Puberty and school bullying conflate in this somewhat peculiar feature debut with elements of horror as a schoolgirl discovers her body changing in distressing ways.

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Tiger Stripes would make a great double-bill with the Singaporean animated short, The Tiger of 142B (2015), in which I had the privilege of working with the outstanding animation duo, Henry and Harry Zhuang. 

Both films deal with tigers allegorically, though here in Amanda Nell Yu’s promising if sometimes uneven debut feature, which won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at Cannes, it also takes on a corporeal meaning. 

Set in rural Malaysia, a rebellious schoolgirl discovers her body changing in distressing ways.  It’s the onset of puberty, but while that catches her by surprise, nothing could prepare her for the physical transformation that would lead her even more astray. 

Thematically, puberty is conflated with school bullying, two issues that plague teenagers trying not just to make sense of their changing bodies, but also the mental stress of being ostracised by their peers. 

“That thing came last night because it could smell her.”

Tonally, the film balances drama and horror quite well, though the see-sawing between the two genres might feel repetitive after a while.  

This is the kind of movie that loses its sense of mystique once the filmmaker’s sleight-of-hand becomes overplayed, most evidently in a subplot involving a ‘spiritual guru’. 

I would describe Tiger Stripes as a peculiar tale, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek attempt at a body horror movie.  The film doesn’t want audiences to take it too seriously, yet it sometimes takes itself too seriously, which may be why some critics or viewers haven’t lapped up the film as readily as others. 

Fans of Apichatpong Weerasethakul would surely recognise some visual references to his work, particularly from Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) and Tropical Malady (2004).

Grade: B

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Trailer: