There’s something universally awkward about stepping into adulthood. It’s in finding out who you are, dealing with responsibilities, and handling the constant pressure of fitting in. It’s an awkward, confusing experience that everyone goes through. Raw goes out of its way to dig into the whole shebang, but it flips the process on its head by offering a coming-of-age story that is anything but normal. Set against the backdrop of veterinary school, the movie follows Justine, a vegetarian whose vegetarian ideals are upended when a hazing ritual makes her eat meat for the first time. Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, Raw is what would have otherwise been a typical coming-of-age film if it weren’t filled with graphic images and explicit narrative.
It’s striking how the film works with themes of control and desire by using cannibalism as a way to speak about primal human desires. But beneath all the terror imagery and pukeworthy pictures is an even deeper story — one that uses cannibalism as a metaphor to talk about themes of self, family strife, and the grubbiness of self-discovery. Beyond being a provocative body horror, Raw is about the inner conflicts of the characters and how they struggle with their own desires and feelings.
‘Raw’ Unravels a Coming-of-Age Story Through Unfiltered Cannibalism
With a title like Raw, it is no surprise that this movie is as gruesome as it is. At first, it comes across as your typical coming-of-age film, but it subverts the entire self-discovery process, transforming into something that’s equal parts grotesque and captivating. As mentioned earlier, the film is about Justine (Garance Marillier), a timid, book-smart veterinary student who was raised a strict vegetarian by her family. Once she begins college, her life is turned upside down by a hazing ritual. When she is forced to eat raw meat for the first time, she doesn’t just develop a hankering for a burger now and then, she has this unquenchable thirst that soon leads to cannibalism. As she tries to make sense of these desires and how they fit into the person that she wants to be, the film takes her on a harrowing and suspenseful rollercoaster ride, full of ghastly secrets about herself and her kin.
If there is anything that Raw does make very clear, it’s that coming-of-age films can be just as horrific as they are empowering, and that’s what sets it apart. It’s horror-filled with cannibalism, but it’s never gory just for the sake of it. Beneath the gore and violence is something deeper — Justine’s battle isn’t just hunger, it’s about finding out who you are when all you’ve ever known is taken away. Even more interesting is how Raw contrasts innocence and guilt. Here, Justine isn’t a villain per se, but her monstrous transformation causes chaos she can’t quite control. Ultimately, Raw forces the viewer to consider some of the unsettling truths about human nature, desire, and the thin line between control and chaos.
The Graphic Content In ‘Raw’ Packs a Bigger Punch Than Your Average Body Horror
Body horror films are no strangers to shocking imagery, but Raw takes things a step further. Unlike the exaggerated gore of most movies in the genre, the graphic content in Raw feels disturbingly real. From raw chicken being devoured like candy to unsettling scenes of flesh being consumed, every unsettling moment serves a purpose. Watching Justine sink her teeth into raw flesh or witnessing her unflinching descent into cannibalism feels less like a spectacle and more like an invasion of something deeply human and primal. Compared to the flashy grotesqueness of classics like The Fly, Raw feels personal, raw (pun intended), and painfully real.
The film’s graphic nature caused such an uproar that it became infamous during its festival run. Some viewers reportedly fainted during screenings, leading to emergency medical teams being called in—an extreme but telling reaction to just how intense Raw is. Its scenes of blood and unapologetic carnage are impossible to ignore, with the infamous “finger” scene still haunting conversations about modern horror. However, unlike other body horrors that rely heavily on shock value, Raw uses its graphic content to explore deeper themes of craving and control. The unease is amplified because the violence and gore aren’t exaggerated; they feel almost too close to reality. While films like The Blob and Videodrome shock through supernatural or existential terror, Raw thrives in its grounded brutality, forcing audiences to confront just how thin the line is between civility and raw, unfiltered instinct. In a genre often content with surface-level scares, Raw proves that sometimes the real horror lies in what feels just a little too real.
Think you can stomach it? Raw is now streaming on Tubi.
