Body horror, a subgenre of horror that delves into the visceral and grotesque violations of the human body, occupies a distinctive and unsettling space in cinema. As a genre that takes pride in showcasing nightmarish transformations, mutilations and mutations, body horror reveals the raw and often uncomfortable truths about the human condition. Films like The Fly, The Brood, Hellraiser, Videodrome and the recent The Substance reflect not only primal anxieties and physical decay but also the fragility of our humanity. In the realm of body horror, few films leave as indelible a mark as Julia Ducournau’s debut movie Raw (2016), who established herself as the protégé of ‘the king of body horror’ David Cronenberg, a reputation she further solidified with her sophomore feature Titane (2021).

It is a French-Belgian horror that juxtaposes cannibalism with the sinister initiation rituals of college hazing, weaving a dark allegory that explores the dichotomies of abstinence and excess,...