Grafted (2025) is directed by Sasha Rainbow. It stars Jess Hong, Joyena Sun, Eden Hart, Jared Turner, Mark Mitchinson, Sepi To’a, Xiao Hu, Sam Wang, Ginette McDonald, and Gideon Smith. The story follows Wei (Sun), an intelligent yet awkward college student who struggles socially due to repelling facial scars she inherited from her late father. Forced to stay in New Zealand with her loving but absent Aunt Ling (Hu) so she can attend university, Wei quickly finds herself at odds with her popular but cruel cousin, Angela (Hong). As the bullying from Angela and her friends becomes too much to bear, Wei sets out to complete her father’s work on a mysterious substance that completely heals shin-based deformities – but at a terrible cost. 

Considering that the story heavily involves characters who switch faces/places, the cast does a great job. Regardless of which actress we see on screen, it’s clear which character they’re portraying. The problem is that the film mostly lacks any characters to whom the audience can genuinely attach themselves. Wei is a character we’re supposed to feel sympathetic towards as a result of how poorly everyone treats her. The thing is, it’s undercut by the fact that she’s almost immediately established as being a tad mentally disturbed. It’s hard to feel bad for a bullied character when a portion of it feels somewhat justified (I’m not defending bullying, chill.). This would be fine if the other characters were likable, but besides the fact that they’re not killers, they’re distinctly worse people. The only character who is shown to have a heart is woefully underused before being killed off in a way that suggests she’s as deserving of it as everyone else. This results in a first half that makes the viewer go back and forth about who the villain(s) of the film will eventually be, but it feels like a moot point when it eventually goes in the most predictable direction possible. It kind of feels like Carrie (1976), but unlike that film fails to justify its main character’s motives in a way that allows the audience to be fully on her side.

Although well-acted, the characters result in a grating and awkward watch – a feeling that’s only amplified by the film’s disgusting body-horror elements. There’s no question that the film delivers the goods for gore hounds, but it’s an element that’s out of balance with the rest of the film. The characters are often as unpleasant as the violence, so it never feels like there’s a moment to breathe. You won’t be disappointed if you’re looking for memorable and shocking horror sequences, just don’t expect them to fit together as a satisfying whole. 

The unpleasant nature of the script is fed by the fact that much of the horror/violence often relies on misunderstandings and coincidences as a driving force. Yes, this provides an element of tragic avoidability to Mei’s actions, but it mostly just feels like lazy writing. On top of this, the movie features a gigantic plot hole I just can’t ignore. The story often features Mei using her dad’s creation to steal people’s faces and pretend to be them. The thing is, Mei’s face changes, but her body doesn’t. How do the people around her not realize that something is off? Yes, the face is a human’s most recognizable feature, but I think people would still notice if everything else was different.

Overall, this is a flawed yet unique body-horror experience that succeeds in making the viewer uncomfortable from beginning to end. That being said, I’m not sure being uncomfortable will be a majority of people’s cup of tea. If you’re a diehard horror fan who loves their “carnage candy,” you’re sure to appreciate the movie’s willingness to “go there” as well as its effectively chilling climax. However, everyone else will indeed find this to be much too dark of an experience to enjoy. I know it sounds strange to criticize a horror film for being “too dark,” but it has more to do with tonal imbalance than anything else. That being said, if you’re able to handle it, it might just be the hidden horror gem you’ve been looking for. C+