10 horror hidden gems on Netflix

6. Raw

Going away to school for the first time is hard enough without having to worry about hazing—especially when said hazing involves being doused in buckets of blood. In the French-Belgian horror film Raw, Justine is sent off to college to pursue her veterinarian degree, where her sister is also studying. But Justine soon finds she is expected to participate in a series of strange and disturbing rituals and wild parties, chiefly among them the demand that all new students eat a raw rabbit liver.

As a strict vegetarian all her life as a result of her parents’ insistence, Justine has never even tasted meat; social pressure forces her hand. Caught up in the increasingly frenzied and bizarre lifestyle at school, Justine soon finds herself craving meat with an intensity she has never experienced—and a hunger that she cannot seem to satiate.

Raw is a deliciously squeamish entry into coming-of-age horror movies, rich in metaphor and artfully utilized gore. Though it’s hardly heavy on the blood, it capitalizes on its lurid moments so effectively that it made some people pass out at the Toronto Film Festival. Its approach to horror is in the same vein—slow, gradual, giving just enough to hammer the point home. And Justine’s cravings are not limited to eating; as she continues to explore her hunger for meat, she also experiences a sexual awakening. The thematic ties between the twin taboos of cannibalism and female sexuality finally goe hand in hand.