GRAFTED Skin grafting horror – reviews, trailer and a clip

‘Beauty is only skin deep’
Grafted is a 2024 horror film about a bright but socially awkward exchange student who takes her craving for popularity to horrifying heights.

The movie was directed by Sasha Rainbow from a screenplay co-written with Lee Murray, Mia Maramara and Hweiling Ow.

The Propaganda-Fluro-BlackHead Gear Films stars Jess Hong, Mark Mitchinson, Jared Turner, Eden Hart, Alison Quigan, Ginette McDonald, Sepi To’a, Mohan Liu, Xiao Hu, Sam Wang, Gideon Smith, Joyena Sun and Deanna Chiang.

Plot:
Chinese scholarship student Wei travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends.

Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father’s research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity. As her experiments take a dark turn, she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret…

Reviews:
“Grafted is largely successful with its body horror hijinks, yet there are certain elements that fall short. Some relationships are a little too heightened and there are occasional tonal issues where certain moments genuinely feel like they must be dream sequences, only for them to be reality. It’s guilty of sometimes getting too broad for its own good, even if it’s still an effective and truly confident, capable, and quirky debut feature for Rainbow.” ★★★★ Bloody Disgusting

“When the film goes full tilt into its premise and leans 110% into its Face/Off Mean Girls mash-up, it’s a thrillingly audacious piece of splatter-fest […] But too often, it holds back – and despite some great digital FX and some skin-crawling moments, Grafted seems, sadly […]  feels like a slightly missed opportunity.” Darren’s World of Entertainment

“It never figures out whether it’s trying to be a straightforward horror-revenge thriller, a satirical look at societal beauty standards, or a metaphor for the horrors of trying to assimilate into a new culture. It winds up flitting between each of them for a while before finally giving up entirely and letting the proceedings devolve into an unrelenting bloodbath in the final scenes.” RogerEbert.com

YouTube reviews:

Trailer :

Clip:

Release:
Grafted premiered at the 2024 Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival. Meanwhile, Shudder will stream Grafted on January 24, 2025.

Cast and characters:
Jess Hong … Angela/Wei
Mark Mitchinson … John
Jared Turner … Paul
Eden Hart … Eve/Wei
Alison Quigan … Nurse
Ginette McDonald … Sheryl
Sepi To’a … Jasmine
Mohan Liu … Young Wei
Xiao Hu … Aunty Ling
Sam Wang … Liu
Gideon Smith … Josh
Joyena Sun … Wei
Deanna Chiang … Aunty’s Ling’s Friend

Country of origin:
New Zealand

Filming locations:
Auckland, New Zealand

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