Moviegoers nauseated by French director’s Julia Ducournau’s cannibal-infused Raw don’t need to worry about throwing up in their popcorn bags — at least at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles.
The cinema is offering custom-made barf bags to customers before the movie begins playing. An usher hands out the bags after explaining that, due to the graphic gore in the movie, several viewers have fainted, while at least one person vomited.
“One of the staff at the Nuart took up the initiative to make the barf bags out of paper lunch bags. What a fun idea! I remember that used to be done with some horror releases in the 1970s,” said Mark Valen, a film buyer with Landmark Theatres who also programs the Nuart.
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It isn’t the first time people have responded in such fashion. Fainting and vomiting also occurred when the French thriller made the rounds on the festival circuit.
Raw, about a young girl who develops an all-consuming appetite for human flesh, made its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival before playing at other fests, including Toronto. Focus World picked up rights to the movie following Cannes.
“Marking the feature debut of French director Julia Ducournau, who leads a terrific young cast into a maelstrom of blood, guts and unfettered sexual awakening, this Cannes Critics’ Week selection should become a hot potato (or is that a meatball?) at the market while propelling its talented creator into the spotlight,” The Hollywood Reporter‘s review said of the movie. Adding to the gore factor is the fact that the film is set at a Gallic veterinary college.
Raw, which opened in select theaters earlier this month, has grossed $78,000 to date from nine cinemas.
