The story begins in China with Wei and her father. There is clearly much love between them. She is a bright young girl and he is a brilliant scientist working on a medical research project. If successful, his work will heal them both, as they share a common facial deformity.
The cracking first five minutes of the film set the tone as he tries his grafting formula on his own face but fails to survive the attempt. We witness the horror of his work through special effects that clearly demonstrate the growth and grafting on skin samples. Wei tries to save him by cutting air holes in his face with a scalpel, but fails. It is a start that goes off with a bang!
The film then jumps several years forward as Wei travels to New Zealand to stay with her aunt and immerse herself in medical research, continuing her father’s work. She guards his handwritten Chinese notes with her life, hoping to one day make her face 'beautiful'. She constantly wears a scarf wrapped high around her neck to hide her scars.
As well as physically, she's emotionally scarred and socially isolated and struggles to fit in. Her cousin, Angela, is street-wise, confident and speaks no Chinese, having been born and raised in New Zealand. While Wei and Auntie Ling hit it off immediately, Angela quickly becomes irritated by Wei’s presence - especially when Wei sets up a shrine to her father in the house.
At university, we are introduced to the cocksure, predatory Professor Paul. He pretends to befriend Wei, but only because he has discovered her father's research and believes he can finish it himself, making for fame and fortune. He steals the notes and works alone, while leading Wei to believe they are collaborating.
In the meantime, Wei discovers the missing link her father overlooked in his formula - an extract from a rare plant, the Corpse Flower! This stabilises the serum, allowing for near-instant, perfect skin grafting. Following a falling out, Wei accidentally kills Angela by stabbing her in the eye with a chopstick! Not one to miss an opportunity to practise what she has learned, she uses Angela’s skin to 'fix' her own face.
From here, the film leaps from disaster to disaster and experiment to experiment. There are grisly deaths for anyone who gets in Wei’s way - including, and especially, the cliquey girls at university who gave her such a hard time. Monsters are created, grafting is the key, and there is a poignant, sad ending to the whole affair. Wei is the monster here, yet the film encourages us to feel pity for her despite the terrible things she does.
The film is shot quite artistically at times, with great cinematography, close-ups, and lighting - all hallmarks of good arthouse horror. However, it occasionally feels as though the production ran out of money - some special effects are excellent, while others are clearly lower-budget prosthetics and makeup, for example - and handheld camerawork sometimes creeps in.
I was unfamiliar with the cast, but Yoyena Sun is very convincing in the lead role. Those around her are perhaps less so. Regardless, it is a good romp and 90 minutes of solid entertainment. It is well worth a look now that it’s streaming on various platforms in the UK.
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