After the Storm
117'
Japan
IFFR 2017
Prudish Justine is insecure and wary of starting her study of veterinary medicine. The campus is large and the initiation gross. Her tougher older sister is no help at all. Luckily, she has Adrien, her roommate and gay best friend. To Justine’s horror, the initiation involves eating raw rabbit kidneys. Soon afterwards she develops a terrible rash and an uncontrollable lust for meat which proves the start of a bloody transformation from nerdy goody-two-shoes into lusty vamp.
Horror films worth their salt use gory metaphors to highlight social phenomena. Seasoned viewers will see a critique of our dealings with animals and current beauty ideals behind the blood, vomit and hair. Cameraman Ruben Impens (De helaasheid der dingen, Belgica) captures all this in bloody, bestial, beautiful glory. Writer/director Julia Ducournau has won many prizes for this, her debut feature, including the FIPRESCI prize at Semaine de la Critique in Cannes.
IFFR 2017