Under Our Skin (2008)

Director:

Andy Abrahams Wilson

Release Date:

19 June 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

There's no medicine for someone like you

Plot:

Exposes the hidden epidemic of Lyme disease and reveals how our corrupt health care system is failing to address one of the most serious illnesses of our time.

Plot Keywords:

Lyme Disease | Epidemic | Disease | Controversy | Medical Ethics

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Open Eye Pictures

Shedding light on a disease stuck in the dark

One of the most important documentaries of the year, Under Our Skin examines the controversy surrounding the identification and treatment of Lyme disease. Director Andy Abrahams Wilson takes a bold stance creating a frightening exposé of the corrupt medical system. When his own sister became diagnosed with Lyme's, Wilson began research that produced this chilling story of microbes, medicine, and money pieced together over 375 hours of footage filmed over four years. Transmitted through ticks and distinguishable by a spiral shaped bacteria, Lyme disease first appeared during the 1970's in the town of Lyme, CT. The small town disease has grown to become a worldwide epidemic while still managing to go greatly unnoticed by the general public. With this documentary, Wilson sheds light on both the private life of individuals effected and the scientific and medical community, considering individuals who are told "there's no medicine for people like you" and are left helpless as their lives are destroyed, as well as investigating the claim that Lyme disease is an over diagnosed "disease du jour". The combination of perspectives creates a documentary with the thrills of a horror film that exposes a preeminent issue.