Raw (2016)

Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, Raw is to the cannibal movie what Ginger Snaps is to the werewolf film, to start this review off with some obvious Shorthand 101. Both are coming of age tales, both provide moments that you expect with a number of twists that you don't, and both are anchored by excellent female lead performances.

Garance Marillier is Justine, a young woman starting her university education to become a vet. She is enrolled in the same institution as her older sister, Alexia (played by Ella Rumpf), and ends up sharing a room with a gay man named Adrien (Rabah Nait Oufella). She also ends up finally eating meat as part of her diet, now that she is away from her parents and their vegetarian lifestyle. This leads to her getting a taste for more than just the selection available from any butcher shop.

What starts off as a simple tale of a young woman overwhelmed by a new stage of her life at university, and all of the freedoms and opportunities that come with it, chances to both succeed and fail, soon develops into a tale of, well . . . . actually, a young woman overwhelmed by a new stage of her life at university. She just happens to also develop a taste for VERY fresh meat. Justine changes quite quickly, admittedly, but it's not an immediate transformation, and a lot of the first half of the movie shows the typical "growing pains" of any teenager suddenly away from their parents and deciding to create, or rather recreate, their own identity as they move further into adulthood.

Marillier is fantastic in the central role, believably transforming from a shy and sheltered young woman into someone who loses a lot of her inhibitions and starts to wear her difference from others like a badge with "Fuck You" printed on it. Rumpf is equally good, and the two really convince as sisters who always seem to love one another, even during times when they fall out. Oufella has the easiest of the three main roles, but he does well to portray a supportive and friendly figure who doesn't mind anyone else being a bit weird, up to a point.

Ducournau manages to tell this story without making every scene a gross-out one, although she also puts in a number of scenes that definitely aren't for the squeamish (probably best not to watch this while eating a meal). It helps that she has done such a great job with the development of the lead characters, making viewers hope for the best for them, even as things start to look worse and worse. The technical side of things cannot be faulted, especially admirable as this is the first solo feature from Ducournau (having previously given us one short film and a TV movie co-directed with Virgile Bramly, which also happens to be about an eating disorder), and there's also a fine score by Jim Williams accompanying the visuals, as well as a few lively tunes on the soundtrack.

Some viewers may wish they could have more moments of gore, and there's a "punchline" that could divide opinion (I thought it was great), but this is an interesting cannibal film that comes very close to being as good as the excellent, but a lot more darkly comedic, Ravenous.

8/10

Raw can be bought here.
Americans can buy it here.
Alternatively, you can always click on either of those links and then shop for whatever you want. Which also helps me while letting you treat yourself.

We Are What We Are (2010)

A number of years ago, a little Mexican movie called Cronos came along and gave fans a wonderful and unique vampire movie. Well, someone else from Mexico has come along now and given fans a fantastic and unique cannibal movie. Okay, it may not be all THAT unique from start to finish but it certainly couches the grisly subject matter in a way that allows it to feel enjoyably refreshing.

This is not a movie for gorehounds so bear that in mind before you go running off to get your cannibal fix (as in a fix of cannibal movie fun and not a repair from a cannibal). Writer-director Jorge Michel Grau has crafted something that's arguably more disturbing because of the way that the cannibalistic need to eat human flesh is shown as the main defining aspect of a fairly dysfunctional family.

Alfredo (Francisco Barreiro) and Julian (Alan Chavez) are two very different brothers. Alfredo is the older of the two and tries to do his bit whenever he is required to help the family while Julian is hotheaded and not nearly as caring for his loved ones. This is all clarified when the two boys have to cover the family market stall. There is no sign of their father, who makes a living repairing watches, so they go along for the morning until Julian gets into a fight and they are told that they must stop trading at the market. When they get home the boys are told by their sister, Sabina (Paulina Gaitan), that their father has died. This is slightly upsetting for all concerned, and especially for their mother (Carmen Beato), but the biggest problem for the family is just where their next meal is going to come from. Their father would provide them with victims for cannibalistic rituals. Alfredo is told he will have to step up and fill the role but it's not exactly an easy task.

All of the actors involved here do a great job, and there are is a sub-plot involving a couple of police officers (played by Daniel Gimenez Cacho and Jorge Zarate) trying to solve the case, but the real beauty of We Are What We Are lies in the fact that the cannibalism is almost secondary to the other problems that the main characters have. Almost.

Sabina may seem to be the most well-adjusted of the group but it quickly becomes clear just how well she could step into the matriarchal role to ensure that the family is safe while Alfredo and Julian never appear to be in control of their own destiny. As for the mother, it's hard to discern whether she has been driven mad by years of brainwashing or whether she was the one who led the whole family down the path to cannibalism. Whatever the case, she certainly grows more and more desperate as more time passes without the next meal becoming available.

Quietly impressive from start to finish, when the end credits rolled I then began to formulate my thoughts for this review and realised that I'd just watched a new favourite. I'm not sure if I would easily recommend it to most horror fans, I just know that I loved it.

9/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Are-What-Blu-ray/dp/B00450AGFK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353695664&sr=8-2

Hanger (2009)

Before I get to the main review here is the link to the Plotdigger Films website, a place deserving of your time and attention and even some of your pocket money. And now to our main feature . . . . . . .
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Hanger is another balls to the wall bundle of nastiness from Ryan Nicholson and whatever you think about each of his movies, you have to admire the guy for a) making HIS movies the way that HE wants them to be and b) lovingly rolling around in the cesspit of sheer exploitation fare. The fact that he seems to keep doing this with a budget that probably wouldn't pay for a wrap party thrown by Brett Ratner is also worthy of note.

So what's the plot then? Well, a pregnant prostitute named Rose (Debbie Rochon) is mistreated by her pimp, Leroy (Ronald Patrick Thompson), and the situation climaxes with Leroy using the titular hanger to fix things. And so Hanger (Nathan Dashwood) is born, deeply scarred and due to have numerous . . . . . . issues. Thankfully, a kindly john (Dan Ellis) tries to look out for Hanger and waits patiently for eighteen years until the day when the two of them together can get their revenge on Leroy. There's also a perverted Asian named Russell (Wade Gibb), an even more perverted scumbag named Phil (Alastair Gamble) and another chance to see the gorgeous Candice Lewald in all her glory (a gorgeous woman who had to endure much worse in the brutal Gutterballs).

Once again, there are plenty of negatives here but the good still outweighs the bad if you can stomach it. Hanger is a NASTY movie. It's the first time in a long while that I almost threw up while watching something onscreen (and I've recently "enjoyed" Slaughtered Vomit Dolls so I hope Mr. Nicholson takes that in the complimentary way it is meant). The gore effects are, generally, pretty good but there's one sex scene that is so gross I defy you to watch it without thinking about how far you need to run to throw up.

Direction by Nicholson (who co-wrote the movie with Patrick Coble) is also pretty good. Yes, there are mistakes here and there and the whole thing doesn't hang together quite as well as it could, no pun intended (well . . . . . maybe a little bit), but Ryan Nicholson knows how to make his movies look as grimy and nasty as possible while also getting the camera in the best spot to show most of that nastiness in as unflinching a way as possible.

It's a shame that the script is a step down even from the crudity of Gutterballs and that the acting/characters are far worse. I do understand the overall idea of populating the movie with unsavoury types and having them do unsavoury things to each other but that's still no excuse for the strange overacting from Wade Gibb (doing, arguably, the biggest disservice to Asian people on film since Mickey Rooney in Breakfast At Tiffany's) or the grumbling and ranting of Alastair Gamble that shows up either bad improvisation or very weak dialogue. Thankfully, Dan Ellis is a saving grace yet again and does well with his material, even the weaker stuff.

I highly recommend this slice of depravity to anyone who fancies something that can mix in cannibalism, murder, rape, sodomy, cruelty to fake animals, poor feminine hygiene used as a way to torture someone and very special teabags (just wait and see, you'll know it when it happens).

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hanger-Unrated--/dp/B006NZBTT2/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1337075014&sr=1-2