Grafted

I watched the New Zealand film Grafted (2024) on Shudder. The story follows an exchange student struggling to fit in as she conducts a twisted science experiment-transforming herself by wearing other people's skin. Her classmates soon become her next test subjects.

This film marks the directorial debut of Sasha Rainbow and stars Eden Hart (Sweet Tooth), Jess Hong (3 Body Problem), and Mark Mitchinson (Evil Dead Rise).

In some ways, this reminded me of the Spanish classic The Skin I Live In, but with a much gorier approach. The plot is highly original, and the gore is top-tier. The protagonist feels like a more brutal version of Leatherface. The acting is strong, and the psychological evolution of the main character is well-executed. Some plot points and character decisions are far-fetched, but they don't take away from the film's overall impact. The creativity and sheer brutality of the gore make this a must-see for horror enthusiasts.

In conclusion, Grafted is a bold and unique addition to the horror genre, packed with outstanding gore. I'd give it an 8/10.

I ADORE horror with female leads, especially ones where it deals with deeper issues

But honestly, this movie disappointed me. The message was clear within the first half hour as to what it wanted it's message to be about and I was intrigued but after about 45 minutes, it all just became a bit silly.

The acting felt like overacting and the pacing was just off. I kept finding myself checking when the movie was finally going to be over. I think the idea for this movie is brilliant but this delivery was just 100% not it for me. I kept getting taken out of it and all together, was very unimpressed.

In Grafted, we follow a socially awkward exchange student from China who is trying to fit in with the popular girls while also striving to make her deceased father proud. She's highly intelligent and, just like her father, works on groundbreaking research capable of restoring human tissue.

After a promising opening scene, the movie introduces us to our main characters, consisting primarily of our protagonist, Wei; her aunt, Ling; her cousin, Angela; and Angela's best friends, Jasmine and Eve. There is also a teacher named Paul, who takes a strong interest in Wei's rather unethical work which could become a problem.

Once we get to know the characters, we spend time with Wei as she makes progress in her research while struggling in vain to fit in with Angela and her friends. The film leans into teen drama, unfortunately focusing too much on this aspect rather than her research, which is undoubtedly the more intriguing element that audiences will want to see. The theme of beauty ideals has long been explored through the subgenre of body horror, as seen recently with The Substance. Grafted inevitably draws comparisons to that film, which works to its detriment, as The Substance is far superior. As the movie delves into teen drama, you find yourself waiting for the body horror to take center stage and push boundaries. While it does reach that point eventually, it's not nearly enough.

Without giving away spoilers, I can say that at a certain moment, a transformation occurs, and from that point on, the story starts to fall apart. Things stop making sense, and the film glosses over logical inconsistencies, expecting the audience to overlook them. The pacing also slows down, and moments that should have been impactful fail to pack a punch. The movie occasionally drifts into comedy, which is a fitting addition though. Towards the very end, body horror enthusiasts will finally get something to enjoy, but the film would have been far more effective if it had leaned into those moments more frequently.

Unfortunately, the script demands a lot from the viewer, and if you're not fully on board, it becomes difficult to immerse yourself in the story. The premise had so much more potential, and while the concept was strong, certain narrative choices made it hard to stay engaged. Despite this, Grafted is still a decent watch, and its body horror elements are well-executed, but it could have been much more enjoyable. [5,8/10]

One of the most important, yet somehow still so often neglected elements of storytelling - virtually any storytelling - is empathy. After all, you have probably heard of the Six Deadly Words ("I Don't Care For These People") but are they not really fundamentally about the failure of empathy? Not so much on the side of the viewer that is, but rather because the creator failed to write characters worth emphasizing with - often because they are written as mere tools and lack an inner world you can relate to.

Empathy is exactly what sets this New Zealand thriller apart in its first half. Sasha Rainbow's previous experience consisted of two documentary shorts which both chronicle the lives of the underclass in two cultures very different from hers, and here, she is able to depict the clash between the immigrant protagonist Wei and her second-generation, fully Westernized cousin Angela remarkably well for this kind of film. You can easily understand well why both of them act the way they do, and even the supporting cast also feels a lot more humanized than usual (certainly FAR more so than the cast of The Substance - since the comparisons between the two films are practically inescapable due to the unfortunate release timing, I might as well get it over with now.)

Funnily enough, the 2nd half, which delivers what most of the audience must have come here for, actually felt like a letdown to me in comparison, as it feels much more "on-rails". The performances are still effective and one character's demise is so painfully unfair it cuts through emotionally much more than most horror deaths do. The "grafting" is filmed well enough considering the limitations of low-budget filmmaking, though it would have certainly been more impressive in the pre-Substance world. On the other hand, the plain murder scenes themselves can be quite contrived and often aren't really convincing when compared not just to, say, something relatively recent When Evil Lurks, but also rather older films like Alleluia.

On the whole, though, this is a very admirable debut effort and I believe Sasha Rainbow is going to be the one to watch. I would also like to point out that this is the first movie I have seen in 2025 where I almost immediately looked up the OST after watching the film. To me, it's that good, at times absolutely carrying a scene which would have probably fallen flat otherwise.

Going to live with her aunt, an aspiring medical student tries to fit in with her new family and their friends while continuing to advance the studies her father set out to accomplish, but when she's forced to use it before she's ready finds her life upended and is forced to take drastic actions to see her work.

This was an overall enjoyable and highly effective genre outing. One of the stronger aspects of this one is the generally solid setup that offers a fantastic starting point for the type of material present in this one. Going with the idea of her attempting to ingratiate herself within her new family following the death of her father which means attempting to make friends with her cousin and her group of friends at school since they're nearly the same age only failing due to her inherent quirkiness compared to them provides a nice bit of conflict while she tries to help grieve her dead father that brings her there to begin with. Stuck with her antiquated notions and beliefs that conflict with their more modern approaches to life and social upbringing, the way she starts to loosen up and let go of herself so that she can get a fun role reversal as times go on involving the change in personality going forward. As well, there's also plenty to like with the growing realization of what her work is actually accomplishing. The initial stages of her advancement in the class and what's wrong with the deviant teacher show off nicely her desire to finish her father's formula and what it means to her, even going so far as to graphically mutilate herself to show that the whole thing is worthwhile. When the opportunity presents itself to use the formula and attempt to maintain a sense of social order, this one becomes a more overtly traditional genre effort with some gruesome kills, bloody stabbings, close-up surgical sequences, and even some fun stalking scenes along the way which has a generally fun time leading into the solid climax introducing some fantastic body-horror into the equation that's effectively utilized. Overall, these manage to give this one quite a lot to like about it. There are a few issues with this one that hold it back. One of the main pressing factors is the seemingly illogical manner in which she manages to work her work through her friend group without anyone noticing the duplicity of everything happening around them. The physical difference between her and the victim she takes out and assumes control of is quite remarkable, not to mention an obvious height and weight difference that shouldn't fool anyone who knew the victim. Even more apparent is how little she attempts to mimic their style or mannerisms so it just looks even more apparent how lame the duplicity really is and how she attempts to get away with everything. The other issue here is the abrupt and sudden change into turning into a straightforward slasher where the whole point of her going into this type of figure is somewhat obscure which is never really built up to making for a few drawbacks that bring this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.