As a rule, usually about 5-10 remarkable horror movies come out a year and about 35% of those are foreign. Last year saw Babak Anvari's Under the Shadow and Na Hong-jin's astonishing The Wailing pick up major buzz from all corners of the world, and there were others beyond that as well. France's recent history of horror movies is particularly interesting, whether speaking of the groundbreaking Inside, Martyrs, High Tension, or Livide, because it's picked up some interest from American producers. It's unlikely anyone is going to attempt an American remake of something as distinct and unhinged as Inside, but the film's directors flirted with Hollywood twice, most notably on an attempted reboot of Hellraiser.

One might expect similar producers to come running for Julia Ducournau following the March 10th release of Raw, her wildly inventive cannibalism tale that got quite a lot of buzz off of the festival circuit last year. The new red-band trailer for the film, which you can take a look at below, should give you a vague idea of the evocative and brutal imagery and instinctual, alluring editing that gives the film it's own visual timbre, but that's not even half the story with Raw. The movie is as furiously political and quite disturbing, but there's no feeling of straining for attention or watered-down bias. A rumor went around at TIFF that someone had gotten sick or passed out at a screening due to the brutality. I almost passed out as well, but out of sheer joy for something so immediately fresh and confidently crafted. That being said, there are moments where you might regret having the shrimp salad sandwich for lunch.

Here's the red-band trailer for Raw:

Here's the official synopsis for Raw:

Everyone in Justine’s family is a vet. And a vegetarian. At 16, she’s a brilliant and promising student. When she starts at veterinary school, she enters a decadent, merciless and dangerously seductive world. During the first week of hazing rituals, desperate to fit in whatever the cost, she strays from her family’s principles when she eats raw meat for the first time.

Justine will soon face the terrible and unexpected consequences of her actions as her true self begins to emerge…