Raw (2017)

Kernel Score: 78% · 3,367 ratings · Rated R

Genres: Horror, Drama

Released: 2017-03-10

Runtime: 98 minutes

Is Raw worth watching?

Depends on your taste. A vet-school student develops a hunger for meat in a French horror drama that's as much about family and pressure as gore. It's well made and unsettling, but the scenes are graphic enough that plenty of viewers will want to look away.

Watch it if you

  • like arthouse horror with a serious point
  • can handle graphic body horror
  • enjoy coming-of-age stories with a twist

Skip it if you

  • are squeamish about blood and cannibalism
  • want a conventional scary movie

Best for: Brave solo night in

Fresh Kernels verdict, AI-assisted from our scores, audience reviews and the official rating.

Where to watch Raw

  • Rent: Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube
  • Buy: Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube

US availability, updated 2026-10-22.

Overview

In Justine's family everyone is a vet and a vegetarian. At 16, she's a gifted teen ready to take on her first year in vet school, where her older sister also studies. There, she gets no time to settle: hazing starts right away. Justine is forced to eat raw meat for the first time in her life. Unexpected consequences emerge as her true self begins to form.

Raw parents' guide: ages 16+

Parents need to know that Raw is an R-rated body-horror film about a vet student pressured into cannibalism during college hazing, with graphic and provocative content.

  • Violence & scariness: Intense — Reviews and keywords describe graphic body horror and cannibalism as central, provocative content.
  • Sex, romance & nudity: Moderate — The R rating and coming-of-age college setting with hazing suggest sexual content alongside the horror.
  • Language: Moderate — R rating and a review's explicit language indicate strong profanity throughout.
  • Drinking, drugs & smoking: Moderate — A review references drugs as part of the film's provocative, hard-partying college backdrop.

Fresh Kernels AI-assessed from the official R rating, publicly documented content. A guide for families, not an official rating.

Movies like Raw

If you liked Raw, these are the movies we'd watch next.

  • Let the Right One In (2008) — 87%: Another quiet, strange horror story about hunger and growing up
  • Black Swan (2010) — 86%: Intense psychological horror about pressure and a body changing
  • Ginger Snaps (2000) — 76%: Teen horror where a bodily change stands in for growing up
  • The Skin I Live In (2011) — 85%: Disturbing European drama about bodies, identity and obsession
  • Rosemary's Baby (1968) — 88%: Slow, creeping horror that gets under your skin
  • Frankenstein (2025) — 87%: Gothic horror about creating and fearing a monster

Director

Julia Ducournau

Cast

  • Garance Marillier as Justine
  • Ella Rumpf as Alexia
  • Rabah Nait Oufella as Adrien
  • Laurent Lucas as Father
  • Joana Preiss as Mother
  • Bouli Lanners as Truck Driver
  • Marion Vernoux as Nurse
  • Thomas Mustin as BDE Chef
  • Marouan Iddoub as Haze Refectory
  • Jean-Louis Sbille as Professor Evaluations

Raw FAQ

Is Raw worth watching?

Depends on your taste. A vet-school student develops a hunger for meat in a French horror drama that's as much about family and pressure as gore. It's well made and unsettling, but the scenes are graphic enough that plenty of viewers will want to look away.

Where can I watch Raw?

In the US you can rent it from Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube.

Is Raw OK for kids?

Raw is rated R. Fresh Kernels suggests ages 16+. Parents need to know that Raw is an R-rated body-horror film about a vet student pressured into cannibalism during college hazing, with graphic and provocative content.

What movies are like Raw?

If you liked Raw, try Let the Right One In, Black Swan, Ginger Snaps and The Skin I Live In.