agmtw logo
search

Raw (2017)

Raw (2017)

The Very Best

8.3

Unflinching and ferocious coming of age horror

Movie

Belgium, France
English, French
Comedy, Drama, Horror, Mystery
2017

What it's about

In Justine’s family everyone is a vet and a vegetarian. At 16, she’s a gifted teen ready to take on her first year in vet school, where her older sister also studies. There, she gets no time to settle: hazing starts right away. Justine is forced to eat raw meat for the first time in her life. Unexpected consequences emerge as her true self begins to form.

The take

One of the sharpest horror films of the last decade, Julia Ducournau’s Raw follows in the footsteps of films like Carrie by translating coming of age anxieties into visceral full-throated terror. Justine is a beginner veterinary student leaving home for the first time. After a brutal hazing ceremony forces this young vegetarian to eat meat, she develops an insatiable hunger for flesh that begins to consume her.

Raw is as much an intense body-horror (not for the squeamish) as it is an astute psychological drama. Underneath its nightmarish sheen, Ducournau layers social commentary on sexuality, patriarchy, and deviance using the school’s sadistic initiations as metaphors for larger structures. All of this depth is paired with striking cinematography, crisp pacing, and an unforgettable performance from Garance Marillier as Justine.

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Anora (2024)

An exciting and heartbreaking fairy tale with a modern, class-centric twist

9.0

My Old Ass (2024)

A pleasant mix of comedy and coming-of-age that may or may not leave you in tears

8.0

Mommy (2014)

Aiming straight for the heart while punching you in the guts, Mommy is a crazy chamber piece about a widowed mother and her next-door neighbor bringing up a savage teenager

9.6

Atlantics (2019)

A poetic drama from Senegal

7.0

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Martin Scorsese grapples with harrowing history and the limits of storytelling in this monumental masterpiece

8.7

Code Unknown (2000)

An instance of littering unfolds Paris’ many social maladies in this thought-provoking hyperlink drama

7.4

Delicatessen (1991)

The best synchronized chaotic film you’ll ever see

8.0

Here (2024)

Two strangers share a fleeting connection in this subtle and delicate drama

7.0

Paris, 13th District (2021)

A sensuous drama following the love and sex lives of three young Parisians

7.0

Falcon Lake (2022)

A revelatory coming-of-age movie that toes a delicate balance between brooding and beautiful

8.4

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.