I’m going to level with you. It takes a lot for me to want to tap out of a horror film. I grew up on the genre. The owners of the local VHS shop down the street loved my interest in the genre and would rent me horror films far beyond what I should have been watching in elementary school. My family firmly believed that it was okay as long as we talked about it. Their concern was that I knew how the films worked and that they were make believe. I was practically raised on slasher films and psychological horror I knew was scary even if I didn’t understand why.

Raw, a joint French-Belgian production from writer/director Julia Ducournau, is the first film I’ve encountered in years that thoroughly tested me.

Do not be confused or mistaken by the following phenomena. Have you ever come across a horror film that looks just like another horror film you know is coming out? It has a similar (if not identical) title, a similar poster, and even a similar plot, but it’s not the same film. It’s a separate film that is coming out around the same time. Sometimes, it’s pure coincidence—there are only so many spins on a ghost story or a slasher. Other times, it’s intentional—there are studios who will release a slapstick shark horror/comedy to compete with each SyFy movie of the week release (or, more often, vice versa—SyFy loves their own version of a could-be hit). No matter the circumstances, just be aware that you aren’t imagining things. Horror is filled with carbon copy releases that sometimes are significantly better than the main release.