The Reflecting Skin (1990)

In the 1950's, a young boy living with his troublesome family in rural USA fantasizes that a neighboring widow is actually a vampire, responsible for a number of disappearances in the area.

Director:

Philip Ridley

Writer:

Philip Ridley

Stars:

Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Cooper

6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Viggo Mortensen	...	Cameron Dove
Lindsay Duncan	...	Dolphin Blue
Jeremy Cooper	...	Seth Dove
Sheila Moore	...	Ruth Dove
Duncan Fraser	...	Luke Dove
David Longworth	...	Joshua
Robert Koons	...	Sheriff Ticker
David Bloom	...	Deputy
Evan Hall	...	Kim
Codie Lucas Wilbee	...	Eben
Sherry Bie	...	Cassie
Jason Wolff	...	Cadillac Driver (as Jason Wolfe)
Dean Hass	...	Passenger
Guy Buller	...	Passenger
Jason Brownlow	...	Passenger

Storyline

A young boy tries to cope with rural life circa 1950s and his fantasies become a way to interpret events. After his father tells him stories of vampires, he becomes convinced that the widow up the road is a vampire, and tries to find ways of discouraging his brother from seeing her. He must deal with an abusive mother, a father with a charge of molestation, a band of youths creating havoc, and an unforgiving environment in general.

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Plot Keywords:

1950s | united states | usa | united states of america | rural america | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes terrible things happen quite naturally

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for intense violent behavior, and for sensuality

Details

Country:

UK Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 1990 (UK)

Also Known As:

Det gyllene fältet

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Screen Productions,BBC Films,Zenith Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 115 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Philip Ridley stated that he hand painted all the wheat yellow because he preferred the look of it

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Quotes

Ruth Dove: Have you been exploding frogs again?

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Connections

Featured in Renegade Cut: The Reflecting Skin: Evil Happens Naturally (2018)

User Reviews

One of the most beautifully filmed pieces ever!

Heartrendingly beautiful scenes of too-golden wheat fields. Also shattering in its disturbing imagery and subject matter. Solidly acted by all concerned. This film really needs to be on DVD! Hey! Get it done already! It's a crime to have to watch this on inferior VHS media. The world of childhood encounters the horrifying adult world in a series of inexplicable tragedies and horrendous crimes. Emotionally charged for anyone who remembers what it's like to be a child peering into the Pandora's's box of mature reality with all it's terrifying dangers, from which children are normally sheltered. Here the worlds collide with devastating impact; and yet, as the tag line states, it's all quite natural and must be taken in stride in order to encounter life in a meaningful way. Yes, children, life is full of lunacy, failure, cruelty, persecution, suicides, murderers, death and decay. Welcome to our life. The ultimate answer to the Simple Plan song, the fact is that, Yes we all know what it's like, because we all have to live it; your experience is not some uniquely tragic exception, it's just the universal, horrifying reality. Thank God that most of the time we don't have to face it, and life is good. But, to take a poignant line from Grand Canyon, "If you live long enough, some awful bad (stuff's) gonna happen to ya."