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[REVIEW] BHFF 2024: ‘Grafted’ Delivers One of the Best Coming-Of-Age Horror Films Since ‘Carrie’

Wei’s expansive scarring on her face and neck isn’t just a disfigurement, it is an ever-present reminder of her past: it was the same condition her father had sought to cure in both of them before his mysterious and horrific death in front of her. When her mother sends her to live with her absent aunt and estranged cousin to attend college in New Zealand, her father’s scientific experiments are brought back to life. But as Wei’s awkward attempts at assimilation intersect with her miraculous discovery, what results is an ever-maddening spiral of physical and psychological suffering, sending her falling through a grotesque biological nightmare with no end in sight.

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Every year you’re bound to be caught off guard by at least one film you see at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. It’s hardly a surprise; the festival is a nexus of talent where filmmakers come together to show off some of their best work. But I certainly didn’t expect to come out of the festival having a new film I consider one of my all-time favorites. Grafted has taught me to dash my expectations going forward, and expect the unexpectedly fantastic.

Wei’s expansive scarring on her face and neck isn’t just a disfigurement, it is an ever-present reminder of her past: it was the same condition her father had sought to cure in both of them before his mysterious and horrific death in front of her. When her mother sends her to live with her absent aunt and estranged cousin to attend college in New Zealand, her father’s scientific experiments are brought back to life. But as Wei’s awkward attempts at assimilation intersect with her miraculous discovery, what results is an ever-maddening spiral of physical and psychological suffering, sending her falling through a grotesque biological nightmare with no end in sight.

There are echoes of beloved horror films past throughout Grafted; Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser are especially prominent thanks to the film’s Miskatonic premise and absolutely dastardly body horror. The effects may be heavily digital as opposed to those alumni of the subgenre, but make no mistake, they are solid and blended well with the practicals that are present. When your hard-to-pull-off flesh ripping (pun very intended) manages to make the entire theatre squirm and react out loud, you have to be doing something very right.

Much like Re-Animator, Grafted indulges itself in some humor throughout, cutting through its harrowing themes with more tongue-in-cheek moments. The struggles of cultural assimilation the film tackles come to life through Wei’s fight to fit in, feeding into some of its more comedic moments while still maintaining the level of pensiveness needed to address the subject matter with respect. The film’s script feels less like its tightrope walking the thin line between horror comedy and horror drama, and more like its dramatic elements are being complemented as they dance with the dark sensibilities of its laughs.

This dance is undoubtedly carried by relative newcomer Joyena Sun, who is whipsmart in her performance as Wei. With a true grasp of who Wei is and the sometimes-amusing-sometimes-uncomfortable quirks that entails as a young woman trying to force herself into a new mold, Sun doesn’t just make you feel for her. You’re outright driven to root for her, and this seems to only heighten and become more intense as she makes all the wrong moves. Jess Hong (playing Wei’s cousin Angela) and Eden Hart (playing Eve, Angela’s cold friend) likewise are absolutely phenomenal, displaying expertise in their cadence and expressiveness that hails them as some of the next great horror actresses. The way the three leads play off each other’s performances is the movie’s greatest strength, with each successive scene feeling fun and unexpected. There’s a memorable tone that reminded me of much of the fun I had watching Diablo Cody and Karyn Kusama’s outing in Jennifer’s Body, and it’s most pronounced when these three are put center stage.

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The cinematic landscape set for them by director Sasha Rainbow proves itself to be crafted with love by her creative choices. Framing her environments to accentuate the characters on screen comes with ease. It is a funny parallel to see the mainstage of the movie is a house under construction, because Rainbow is constantly playing with the surroundings, building and rebuilding spaces to fit the mood like an architect. She’s a filmmaker who is intimately aware of the space and place she has control over.

The film’s color palette and lighting regularly shifts around, creating new and vivid moods for moments of absolutely gnarly body horror and even more disturbing emotional beats to take place in. The setting and visuals are enhanced by an original soundtrack full of exciting music, experimental pop sounds accompanying Wei on her exploration of body and self, and becoming all the more intense as things just continue to go wrong in all the best ways.

Grafted is a perfect balance of substance and style, and one of the best additions to the pantheon of coming-of-age horror films since Raw, and even Carrie before it. It’s got everything you could want out of a body horror film, driven by an ensemble of up-and-coming talent bringing to life the vision of Rainbow’s strong new voice in the genre. I’m eagerly awaiting its distribution to Shudder, as it easily deserves its soon-to-be-found fan-favorite status. Be sure to keep your eyes (and maybe just a little bit of your skin) peeled for this one.

Grafted played at Brooklyn Horror Film Fest on October 21st, 2024, and will be heading to Shudder January 24th, 2025.

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Luis Pomales-Diaz is a freelance writer and lover of fantasy, sci-fi, and of course, horror. When he isn't working on a new article or short story, he can usually be found watching schlocky movies and forgotten television shows.

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[REVIEW] ‘The Dead Thing’ Takes Ghosting To A Whole New Level

The Dead Thing follows Alex (Blu Hunt), a young woman who works late hours, lives by the rays of a sunlamp, and is looking for the one connection that will make life seem less cyclical. When Alex meets Kyle (Ben Smith-Peterson), it seems like things will finally be going in her favor. But all that glitters is not gold. As quickly as he came, he vanished. Hurt, confused, and pissed, Alex tries to get to the bottom of why Kyle disappeared from her life. Some stones are meant to be left unturned.

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Elric Kane has been a prominent voice in the film and horror space for a long time. One of my fondest memories of Kane is his longtime hosting gig on the Shock Waves Podcast. The amount of film knowledge and obscure films I learned about from him and Dr. Rebekah McKendry singlehandedly fueled my interest in collecting physical media. Hearing how passionate and intense they were with their love of the genre is also what started me down the path of writing. While Dr. McKendry has previously dipped her toes in the feature filmmaking game, it’s now time for Elric Kane to do so.

Cut to: The Dead Thing.

The Dead Thing follows Alex (Blu Hunt), a young woman who works late hours, lives by the rays of a sunlamp, and is looking for the one connection that will make life seem less cyclical. When Alex meets Kyle (Ben Smith-Peterson), it seems like things will finally be going in her favor. But all that glitters is not gold. As quickly as he came, he vanished. Hurt, confused, and pissed, Alex tries to get to the bottom of why Kyle disappeared from her life. Some stones are meant to be left unturned.

Writer/director Elric Kane’s (and co-writer Webb Wilcoxen) singular debut feature film is a superbly crafted supernatural spectacle. The Dead Thing starts slow and deliberate; rather than rushing into an overwritten plot with underwritten characters, Kane and Wilcoxen allow the audience to sit with Alex in her neverending love life. One aspect of Alex that I, and hopefully many will, appreciate is how Alex is written. Rarely does Alex feel written from the perspective of the male gaze. Her life may not be going in the exact direction she wants, but the film never makes it out to be a her problem. At no point do they try and make Alex out to be a floozy or condemn her for the life she’s living, instead they make those who live the same kind of lifestyle feel seen. The film asks the audience if they ever feel like there’s no escape; too many of us can relate to that.

It doesn’t matter how a character is written if the acting doesn’t deliver, and Blu Hunt delivers. Set aside the fact that she has one of the most badass names I’ve ever heard, Hunt provides an astounding lead performance. Whether she’s walking alone down a Los Angeles street, or playing off of her longtime friend Cara (Katherine Hughes), coworker Chris (John Karna), or the mysterious[ly handsome] Kyle, Hunt gives it her all. It helps that Ben Smith-Peterson and the supporting cast all give overwhelmingly brilliant performances.

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Supernatural stories aren’t usually my go-to. They can be too overwritten, too style over substance, too “elevated”, or just plain boring. The Dead Thing quickly finds its footing and lets the audience accept it or not. Kane and cinematographer Ioana Vasile (who was a still photographer for Pontypool!!!) wonderfully capture the sometimes-solitary, sometimes-overstimulating beautiful hellscape that is Los Angeles. It should also be noted that one of my favorite actors in the world, Matt Mercer is a producer on this film.

The Dead Thing hits the perfect blend of claustrophobic loneliness and endless yearning. Just like Dr. Rebekah McKendry, it’s clear that Elric Kane doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk. For his debut feature film, The Dead Thing doesn’t need resuscitation. I’d say run, don’t walk, to check this one out, but if you do…look left and right before crossing the street.

The Dead Thing hits Shudder on Friday, February 14! Watch it with your partner if you can, or watch it alone with a tub of ice cream and an overflowing glass of wine. I won’t judge.

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[REVIEW] ‘Bride of Chucky’ Takes The Franchise In A New Direction

Bride of Chucky follows two groups of people who inevitably meet up for a final climactic finale. Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) procures Chucky’s (Brad Dourif) body following the events of Child’s Play 3. Her goal is to perform a voodoo ritual to put his soul back into a human’s body. Through a questionable series of events, Chucky kills Tiffany and puts her soul into the body of a doll. The side story follows Jade Kincaid (Katherine Heigl) and Jesse Miller (Nick Stabile) who elope, with a thousand dollars, from Jade’s overbearing police chief uncle Warren (John Ritter). After Chucky kills Warren, Jade and Jesse are fingered for the murder. That’s when hijinks ensue.

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The Child’s Play franchise is all over the place. What started as a [fairly] serious slasher series surrounding a killer doll would morph into a Nightmare on Elm Street-like horror comedy before self-correcting to find a solid middle ground. I’ll be the first to admit that I have never really cared much for this franchise. Child’s Play frightened me when I was a kid, and it wouldn’t be until my college years that I decided to watch Bride and Seed–this altered my overall opinion of what the franchise stood for. Watching Child’s Play 2 and 3 back in college left me wondering how a franchise as culturally impactful as this one fluctuated in style and substance.

Bride of Chucky follows two groups of people who inevitably meet up for a final climactic finale. Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) procures Chucky’s (Brad Dourif) body following the events of Child’s Play 3. Her goal is to perform a voodoo ritual to put his soul back into a human’s body. Through a questionable series of events, Chucky kills Tiffany and puts her soul into the body of a doll. The side story follows Jade Kincaid (Katherine Heigl) and Jesse Miller (Nick Stabile) who elope, with a thousand dollars, from Jade’s overbearing police chief uncle Warren (John Ritter). After Chucky kills Warren, Jade and Jesse are fingered for the murder. That’s when hijinks ensue.

Before the comments start, let’s return to the opening comment regarding Child’s Play turning into a horror comedy. Chucky was always one for quips. Like Freddy Krueger, Chucky would hit a one-liner shortly before or after his kill. These jokes worked to help cut through Chucky’s horror. It gave some momentary relief from the kills. Bride of Chucky is just one long gag, and for me, it’s frustrating. Like Nightmare, Bride of Chucky has lost the plot. Every scene seems to exist to facilitate a setup for the next bit or one-liner, rather than having moments of comedy flow naturally. The doll sex scene and swinger couple bits are just poorly thought-out filler.

I know this is going to anger some of you, but Bride of Chucky is a seriously awful movie.

There are a few moments that I do truly enjoy and work well in the overall Child’s Play universe. Tiffany kills the officer she buys Chucky’s body from with a nail file and then uses it to file her nails. The moment Tiffany stabs Chucky in the back at the cemetery is a great character moment, but it makes everything that led up to it pointless. With the exception of a few moments here and there, Bride of Chucky ends up being a chore to watch rather than entertainment. For a genre that has always been political, gay representation has been lacking for quite some time. The character of David Collins (Gordon Michael Woolvett) is a welcome addition to the story, but he feels underutilized in the grand scheme of it all.

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While I may not care for the franchise much, I’ve done some research on it over the years. Bride of Chucky features many recycled bits from other Child’s Play scripts and you can really feel it. The kills are few and far between and feel overly forced. Child’s Play 4 was initially put on hold after the abysmal box office of Child’s Play 3 and maybe writer/director Don Mancini should have taken another year or so to really flesh out the canon of Chucky. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of Tiffany becoming a doll and becoming pregnant with Chucky’s baby. But I don’t think the ends justify the means.

Cult and Curse of Chucky, thankfully, take the series back to a more grounded and to-the-roots nature of what Child’s Play was, and I’m glad it took nearly a decade after Seed for it to come to fruition. Mancini is an excellent voice in horror, but time and constraints are necessary for his vision to be fully realized. Those who are Child’s Play die-hards will probably disagree with everything I’ve said, and that’s okay. As a casual Chucky fan, Bride of Chucky feels nothing more than a nu-metal, Hot Topic, try-hard entry into the franchise. The kills look solid, and Dourif gives an incredible vocal performance (as always) but there’s little to no substance to Bride of Chucky.

No wonder half of all marriages end in divorce.

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