Since its theatrical release in September 2024, The Substance has been the center of attention, even more so now with its recent Oscar nominations. Many people, including myself, have labeled it as one of the most gut-wrenching body horror movies ever made. While I still stand by this, I feel like there's another movie that needs to join the conversation. Last year, The Substance wasn't the only body horror to come out. Grafted had its Spanish premiere at the 2024 Sitges Film Festival, and now it's finally streaming on Shudder.
While I had an inkling that Grafted would not be for the faint of heart, I still wasn't quite ready for just how intense and unsettling it would be. Even after watching it in its entirety, I’m still grappling with its impact. This is the same feeling I got after watching The Substance. The only difference is that this film felt even more visceral, taking the horror and body grotesque elements to an entirely new level.
It seemed like there were more gory scenes in Grafted as well. But I guess that makes sense when the film centers around a young woman flaying people so that she can use their skin to enhance her features. I thought Elisabeth taking a mysterious drug to regain her youthful appearance in The Substance was twisted. The main character in Grafted is on a whole other level of disturbing!
However, there’s one particularly unsettling scene at the very end of the movie that will immediately remind you of The Substance. I don't want to spoil anything about The Substance, just in case you haven't watched it yet. But for the people who have, you'll know what scene I'm talking about. Picture the moment in The Substance where two characters merge into a grotesque, mutated version of themselves. Yeah, that’s the one I’m talking about... Grafted has a scene just like that, and it's just as horrifying and disturbing.
Grafted revolves around Wei, a quiet and introverted Chinese scholarship student who decides to leave her hometown behind to live with her aunt and cousin in New Zealand so that she can study medical research at an acclaimed university. However, her aspirations are thrown off course when she is ostracized by her classmates, including her cousin and her friends, for having a facial deformity.
Tired of not fitting in and driven to change her life, Wei immerses herself in her late father's skin grafting research. If the procedure works, she could finally cure her condition and escape the torment of being an outcast. But the issue comes when Wei's obsession with perfection leads her down a dark path that includes murder and disturbing physical transformations.
How disturbing and gory is Grafted on Shudder?
If you haven't watched this body horror flick yet, you might be wondering just how disturbing it is. While I wouldn't consider it scary, Grafted is deeply unsettling. It’s the kind of horror that gets under your skin, leaving you with a feeling of unease that’s hard to shake.
Without giving away any specific details from the movie, you can expect numerous scenes of violence. There's also a lot of bloodshed, either due to characters being killed or through graphic scenes of mutilation and body horror. So, if you're a person who gets queasy at the sight of blood or has a low tolerance for graphic violence, this film may be hard to watch. Truthfully, I wouldn't recommend it at all to those types of viewers. They would be scarred for life!
Would I ever go back and rewatch Grafted? Sure! Just like I will eventually go back and rewatch The Substance. I just need some time to mentally prepare myself for the intensity. If body horror is your type of genre, then you'll enjoy Grafted. But be prepared for a dark, grotesque ride!
Grafted is streaming now only on Shudder.