Two new trailers have been released for director Juila Ducournau’s critically acclaimed feature debut Raw. The film has been dubbed one of the best and most original horror movies in years, having turned heads on the festival circuit in 2016. It tells the story of a girl, Justine (Garance Marillier), who is a strict vegetarian until she arrives at veterinary school, joining her older sister, Alexia (Ella Rumpf), where the hazing ritual pushes her to the edge and causes a reaction she could never have expected.
In the red band trailer, Ducournau introduces Justine as an infantile girl, staggering forward with a dazed, deer-in-the-headlights expression. Soon, however, the look of confusion and timidity is replaced with a sexually assertive, almost sinister, attitude. The transformation is supported by the rapid editing and pounding electronic music which bring to mind Gaspar Noe’s hypnotic trip movie Enter the Void. Shots of topless men and college parties are frantically intercut with red images of blood, viscera and raw meat, signifying the release of more than one type of hunger.
By the end of this whirlwind trailer we’re not quite sure what we feel most: terrified, thrilled or sick. What we do know is, Ducournau has delivered a fresh take on a stale genre. If you can’t stomach the above trailer, there’s also a green band version available.
Raw is released 7 April.
Published 13 Jan 2017
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