I was so enthralled by the premise and trailer for this film that I drove two and a half hours to see it in a theater, and it was absolutely worth the trip. It remains one of my favorite films and I had its one-sheet hanging on my wall for years (it's only not now because I haven't gotten around to hanging stuff in the new house). It probably says something about me that Under the Skin, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Ghost in the Shell would all make my shortlist of favorite films.
I've never been that impressed by ScarJo, to be honest. The Girl with the Pearl Earring, for example...I thought she was borderline terrible in that film.
But this one...for me, it's her best performance. Career performance. Not sure why she connected so seamlessly to the material, but so glad that she did. It's such a heartbreaking role. It's been a while since I saw this, but I think there's a scene near the end where she's driving her car and crying from all the loneliness and pain and I can still remember feeling every bit of her alien sadness.
It's really something that I can still remember those scenes where the men she traps sink into the black goo. Zero gore, yet terrifying, because it's so damn mysterious. What a movie.
Glad to see this in October, because the beach scene and the peek at the process below the goo hit me harder than most traditional horror. After the two floating victims hold hands, there's a cut to a wide shot of the person further along in the process, briefly floating away before popping and deflating. That popping sound made me jump the first time. In the many viewings since then, I swear the time between the cut and the pop gets longer each time, so it still gets me. Always having the sound turned way up contributes too, but it's a must to enjoy one of my favorite scores of all time.
That crying baby…the anxiety in that scene is off the charts. I had a similar reaction to the opening scene of Post Tenebras Lux. Not sure they would have hit as hard if I were not a parent, but man do they haunt me.
Has there been a more apt title for a movie? Under the Skin does just that. It burrows into you. The score, the black goo, the “we are the real monsters” of it all. It’s a movie that you can’t easily shake.
I didn’t know that they had not read the source material. I suppose this ranks right up there with Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? in this department.
Funny enough, first other book adaptation that come to mind that largely ignore source material but capture its spirit perfectly is Ghost World, which ScarJo is also in.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen this, but certain moments — the sequences in the black void, in particular — have never left me. I don’t know when we’ll be getting another feature from Glazer, but for those with access to Kanopy, his 2020 short Strasbourg 1518 is well worth seeking out.
Wonderful film that has somehow completely fallen out of public discourse in less than a decade Showed a friend this film last year during October and she just did not get it at all. Calling this "cult" when it came out would have sounded preposterous, but now it seems like a perfect test case. Or maybe that's what getting old does to your perspective.
A masterpiece and one of the greatest films of all time imo. it's one of the only movies that really feels like an alien perspective, i gushed a lot about it last year in my own blog post. i really wish i could've seen it in a theater.
just caught it at the Plaza in Atlanta and boy: what an experience. Unsure if the projector lighting was off or my TV was always just brighter but the darkness of the cinematography really stands out. And of course, that sound design. I genuinely do not know how he accomplished the void scenes, it's stunning every time, and the reflections make her look even more "off" somehow. That and of course, the baby remains the most upsetting thing i've ever seen in a movie.
I was so enthralled by the premise and trailer for this film that I drove two and a half hours to see it in a theater, and it was absolutely worth the trip. It remains one of my favorite films and I had its one-sheet hanging on my wall for years (it's only not now because I haven't gotten around to hanging stuff in the new house). It probably says something about me that Under the Skin, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Ghost in the Shell would all make my shortlist of favorite films.
I've never been that impressed by ScarJo, to be honest. The Girl with the Pearl Earring, for example...I thought she was borderline terrible in that film.
But this one...for me, it's her best performance. Career performance. Not sure why she connected so seamlessly to the material, but so glad that she did. It's such a heartbreaking role. It's been a while since I saw this, but I think there's a scene near the end where she's driving her car and crying from all the loneliness and pain and I can still remember feeling every bit of her alien sadness.
It's really something that I can still remember those scenes where the men she traps sink into the black goo. Zero gore, yet terrifying, because it's so damn mysterious. What a movie.
Glad to see this in October, because the beach scene and the peek at the process below the goo hit me harder than most traditional horror. After the two floating victims hold hands, there's a cut to a wide shot of the person further along in the process, briefly floating away before popping and deflating. That popping sound made me jump the first time. In the many viewings since then, I swear the time between the cut and the pop gets longer each time, so it still gets me. Always having the sound turned way up contributes too, but it's a must to enjoy one of my favorite scores of all time.
That crying baby…the anxiety in that scene is off the charts. I had a similar reaction to the opening scene of Post Tenebras Lux. Not sure they would have hit as hard if I were not a parent, but man do they haunt me.
Has there been a more apt title for a movie? Under the Skin does just that. It burrows into you. The score, the black goo, the “we are the real monsters” of it all. It’s a movie that you can’t easily shake.
I didn’t know that they had not read the source material. I suppose this ranks right up there with Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? in this department.
What a double feature that would be.
Funny enough, first other book adaptation that come to mind that largely ignore source material but capture its spirit perfectly is Ghost World, which ScarJo is also in.
Can think of one recent big deal adaptation whose director could have benefited from a better (or any) understanding of the original text...
Best film of the 21st Centruy so far.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen this, but certain moments — the sequences in the black void, in particular — have never left me. I don’t know when we’ll be getting another feature from Glazer, but for those with access to Kanopy, his 2020 short Strasbourg 1518 is well worth seeking out.
Wonderful film that has somehow completely fallen out of public discourse in less than a decade Showed a friend this film last year during October and she just did not get it at all. Calling this "cult" when it came out would have sounded preposterous, but now it seems like a perfect test case. Or maybe that's what getting old does to your perspective.
A masterpiece and one of the greatest films of all time imo. it's one of the only movies that really feels like an alien perspective, i gushed a lot about it last year in my own blog post. i really wish i could've seen it in a theater.
just caught it at the Plaza in Atlanta and boy: what an experience. Unsure if the projector lighting was off or my TV was always just brighter but the darkness of the cinematography really stands out. And of course, that sound design. I genuinely do not know how he accomplished the void scenes, it's stunning every time, and the reflections make her look even more "off" somehow. That and of course, the baby remains the most upsetting thing i've ever seen in a movie.