her descent in depravity escalates throughout the film. All the while she is fighting her cravings and desires back, trying to hold onto her humanity.
The film depicts cannibalism is a terrifying but almost relatable way. And when you realize you can start to realte to a cannibals point of view, you feel disgusted with yourself. All of this horror is enhanced but the effects in the film. The practical effects are so good, I had to look away several times, as the sights and sounds of teeth tearing into flesh is almost too real.
Justine's transformation on display
Raw is a masterfully crafted film. Precise and haunting visuals, amazing performances from the cast, and sound design that will chill your spine fill every minute. I’m still not sure what the hell I watched, but if I were rich I would give Julia Ducournau a truckful of money to make any film she wanted. She is a genius and I want to see what else she can do. This is real skin crawling horror cinema, a masterpiece of terror.
Tally
Movies new to me watched: 12/292
Other movies: 2/73
Total movies watched: 14/365
Have your own thoughts or opinions on this movie? Comment below or contact Kyle at kyle@hotchocolatemedia.net or on Twitter at @kbdekker.