Because it’s October, I figured it would only make sense if I spent the entire month watching horror movies and writing reviews for them. This article will come in two installments.

Raw (2016)– 9/10

Synopsis- Justine, a 16 year old who has just begun attending vet school, is forced to eat raw meat for the first time in her life. Unexpected consequences emerge as her true self begins to form.

I’ve had somewhat of an obsession with Raw since I first saw it a few days ago. Certain scenes, shots, and pieces of music from the film refuse to leave my head and I’m constantly rewatching clips from the film on YouTube. Garance Marillier is absolutely phenomenal as Justine, a reserved college student who begins to grow out of her shell in some pretty gross and disturbing ways. Her physicality in the film becomes increasingly more animal-like as the film progresses, and the performance she gives in the film is honestly perfect. The thing I like most about her character is that even though she is a cannibal, she always remains oddly relatable. At the core of this film there is a message about going off to college and the hardships that come with finding yourself and becoming an individual. Justine is a person who has been sheltered by her parents for her entire life, and when she goes to college, she finds herself having a hard time adjusting. All she has is her sister and even she might not be the greatest role model. The film also tackles many different genres. In some ways this is a body-horror film, in other ways it is a coming of age film, and it even manages to be a dark comedy at times. I do have a few issues with the ending, but I still really like the ending and the questions it poses. Overall, Raw is an incredibly unique film, one that I’ll be thinking about for a very long time.

Malignant (2021)– 5/10

Synopsis- Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.           

Malignant is an odd movie to talk about, mostly because of how weird and different it is. The film starts out so aggressively mainstream and by the numbers, but in the third act it completely switches and becomes so incredibly insane and awesome. Without spoiling the film, there are some scenes towards the end that absolutely blew my mind and reminded me how good of a director James Wan was. I just wish the two acts before the third act weren’t so boring, if not necessary. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about my experience as a whole.

Titane (2021)- 9/10

Synopsis- Following a series of unexplained crimes, a firefighter is reunited with who he thinks is his missing son.

Titane comes from director Julia Ducournau, who also directed Raw. With this film, however, she has further amplified her style, resulting in a film that is considerably more audacious, to say the least. The film feels so gross and cold. However, after watching the film three times, I’ve also come to realize how beautiful this movie is. The bond that forms between the two main characters in the film is endlessly fascinating, surprisingly tender, and meticulously crafted. I can’t emphasize how lovely it was to watch these two incredibly alienated individuals realize how much they need each other. Every shot is stunning, all the performances are incredibly expressive despite a substantial lack of dialogue, the score is hauntingly gorgeous, and the body horror elements are also impressive, purposeful, and disgusting. The film is also really funny. While I like Raw just slightly more than Titane, Titane far surpasses Raw in its sheer craziness and unbridled vision from director Julia Ducournau, so I feel an obligation to recommend this film to anyone willing to watch it.

Lamb (2021)- 6/10

Synopsis- A couple discovers a mysterious half-lamb/half-human newborn on their farm in Iceland. The unexpected prospect of family life brings them much joy, before ultimately destroying them.

To call Lamb a horror movie wouldn’t be an overstatement, it would just be false. It’s more of a dramatic comedy with maybe one or two frightening moments. A24 clearly marketed this as a horror movie so people would see it in theaters, which I don’t really mind if the movie is good, which Lamb is. I found the film to be surprisingly relaxing to watch. This is easily one of the most beautifully shot films I have seen this year in theaters, and watching this family interact with their lamb/human hybrid child was really cute. This film is certainly not for everyone, given that it is incredibly slow, but I definitely enjoyed watching it. It does suffer from being a bit insignificant and purposeless by the end, however.

Cube (1997)- 7/10

Synopsis- A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don’t wind up dead first.

Cube is really good at subverting expectations and staying consistently fresh and engaging throughout the majority of its runtime. All the characters are interesting and well written, and the production design and location is really unique and appealing. The film also has some really bad 90’s special effects and editing, which I always love. The plot does start to run thin towards the end and I feel as if the ending might have been slightly too ambiguous, but I still highly recommend this film, nonetheless.