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Sasha Rainbow's superficiality satire Grafted feels like a J-horror inversion of Coralie Fargeat's breakout body-horror stunner The Substance. Shudder's latest original plays in a sandbox with titles like Sion Sono's Exte: Hair Extensions, where cosmetic alterations lead to unsettling results. Rainbow pulls from traditional mad scientist frameworks to tell a coming-of-age struggle from a Chinese immigrant's perspective, but in doing so, creates push-and-pull friction between a host of thematic intentions. Grafted deals in body-horror squeamishness, slasher heartlessness, and university ecosystems, but it's not always the steadiest execution. Highs are high, but they come at a cost.

Joyena Sun stars as Wei, a shy, reclusive daughter who watches her father die during a skin-replacement experiment gone Twilight Zone-y. He tries to cure them both of genetic facial birthmarks by inventing a self-healing patch using regenerative Corpse Flower cells—but the mind-of-its-own flap spreads over his mouth and nostrils,...

Filmmaker after filmmaker are taking an axe to beauty standards and character's bodies. As audiences become obsessed with the gory, hyperrealistic effects of modern movie-making, body horror is on the rise, and this time it's a classic case of self-inflicted destruction. The horror streaming platform Shudder has acquired another body horror film, following the success of The Substance. Fans of the likes of David Cronenberg rejoice, for it is a great time of resurgence and expansion of the gruesome genre, with new additions from unique perspectives coming in to refresh the horror sub-category. New Zealand-born director Sasha Rainbow's DIY body horror film Grafted will, similarly to Demi Moore's horror hit, explore themes of beauty and social acceptance through the mutilation of human flesh.

A story of a Chinese scholarship student with a facial birthmark and a father who studied skin grafting, Rainbow's directorial debut pits beauty and brains against each other.

Shudder has released a new trailer for Sasha Rainbow’s feature debut Grafted, a malicious cosmetic cocktail of body horror with squelching sounds to enhance the horror.

Grafted is set to premiere on Shudder on January 24, 2025.

In the film, “Chinese scholarship student Wei travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends. Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father’s research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity. As her experiments take a dark turn, she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret.”

The upcoming body horror movie stars Joyena Sun, Jess Hong, and Jared Turner. It was written by Mia Maramara, Hweiling Ow, Lee Murray, and Rainbow.

Daniel Kurland...

Compared to Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance and the wild works of Takashi Miike by Daniel Kurland in his recent review for Bloody Disgusting, Sasha Rainbow’s feature debut Grafted has received an official trailer from its Australian distributor this week. Over in Australia, the film will release in cinemas on November 21, and you can find that official trailer below.

Here in the States, the body horror movie has been acquired by Shudder for North America, UK, and Irish release, and Shudder has dated Grafted for premiere on January 24, 2025.

In the film, “Chinese scholarship student Wei travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends.

“Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father’s research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity.

Mister Smith Entertainment has revealed further sales of the body horror feature “Grafted” to multiple territories following this weekend’s Spanish premiere screening at Sitges Film Festival, and the announcement of Shudder’s North America and U.K. and Ireland acquisition of the film.

“Grafted,” the directorial debut of Sasha Rainbow, whose short film “Kamali” was nominated for a BAFTA and long-listed for an Oscar, was acquired by Twelve Oaks for Spain, Front Row Entertainment for the Middle East, Blitz for Ex-Yugoslavia, Forum Film for Poland, The Film Group for Greece/Cyprus, Active Cinema Group for Cis, Baltic States and Ukraine, Superfine Films for India, and Ricochet Digital Media for Airlines.

“Grafted,” which uses the horror genre to expose and subvert the current obsession with beauty, body image and social acceptance, stars Joyena Sun, Jess Hong, who recently starred in Netflix’s “3 Body Problem,” Jared Turner, Eden Hart and Sepi To’a,...

Shudder has just announced that it acquired the North American, UK, and Ireland rights to Sasha Rainbow’s feature debut, Grafted. The streaming giant also announced that it will be releasing the film on its platform early next year. This news comes ahead of the movie's Spanish premiere at the 2024 Sitges Film Festival, which is happening this weekend.

Grafted is described as a satirical body horror film. Rainbow, who has previously helmed short films, directed this movie from a script she co-wrote with Mia Maramara, Hweiling Ow, and Lee Murray. In addition, Murray Francis and Leela Menon are signed on as producers with Fraser Brown executive producing.

Rainbow expressed her excitement about partnering with Shudder via a Shudder press release:

Partnering with Shudder is a dream come true—for those of us who like our dreams dark and full of twists, and there’s no better place to unleash Grafted...

In Search of Darkness celebrates 5th anniversary with Free 24-hour stream on YouTube: "Creatorvc, the minds behind smash-hit Aliens Expanded, announce a limited release of the original In Search of Darkness ‘80s horror documentary on Youtube for Free streaming for 24 hours on October 6, 2024, in celebration of the 5th anniversary of its world premiere at Beyond Fest. The Free stream begins at 12 midnight Est on October 6th, 2024 at midnight.

Their most popular film, In Search of Darkness is a deep dive into the horror hits from one of the most celebrated decades in genre film. Dubbed “a journey into iconic ‘80s horror,” the four-hour documentary features interviews with legendary filmmakers, writers, actors and special effects masters. Spanning one of the most impactful decades in genre film, the documentary includes Keith David (The Thing), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), John Carpenter, Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and many, many more.

The...

Sasha Rainbow’s feature debut, Grafted, a satirical body horror movie, has been acquired by Shudder for North American, UK, and Irish release ahead of its Spanish premiere at the 2024 Sitges Film Festival.

Shudder has dated Grafted for release on the streaming service on January 24, 2025.

The body horror film follows “Chinese scholarship student Wei, who travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends. Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father’s research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity. As her experiments take a dark turn, she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret.”

The film stars Joyena Sun, Jess Hong, and Jared Turner. It was written by Mia Maramara,...

Shudder has acquired North America and UK & Ireland rights from Mister Smith Entertainment to Sasha Rainbow’s feature debut Grafted ahead of its Spanish premiere at Sitges Film Festival this weekend.

The body horror screens in the Midnight X-Treme strand on Saturday and Sunday (October 5 and 6) and follows Wei, a shy Chinese scholarship student hiding a genetic facial birthmark, who travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university.

When Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends, she immerses herself in her late father’s research into a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could help her.

International Federation of Film Producers Associations (Fiapf) and Women in Animation (Wia) have announced the selection of the five delegates of the second edition of the Stories x Women program.

Stories x Women’s works to support and provide opportunities for African, Asia-Pacific Islander and Latin American women animators who want to tell their authentic stories. The program is sponsored by the Walt Disney Company, with additional support from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The five are “Superpunk” (Brazil) led by Mirtes Santana and Guilherme Petreca, “Negocio de Brujas” (Chile) led by Paulina Sanhueza Meléndez and Alejandra Jaramillo Fanta, “Nerea” (Dominican Republic) led by Fabiola Contreras Rosso and Arima Léon, “The Golden Pig” (Malaysia) led by Hwei Ling Ow and Kate Goodwin and “Papo Hapo” (Türkiye/Kenya) led by Irmak Atabek Ndungu and Mbithi Masya.

Those selected were chosen from a pool of 130-plus candidates and will receive a series of mentoring sessions led by animation experts,...

U.K.-based sales agent Mister Smith Entertainment has picked up international rights to “Grafted,” a New Zealand-set horror film which marks the feature directing debut of Sasha Rainbow. The film is now in production. Mister Smith will launch sales next month in Cannes.

The film tells story of a Chinese student who travels to New Zealand to complete the scientific work of her deceased father only to find a new way of achieving popularity, one body at a time.

“I am incredibly excited about playing in the body-horror space for such an incredible, surprising, female-lead-project like ‘Grafted.’ I can’t wait to unleash it to audiences around the world,” said Rainbow. She previously directed 2018 short film “Kamali,” about a mother fighting for her daughter’s rights through skateboarding in India, which was nominated for a BAFTA and long-listed for an Oscar.

The cast of “Grafted” is headed by Joyena Sun,...

Production underway on Yamc’s first title ‘Grafted’ from Sasha Rainbow.

Head Gear Films’ Phil Hunt is partnering with Australia-New Zealand horror distribution specialists Monster Pictures on (Yet) Another Monster Company (Yamc), a New Zealand-based label for developing, distributing and financing horror and genre titles.

Yamc has an investment partnership with Hunt’s UK firm Head Gear, and is looking for projects from writers, directors, producers and creative teams. Operating out of New Zealand, Yamc has plans for an Australia-based version in the future.

The company is already in production on its first title Grafted, a coming-of-age body horror from New Zealand filmmaker Sasha Rainbow,...

Sideshow Collectibles has added another imposing (and beautifully crafted) character to the ranks of their Court of the Dead with the new Mortighull Premium Format Figure that's featured in today's Horror Highlights, which also includes an update on Space Goat Productions' Evil Dead 2 Kickstarter campaign, a teaser trailer for Lilith (starring Jessica Cameron), a new clip from the anthology series By Night: Origins, details on the world premiere of The Redeeming, the first short film from the new anthology series Ao-Terror-Oa, The Gatehouse release info, the cast for Killer Kate!, and UK and Ireland release details for Whispers.

Sideshow Reveals New Reaper Premium Format Figure: From Sideshow: "Sideshow is proud to present Mortighull: The Risen Reaper General Premium Format™Figure, a terrifying new addition to our original Court of the Dead collection…

The Reaper General Mortighull is far from a mirror image of his mentor, the resolute Demithyle. Mortighull...

T is for Talk Short Film. Peter Haynes‘ T is for Talk (2011) short film stars Caitlin Bennett, Benjamin Teh, Ally Xue, Campbell Cooley, Matthew Darragh, and Anzel Greyling. T is for Talk‘s plot synopsis: “contestants are held in a single room and must talk when prompted to and be silent went not or they will be killed.”

Good production value and shots. The contest is inventive as well. The viewer has no idea how these people were selected or how they got there (even a priest is present). The only thing that exists is the horrific game. This short film is part of The ABCs of Death contest. You can vote for the film here.

More on the T is for Talk short film:

shot on the Sony Nex-FS100…Creator: Hweiling Ow Producers: Hweiling Ow, Peter Haynes, Nick Burridge, Johnathan Guest Director: Peter Haynes Dop: Nick Burridge Lighting SFX:...