Grafted
is a tense body horror that descends further into anarchy as a young woman seeks reprieve from her tortured past. With similar overtones to the incredibly popular The Substance, Grafted delivers a similar story on a much more grounded scale. The film covers similar themes of beauty, desperation, and a need to fit in and conform, which ultimately sets the protagonist on a terrifying course toward her own doom.

As a young girl, Wei tragically became an orphan after her father, a visionary scientist, created a skin graft that worked incredibly quickly, but also presented unexpected, fatal side effects. Both Wei and her father shared a skin condition that made them deeply self-conscious. Rather than live with their conditions, they obsessed about trying to find ways to correct them. With Wei now attending university, she seeks to continue her father’s work, with dangerous consequences.

Grafted Does Body Horror Exceptionally Well

When it comes to body horror, there are elements within the subgenre of horror that remain consistent across the board. They dive into stories that showcase intense and terrifying images of the human body, often seeing a person transform from one state to another in intense and brutal ways. As a result, many horror movies can be categorized as body horror, such as Werewolves, The Human Centipede, and indeed The Substance, but the actual horror still stems from sources such as the supernatural, a mad, reclusive scientist, or the unknown. Grafted does an excellent job staying within the genre.

There is some crossover as the story develops, but by and large, this is a grotesque body horror film with terrifying images of the human body at the heart of the story. It also delves into social commentary about being viewed differently, and the importance of fitting in. Together, these points elevate the story from a simple indie horror film to something that has enough substance, pun intended, to compete on a larger stage.

It may be easily compared to The Substance because of its similarities, but it ultimately stands on its own. It’s ultimately impressive how much this smaller-scale project was able to accomplish when exploring its story. The film is tense from the very first moment, with a chilling opening scene. The sound is incredibly eerie and atmospheric throughout, and the cast does an excellent job as they challenge themselves in the exploration of the characters.

Much Like The тιтle, Grafted Feels Cobbled Together

All that said, the movie’s budgetary constraints are apparent. The scale of the film feels very limited and the drama and tension are occasionally hindered by what it lacks. As a result, a lot of the credit for how well this film came out is down to the actors. Joyena Sun does an incredible job as the socially awkward recluse who tries to connect and fails. Likewise, Jess Hong and Eden Hart, who play opposite her as two of the more popular girls, deliver exceptional performances that evolve throughout the film.

The result is a solid entry into the body horror genre. It is a credit to the genre, but also a clever metaphor for the corrosive nature of beauty standards and the extreme lengths that people will go to conform to it. The film starts and ends with a poster encouraging people to become themselves by using beauty products, which helps hammer home the criticism. Grafted pushes boundaries and it invites us to do the same, though as a cautionary tale of what not to do.

Grafted will be available to stream on Shudder on January 24.