If you're debut feature filmmaker Sasha Rainbow, you've already mastered the art of good timing. One day after Coralie Fargeat's The Substance shocked the world with a handful of Oscar nominations, Grafted, Rainbow's debut feature hits Shudder. Thanks to its twin obsessions with body horror and beauty, Grafted will no doubt earn comparisons to The Substance. But here's the thing: unlike a lot of imitators that are being fast-tracked into production this week, Grafted absolutely deserves the praise.
It is Wei’s (Joyena Sun) freshman year of college, and already, she can tell it’s going to be a rough one. Having recently made the move from China to New Zealand, Wei finds herself a cultural outlier, often mocked by her cousin Angela (Jess Hong) for the family traditions and dishes. But none of that matters if Wei is able to finish her life’s work: develop a biochemical compound that can heal damaged flesh in seconds. Unfortunately for New Zealand, though, Wei’s mad scientist genes mean bad news for New Zealand. THe debut feature from Sasha Rainbow, Grafted is equal parts The Substance and Face/Off.
In this short excerpt from the episode, Matthew Monagle praises Grafted for being a film that exudes confidence, even from a first-time filmmaker:
"It definitely has a lot of confidence, which I think is something that that comes up a lot in our conversations about horror films. Confidence in horror to me is like the Supreme Court definition of pornography: I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it, right? I know when a filmmaker has control of their material and a clear vision for what they want to do."
The Grafted episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or the podcast platform of your choice.
