phancy.com - horror reviews - MOH 2025

Grafted



IMDb Info

Release Year: 2024
Runtime: 1h 36m
Country: New Zealand
Language: English, Mandarin
Genre Tags: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Plot Summary: A bright but socially awkward exchange student takes her craving for popularity to horrifying heights.

Poster - Title Card


phancy.com rating:

phancy.com notes: What a hot mess. I like the idea, but it quickly devolves into the lead doing so many crazy things non-stop there's no time to consider the why and how of it all. It's also hard to care about her when she doesn't have much of a personality. I understand the idea that she's trying to pretend to be other people to be more assertive, but she's just constantly upping the ante of crazy that it negates any character development. The plot is also overstuffed with ideas, and doesn't have enough runtime to address them in any way but shallowly. Performances and direction were fine, but the script needed some editing.


Outside Reviews:

Katie Rife
2.5 out of 4 stars - rogerebert.com

"Grafted" is more of a B-movie than "The Substance," with stylish direction but few pretensions towards being art. It's the kind of movie where text will appear on the screen as a character reads an article explaining what's going on in the plot, the kind of solid programmer that takes its audience for a slick and satisfying ride without challenging them too much. It's going to Shudder, where it will make for an enjoyable, if inconsequential, movie night for teen girls and gorehounds—two groups that, delightfully, overlap a little more every year.