Under the Skin (2013)

A mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.

Director:

Jonathan Glazer

Writers:

Walter Campbell, Jonathan Glazer

Stars:

Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 25 wins & 101 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scarlett Johansson	...	The Female
Jeremy McWilliams	...	The Bad Man
Lynsey Taylor Mackay	...	The Dead Woman
Dougie McConnell	...	Pick-Up Man
Kevin McAlinden	...	First Victim
D. Meade	...	Leering Man
Andrew Gorman	...	Second Victim
Joe Szula	...	Man at Club
Krystof Hádek	...	The Swimmer (as Krystof Hadek)
Roy Armstrong	...	Father at Beach
Alison Chand	...	Mother at Beach
Ben Mills	...	The Baby
Oscar Mills	...	The Baby
Lee Fanning	...	Motorcyclist #1
Paul Brannigan	...	Andrew

Storyline

An alien entity inhabits the earthly form of a young woman who combs the roads and streets of Scotland in search of the human prey she came to plunder. She seduces her isolated and forsaken male victims into an otherworldly dimension where they are stripped and consumed. However, existence in all its complexity begin to change the alien visitor. She begins to discover herself as human with tragic and terrifying consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | female nudity | desire | human prey | scotland | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic nudity, sexual content, some violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

UK USA Switzerland Poland

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 2014 (UK)

Also Known As:

Pod kožom

Filming Locations:

Tantallon Castle, Auldhame, East Lothian, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$13,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$133,154, 6 April 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,605,039, 3 August 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film4, British Film Institute (BFI), Silver Reel

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Close to the end, one of the motorcycle riders overlooks a valley shrouded in fog. The composition of the image and the pose of the rider mimics Caspar David Friedrichs' 1818 oil painting "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog".

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Goofs

When The Female descends down the escalator at around the 10 minute mark the camera angle switches from behind her descending the escalator with her to a fixed camera in front of her as she approaches. At that switch, the persons in front of her on the escalator are different in than in the prior shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Female Voice: [with a mechanical buzz over shadowy morphing orbs] T- D, S- Z- Th, B- T- V, H- T- D- K- G, S- Z- P- B, Ba-Ba- T- T, K- Kuh- Ch, Th- V- Th, Zzz- Sss- Bzz- Ch, B-B-Buh- V-V-Vuh, G-G-Guh D-D-Duh.
Female Voice: [now over a shiney white torus, slowly morphing] B-B-Buh- B-B-Buh, B-B-Beh, B-B-Beh, Bah, N-N-Nuh- N-N-Nuh, N-N-Nuh- No. N-N-Nuh, F- Feel- Field, Fill- Filled- Filts, Foil- Failed- Fell, Felds- Pill- Pills, Pall- Nall.
Female Voice: [now over a watery chestnut-brown eye] Foal- Foals, Fold- Fold, Pool- Pool, ...

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Crazy Credits

None of the characters are named in the closing credits: the cast-list is only a list of actors' names.

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Connections

Featured in Honest Trailers: The Jungle Book (2016) (2016)

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Soundtracks

Real Gone Kid
Performed by Deacon Blue
Written by Ricky Ross
Published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd.
Licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited

User Reviews

A truly disturbing masterpiece

Oh the sweet anger of the morons who stumbled into this looking for another vacuous blockbuster. Finally some revenge for all the promising sci-fi films lately we've been duped into hoping would be something interesting.

This film is difficult to describe. It is dark, atmospheric, unsettling, terrifying but utterly captivating. It's tone reminded me of 2001, although it's even more sparse than that. But that is as good a reference point as any to get a sense of this film, and it's that good. Scarlet Johansson is wonderful. The score is perfect and it's stunningly shot.

A truly unique film.