It’s incredibly human to want to be seen and accepted, warts and all. It’s a deeply vulnerable experience and territory that can be ripe for horror as characters reach troubling breaking points in order to become popular and stop feeling like an outcast. People will do whatever it takes to fit in, even if that means losing themselves in the process. It’s perhaps quite fitting that Grafted, the debut feature film from New Zealand filmmaker Sasha Rainbow, has come out during the same time as Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, a movie that’s about altering one’s appearance to be accepted. Grafted is the perfect companion piece and counterpoint. They both explore similar themes and fragile characters, but go about this in entirely different ways.
Grafted comes across as the stitched together synthesis of Eyes Without A Face, Single White Female, and Re-Animator. There are also several sequences that feel like they’re ripped right out of a Takashi Miike movie. Grafted has a sentimental core that’s perpetually threatened to be suffocated beneath regenerating malice and carnage. It’s an exceptional cinematic calling card for Rainbow about how to be comfortable in your own skin…even if that means taking someone else’s skin.
Wei (Joyena Sun) finds herself adrift and out of her comfort zone, yet there’s a grounding satisfaction to be found in her desire to carry out her father’s unfinished skin graft research and crack the macabre code that took his life. Wei is at war with who she is, to the point that she can’t even speak her native tongue anymore and is pushed to be a facsimile of herself. She’s so starved for love and acceptance – from anyone – the likes of which proves that the person you are is more than skin deep. Grafted continually preaches that people are more than what they look like, which may be an obvious message, but it’s still powerful, nonetheless.
Wei begins Grafted as a character who is open, honest, and unafraid of imperfections. She doesn’t shun those who society ignores, only for this empathy to fester and change. She becomes progressively ashamed to be herself and celebrate her truth. This results in a spiteful, vitriolic performance from Sun and there’s a real self-fulfilling prophecy to her toxic plight. Wei is forced to betray her true self and evolve into someone else. She grows jealous of her conventionally perfect and comfortable cousin, Angie (Jess Hong), which becomes a dreadfully entertaining “Monkey’s Paw” parable to be careful what you wish for. It feels like an ultra-gory Tales from the Crypt episode and there’s Carrie-esque tension whenever somebody shows Wei kindness. Wei is left to wonder if this warmth is sincere or some horrible trick, which effectively puts the audience in Wei’s delicate state of mind.
It’s hard not to think about the aforementioned The Substance at certain points throughout Grafted. There’s even the same style of gross close-up shots of consumption. Grafted, like The Substance, also bombards the audience with billboards that preach false perfection, which are only amplified in Grafted’s artificial suburban setting. That being said, there are teases of flaws and a hollow nature to this serenity that reminds the audience that things can always be better, like how Wei’s house is left in a perpetual state of renovation. This speaks to one of Grafted’s broader messages that someone can be physically “perfect,” but still be emotionally frail and insecure. Wei elects to head down a dark path that progressively consumes her, but it comes from the corruptive idea that beauty – and therefore, ugliness – is a generational cross to bear.
Grafted is thematically sound and it turns to evocative visuals to better hammer in its ideas and get under the audience’s skin. There are some really clever and subtle set-pieces that are initially innocent, only to become more sinister with added context. The image of attractive women in face masks juxtaposed against Wei’s mad science is incredibly poignant, especially since they both have the same end goal of improved beauty. Grafted’s gore and effects are also exceptional. The film is full of uncomfortable, painful close-ups of knives in flesh that treat the human body like raw meat. There are some especially ambitious sequences, the likes of which are appreciated in a humble debut feature. The film is even reminiscent of Audition at times, especially during its savage concluding act, which goes out on a truly haunting final image.
Grafted is largely successful with its body horror hijinks, yet there are certain elements that fall short. Some relationships are a little too heightened and there are occasional tonal issues where certain moments genuinely feel like they must be dream sequences, only for them to be reality. It’s guilty of sometimes getting too broad for its own good, even if it’s still an effective and truly confident, capable, and quirky debut feature for Rainbow. There are also a few leaps in storytelling and character development that may cause some friction, but Grafted works and keeps the audience on its side. It’s hard to begrudge the film when there’s such personality and lift to it all. It understands how to sell itself and the risks that it takes are worth it.
Grafted is a malicious cosmetic cocktail that’s two parts body horror and one part Mean Girls that deserves to be seen and celebrated. Sasha Rainbow creates a moving, universal experience through the desperate characters and vicious premise. Rainbow is definitely someone to look out for and a filmmaker who will hopefully continue to disrupt the status quo through grisly stories that push the audience’s buttons and give the horror genre a necessary facelift.
Grafted premiered at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2024.
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