Zafreen Zairizal in Tiger Stripes (Dark Star Pictures)

The Malay-language Tiger Stripes is an entirely new take on the body horror subgenre. Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) is a 12-year-old girl who is extremely carefree and rebellious, despite the more conservative Muslim culture around her. But things change when she hits puberty and gets her period. As expected, Zaffan goes through a difficult time with all the changes in her body, not to mention the various impacts on her everyday life—but not exactly how one would expect. Zaffan’s hands begin to grow claws, she loses her hair, suddenly develops violent tendencies, and goes on a rampage in the nearby jungle. She is literally becoming a monster after getting her period.

This allegory takes some of the worst experiences of puberty to become, at times, a genuinely bewildering horror movie, even without the deeper symbolism. Debut feature film writer-director Amanda Nell Eu has created something unique here that has a lot to say about outdated perceptions of women and the menstrual cycle.

Zaffan’s transformation into an actual monster begins more subtly, and Zairizal does a great job of portraying a girl who goes through many traumatizing moments. When her friends scare her with old wives’ tales about what happens to menstruating women that involves demons, Zairizal showcases Zaffan’s vulnerable and more helpless side. Zairizal is equally as adept at the bigger moments in full monster getup as well as in the quieter and more emotional scenes. The story requires a lot of Zaffan, and Zairizal delivers in spades.

Besides the larger monster story at play, there are a lot of other parallels to what young women commonly go through: their social interactions and relationships. The bullying Zaffan experiences at the hands of her former bestie Farah (Deena Ezral) is an unfortunate experience that grounds the tension, making the horror aspects much more impactful. Ezral is also strong as the main antagonist that audiences will love to hate. She’s no Regina George, but she is fun to root against.

The filmmaker also seemingly makes some points on the role religion plays in demonizing women and their periods. At one point, Zaffan’s affliction is exposed to the town, causing a noted doctor to perform an exorcism to drive away the demon that has processed her. This hyperbolic doctor, more concerned about his social media following, comes off as a charlatan, as the townspeople quickly realize. His scenes feel similar in spirit to the social commentaries found in Jordan Peele movies, which also use the horror genre to tell relevant personal stories. Overall, the film is a successful attempt at some very innovative and experimental ideas, though the pacing could be faster. There are many moments of solitary reflection as Zaffan struggles with her newfound changes, but there are also much longer stretches where the plot moves at a snail’s pace.

Tiger Stripes is part of a trend of transplanting a coming-of-age story into different genres. While this is a set in a Malaysian school for young girls, its premise is similar the recent Pixar film Turning Red. The animated film is set in Toronto in 2002, where a young Chinese Canadian girl turns into a giant red Panda upon getting her period. This transformation is linked to a family curse that uses cultural mythologies as an inspiration. It’s clearly another allegory for entering womanhood and puberty, if it wasn’t obvious from the not-so-subtle title. Even the very adult oriented Netflix original animated series Big Mouth had an episode featuring a young woman getting her period. Despite the crude humor, the series dealt with the topic in a pretty healthy, albeit, in its trademark rated-R kind of way.

The compelling Tiger Stripes is a must-watch for cinephiles who appreciate horror stories that attempt something different.