Under the Skin
Movie, 2013, The 2010s, Set in Glasgow
Under the Skin is #2 of 37 in release order and #2 of 37 in chronological order in the A24.
The story
Man and Woman are reunited after a long time. Sorrow and desire cannot break the silence. But that's okay: when words don't come, it's the body that speaks.
Under the Skin recap
Under the Skin (2013) follows an alien in human form who drives a van around Scotland, luring lone men to a dark house where they sink into a black liquid. Jonathan Glazer directs, loosely adapting the 2000 novel by Michel Faber. Scarlett Johansson plays the unnamed woman, who wears the clothes of a dead woman and is watched over by a silent motorcyclist. Much of the Glasgow footage uses hidden cameras and real passersby. On a beach she kills a swimmer and leaves a crying baby behind after its parents drown. Inside the void, a trapped victim sees an earlier one drained until only his skin remains. After picking up a man with a facial disfigurement (Adam Pearson), she lets him go, and the motorcyclist sets out after her as she leaves the van and wanders into the Highlands. The film stands on its own.
Under the Skin ending explained
Under the Skin ends in a Highland forest, where a logger who first offered her shelter attacks and tries to rape the woman. Her human skin tears, exposing a black, featureless body beneath. She peels off the face and holds it, looking at it, before the logger pours petrol over her and sets her alight. She burns in the snow and smoke rises into the falling flakes, while the motorcyclist stands alone looking out over the white hills. The novel spells out an alien meat trade and a named heroine, Isserley; the film strips nearly all of that explanation away.
Post-credits scenes
No. Under the Skin has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Ratings
IMDb 6.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 83%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Spring Breakers, before Ex Machina.
- Chronological order: after Spring Breakers, before Ex Machina.
Cast
Directed by Daniel Bandeira, Pedro Sotero.