Grafted

This was a film that I saw getting buzz. When I realized that it was on Shudder, I added it to my list of ones to check out for the year. There wasn't a new release horror film showing at my local theaters so I decided I would see this as a featured review for Journey with a Cinephile. This works out as a Women in Horror Appreciation film as well.

Synopsis: a bright, but socially awkward exchange student takes her craving for popularity to horrifying heights.

We start this off in a giant apartment building. I believe this is in China. Liu (Sam Wang) is living with his daughter, Wei (Mohan Liu). She has school work to complete as he conducts an experiment. Him as well as Wei has this mark on their face. He's trying to create a new skin graft where it will grow over the damaged skin. There are disastrous results, leaving him dead.

Wei is now a teenager, going off to college. She is played by Joyena Sun. I believe the college she was accepted to is in New Zealand. She will be staying with her aunt, Ling (Xiao Hu). Aunty Ling picks her up at the airport and tells her all about her life. Ling's husband ran off, leaving their house in disrepair. It was in the middle of a remodel. Ling lives with her daughter, Angela (Jess Hong).

These two teens butt heads. Angela is popular where like the synopsis says, Wei is awkward. She doesn't fit in. Aunty Ling does things to make her feel comfortable like a shrine or getting food she enjoys. Angela shuns everything from her culture. Part of this is to fit in. Angela hangs out with Eve (Eden Hart) who is a classic mean girl. The other is Jasmine (Sepi Toa). She falls in line with the others, but is nice to Wei.

This group of young women are all in the same science class. It is taught by Paul (Jared Turner). What we'll learn is that he was a prodigy who is at risk of losing his funding if he can't come up with results soon. He is asking for students who want to be his assistant. Wei shows great promise. She also has the notebook of her father's work. Paul is intrigued by this. He allows her to conduct her experiments and aids in it. He isn't a nice guy though and the pressure to succeed pushes him to do bad things.

The other thread is that Wei upsets Angela and Eden in different ways. What they don't realize is that she will do whatever it takes to become popular, even if it means to become one of them in the process.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that just ahead of watching this, I double checked that this is a 2025 wide release. In doing that, I saw that this is a body horror film so my interest was pique. This also isn't a spoiler because with the opening sequence, it sets that up as well. I will forewarn you, if you don't do well with this subgenre then you might want to avoid this one. It isn't as graphic as others that fall into this, but it goes places for sure.

Now that I have that set up, this is a variation on the mad scientist film while also being a character study of Wei. There are also developments of the Paul character that I'll come back to. Wei witnessed this horrific event that happened to her father as a little girl. It is now her life's work to complete his research, successfully. There's this other element that when she moves in with her aunt and cousin, she sees how popular Angela is. Despite what people say, as humans we want to fit in. She tries hard, you could probably say too hard, which results in her getting mocked more. This is something that I want to instill in my children. I know that they'll need to figure things out for themselves, but just being their own person is important. You will find your niche. Sun does a good job here with being someone who isn't confident when it comes to social situations. She is good with science though. Credit to her performance.

Then to bring back up the character of Paul. They're subtle with him. We see this newspaper clipping hung on in his laboratory where it states that he was this child prodigy. It seems like outside of getting this position as a professor, he's stalled careerwise. He is sleeping with Eve. We see that he's brilliant, but that craving for more success is wearing on him. What is interesting with him and Wei, they're both pushed to lengths they weren't expecting. They'll do horrible things to succeed.

Let's then delve more into the subgenres that we're getting. First, we have body horror. That is from this opening sequence and I love what they do there. It is horrific. We then move away from it until Wei and Paul start the experiments. There are good things with the sound design. I'd bet that we're getting a combination of practical and CGI effects. I thought this looked good. These aspects work well and it made me cringe at times so that is a perk in its favor. Shifting slightly then, this is also part mad scientist film. Paul would fall more into this category since he's an actual scientist. He's blinded by success and craving more. Wei does fall into this as well though. She is using the experiment for her own nefarious gains.

I think then I'll finish out discussing the filmmaking. The cinematography helps hide the seams of the effects. When we were seeing the grafts as they settled, I knew it was CGI. There doesn't seem to be another way to do it though. There was CGI blood that I don't love. Did need to say that. This also goes brutal at times which I wasn't expecting. That was a good touch as well. Other than that, the soundtrack fit what was needed.

All that is left then is to finish out with the acting performances. I've already given credit to Sun and Turner for their roles. Hong and Hart are two I need to give credit to as well. There is something that happens though where they need to pretend to be another character and that impressed me. I like Toa as this other young woman who tries to include Wei. She is torn by her friends that she's known longer and ostracizes herself. Hu works as Aunty Ling. The rest of the cast were fine to round this out for what was needed.

In conclusion, I'm glad that I didn't skip this movie. We are getting an interesting mad scientist/body horror film. It deals with real issues like fitting in and bullying. I thought the acting from Sun and Turner were good. Hong and Hart are also right behind them, with a more difficult role to make work. The effects we get are good. The cinematography, framing and sound design help there as well. This is one that I could see being a contender for my end of year. I look forward to revisiting this one.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.