It’s hard to find the right words to describe Grafted, the feature debut from director Sasha Rainbow. “Skin-crawling” and “face-melting” might come close, but let’s not forget “chaotic,” “surreal,” and “gross enough to make you rethink barbecue pork forever.” Drawing clear inspiration from body horror greats like The Fly and Audition (I would argue one of the best comparisons is the cult classic May), Grafted is part dark comedy, part tragedy, and all slimy, squelchy madness.

The film follows Wei (Joyena Sun), a painfully awkward Chinese exchange student with a knack for biology and the kind of daddy issues that only a traumatic skin-grafting experiment can create. After witnessing her scientist father asphyxiate under a self-applied layer of overzealous experimental skin, Wei grows up determined to perfect his work. Her motive? To erase her genetic birthmark and fit into her new life in New Zealand. What follows is a cavalcade of murder, face-stealing, and existential crises as Wei’s scientific curiosity spirals into something far darker.

At its heart, Grafted is a grotesque satire on beauty standards and the lengths we’ll go to achieve them. Rainbow pulls no punches in depicting Wei’s descent, forcing the audience to squirm as she literally peels away layers of identity. The cultural commentary, while occasionally heavy-handed, hits hard: Wei’s isolation stems not only from her physical insecurities but also from her struggle to reconcile her Chinese heritage with the Western ideals around her. “This isn’t just about beauty,” Rainbow explains in an interview. “It’s about the things we sacrifice to fit in—identity, tradition, even our humanity.”

That said, subtlety is not Grafted’s strong suit. The film doesn’t so much whisper its themes as bash you over the head with them using a scalpel and a vat of pink goo.

The performances in Grafted are as layered as the flesh Wei meticulously carves. Joyena Sun is heartbreaking as the timid, tragic protagonist, while Jess Hong and Eden Hart shine as Angela and Eve, Wei’s antagonistic foils. The trio does the heavy lifting when the plot veers into body-swapping territory, mimicking each other’s mannerisms with unnerving precision. Special mention goes to Jared Turner as the sleazy professor Paul, who exudes “human dumpster fire” energy in every scene.

Rainbow and cinematographer Tammy Williams craft a visual feast—or perhaps a buffet of horrors. Early scenes are cloaked in drab greys and browns, echoing Wei’s loneliness. But as the body count rises, the palette shifts into neon pinks and glossy whites, turning blood-soaked labs into twisted odes to beauty and consumerism. The aesthetic screams, “If Barbie were a serial killer, this would be her vibe.”

While Grafted is a wild ride, it’s pacing is uneven, with a rushed third act that leaves little room to explore the emotional fallout of Wei’s actions. The film’s attempt to juggle so many themes—body image, cultural assimilation, academic exploitation—sometimes feels more like a pileup than a seamless integration.

And then there’s the CGI. Look, I get it. Budget constraints are real. But when a character’s face removal looks more strawberry jam than sinew and muscle, the tension takes a nosedive.

Grafted is far from perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. Sasha Rainbow’s debut is a gory, gutsy exploration of the grotesque, bolstered by standout performances and an unapologetically audacious style. It may not rewrite the rules of body horror, but it certainly gives them a grotesque new coat of flesh-colored paint.

If you’ve got the stomach for it—and a high tolerance for neon bloodbaths—Grafted is worth a watch. Just maybe skip the popcorn.