Tiger Stripes

Tiger Stripes, the debut feature from Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu, centres around rebellious 12-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) as she enters puberty. However, her transformation into womanhood evolves from stomach cramps and the odd rogue hair into something more monstrous. Her eyes begin to glow, and she has violent outbursts as it becomes apparent that she’s becoming something more beastly.

There’s a hint of Ginger Snaps within this coming-of-age drama. While this movie doesn’t get close to reaching the same level of horror or gore as the werewolf cult favourite (though there are some effectively squeamish moments of body horror at points), Eu’s film does have a ferocious feminist bite to it. Set within a conservative school for girls, the pupils have rigid gender roles drummed into them by the teachers. In one lesson, for example, they’re taught that “The father goes to work” while “The mother stays home and cooks”. Zaffan exuberantly dancing in the bathroom while removing her headscarf not only opposes these gender norms, but they characterise her as the vibrant child she is.

When her transformation starts to happen, stories about a young girl who vanished into the neighbouring jungle and a warning about demonic possession establish some intrigue about what might be going on. Events take a more sinister turn at a camp when the youngster spots something in a tree and the other girls fall prey to something supernatural. It’s somewhat disappointing, then, that Tiger Stripes never fully embraces its horror elements, with the climax particularly coming up short in this regard. Part of this reluctance to lean into the gore may be down to this debut’s notable low budget, which gives rise to some poor special effects.

What this feature lacks in budget, it more than makes up for with its high-spirited energy. Every member of the cast puts their all into their performances and looks to be having the time of their lives onscreen. Even when an extra looks straight into the camera or viewers watch sped-up footage of the youngster climbing a tree to look like she’s bounding up it, it’s hard not to get sucked into its endearing charms.

A wonderfully strange and compelling spin on the coming-of-age genre, viewers will have just as much fun with this film as Zaffan does dancing in the opening scene.

Andrew Murray

Tiger Stripes is released in select cinemas on 17^th May 2024.

Watch the trailer for Tiger Stripes here: