“We could make people beautiful.”

Chinese scholarship student Wei (Joyena Sun) 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 (Jess Hong) 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.

With Grafted, Sasha Rainbow offers a body horror that blends biotechnology and fiction in a film that, while not perfect, raises questions and is effectively entertaining. 

A few logic problems

Wei guides us through her story from her perspective; and by sharing it with us, she feels empowered and emboldened in the process, forcing us to see her as a force of life, as a human being; as one of us. Thus, we find ourselves wanting to deeply root for the one who should be considered the villain, since it’s Wei who kills people. But since she is also the victim of psychological violence from the natives and the other students, we can only feel compassion for her.

But the logic problems that appear at many points in the film make this adventure less successful. For example, how is it that by changing her face and nothing else, no one realizes that her height and voice change? Apparently, a person’s size and stature are not visible if the face is the same.

Moreover, by replacing only the skin, the shape of the face cannot change. This is another problem that undermines the film.

At times, these inconsistencies make the viewer disengage, only to be drawn back in by certain enjoyable scenes.

A cool movie

So, if we can overlook these problems, we still have a pleasant film to watch. Moreover, the themes of the “mean girl” in the movie are a reflection on how society creates its own monsters.

We have seen this many times in our real world. How many times do we learn that a person who has committed a mass murder was also a victim of bullying? This is the case here with Wei, who only wants to study and honor her father’s memory by continuing his research on skin repair.

And luckily for the viewer, these acts of violence lead to some beautiful scenes of murderous madness on Wei’s part. Some are particularly enjoyable, like the one where she murders a girl hiding in a pool by “drilling” her head with a drill. Horror movie fans will get their money’s worth.

A little more…

Grafted is a way to explore important themes such as privilege, race, gender, and cultural alienation while entertaining the audience. The notion of bullying is also at the heart of the story.

Despite its weaknesses, this feature film remains a fairly safe choice for fans of soft horror.

And if we manage not to question ourselves too much about the inconsistencies, we have a very good time.

And the ending is very successful. We don’t see it coming.

Trailer