Horror Flick So Sick Paramedics Called At Toronto Film Festival

Cannibal horror flick Raw reportedly had viewers reaching for the barf bags, but was it just a marketing stunt?

Paramedics had to be called to deal with overwhelmed viewers at a midnight screening of the French-language gore-fest at the Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday morning. According to reports (and a rather gleeful press release from the film’s marketing team) medical help had to be sought when “the film became too much” for some attendees to the screening.

However, some cinema pundits have called foul on the alleged swoonings, suggesting it was all a publicity stunt to give the film more attention at the prestigious film fest. According to Screen Rant’s Hannah Shaw-Williams, Toronto Paramedic Services “could not find any record of an ambulance being called out to the Ryerson Theatre (where the screening took place) at the time when the incident is said to have occurred.” Photos have surfaced online of an ambulance at the theatre and several media attendees have corroborated reports of medical personnel attending an apparently unwell patron.

Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, the grisly film tells the story of a vegetarian woman turned into flesh-craving cannibal after eating some raw rabbit organs in a freshman hazing initiation at veterinarian school. Raw’s heavy use of blood splattering practical effects was described by Variety magazine as: “often so realistic that they are hard to look at.”

Despite allegedly turning the stomachs of some people, the film has received largely positive reviews since it premiered at Cannes earlier this year. It also has a glowing 100% "Fresh" rating on review aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes. There is currently no planned release for the film in Australia.