Grafted,a body horror directed by a New Zealand-born director,Sasha Rainbow, got a bit unlucky since it was shot almost at the same time asThe Substance. Inevitably, upon its release, it found itself in the shadow ofCoralie Fargeat’s Oscar-nominated film. It would be a shame, however, if this movie went completely unnoticed by genre fans since it approaches similar topics —beauty standards imposed by society, striving to find a better version of yourself, etc. — in a curious and original way. Borrowing the famousHannibal Lecter trick fromSilence of the Lambswhich involved literally putting on another person’s face,Graftedexplores a storyline where the heroine does the same thing again and again. But while most horror movies that touch on the topic of self-identity usually focus on thespecifics of physical appearances, Sasha Rainbow’sfilm broadens the thematic palette to also include questions about ethnicity, spirituality, and the role of cultural traditions.
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Graftedtells the story of Wei (Joyena Sun), ayoung science student who tries to continue her father’s research concerning instant skin regeneration— a personal task for the two of them, since they both have large birthmarks on their faces they wish to get rid of. After her father dies when one of his experiments goes wrong, Wei is forced to move to New Zealand to live with her aunt. There, she getsostracized and bulliedby her cousin, Angela (Jess Hong), and her friends, Eve (Eden Hart) and Jasmine (Sepi To’a), which eventually leads to Wei becoming a sort of"mad scientist"andusing her father’s invention for gruesome purposes. The first murder prompts Wei to come up with a way to conceal her crime, which she does by cutting off her victim’s face and impersonating her.
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“Respect the balance.”
While at first, Wei puts on another person’s face for practical reasons, just like thecharming Doctor Lecter, she quickly becomes addicted to the process as she sees the notable difference in treatment when she presents herself as someone else.The underlying meaning of her actions is, of course, a desperate quest for self-identity, which allows for parallels withanother classicSilence of the Lambsvillain, Buffalo Bill, who attempted to literally wear other people’s skin as a costume. At first,it might seem like Wei’s presumed “otherness” is centered around her appearance— specifically, the birthmark she usually tries to hide with gigantic scarves. However, the conflict that instigates the subsequent bloodbath is much more complex than that.
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Wei is indeed uncomfortable in her own skin, both literally and figuratively. In one of the earlier scenes, we watch Wei being fascinated by a banner she sees on the way to her new home, which shows a refined, glamour shot of a model. The girl sees her cousin and her friends in their fun, colorful clothes similarly — as some kind of exciting ideal to strive towards. The motive of Wei not fitting in isemphasized by the visual contrastbetween the grisly work she does for her scientific project (not to mentionthe graphic violenceof the second part of the film) and the bright, almost plastic-looking world she tries to belong to.To further stress this point, the cinematography often pushes Wei to the periphery of the frame, where she finds herself covered in darkness. However, the reasons for being rejected by her new reality run deeper than what meets the eyes — literally.
Wei is deeply in touch with her native side, but her new circle, headed by her cousin, Angela,finds a fault precisely with that. They are appalled by Wei’s manners, the shrine she built for her late father in her room, the food she eats, and the way she eats. Justlike inThe Substance, the episode that depicts eating is one of the most telling ones, since it shows Angela as another character who is torn between traditions and identities. Having been born in New Zealand and not knowing Chinese,she is uncomfortable with Wei because she represents the roots she feels disconnected from. In the restaurant scene, Angela is embarrassed to admit that she likes traditional Chinese dishes in front of her Western friends, and we see an uncomfortable closeup of Wei messily eating (in total accordance with her native traditions) through Angela’s disturbed gaze.
But just as Angela is trying to suppress the side of herself she doesn’t like,Wei’s view of herself (and her ties to her culture) also grows increasingly disenfranchised. This is emphasized by the fragmented way the camera tends to show her — as if she sees herself less and less as a whole. As Wei soaks in the opinions of others that force her to feel more insecure,the plot about a girl slicing, dicing, and drilling to try on different personalities gets a new dimension. The authors incorporate another piece ofcommentary about modern societythat may not get as much airtime but adds another layer to its thematic exposition: showing how easily most people around Wei are convinced by her impersonating other people. In this sense,Graftedleans into the territory of arecent effective thriller, 2024’sInfluencer, which explored a similar notion. In the end, though, thisgraphic and very, very bloodyhorror sticks to a grim warning to anyone wishing to reject their true self — the results always seem to be monstrous.
