‎Under the Skin (2013) directed by Jonathan Glazer • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Under the Skin

2013 Directed by Jonathan Glazer

A mysterious seductress preys upon the population of Scotland

A seductive alien prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.

Scarlett Johansson Kryštof Hádek Paul Brannigan Michael Moreland Scott Dymond Jeremy McWilliams Lynsey Taylor Mackay Dougie McConnell Kevin McAlinden D. Meade Andrew Gorman Joe Szula Roy Armstrong Alison Chand Ben Mills Oscar Mills Lee Fanning Marius Bincu Stephen Horn Adam Pearson May Mewes Gerry Goodfellow Dave Acton Jessica Mance

108 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by James Haves 37

What.

What?

I don't get it.

So?

I don't get it.

At least give it a rating.

But I don't get it.

Was it good?

Yes.

Would you recommend it?

I don't know.

How does that work?

I don't know.

What?

What?

Just give it 2 1/2 or something.

I can't.

Why?

Because it's good.

Then what's the issue?

I don't know.

For fuck's sake.

I don't understand it. It confused me.

Just your plebian mind.

Fuck you.

Fuck you.

You know this whole review is entirely self-indulgent, right?

Yep.

So why are we doing it?

Only thing we could think of.

Oh yeah.

Also we're attention whores who like likes.

That's true.

Want pizza?

Sure.
Review by Adam Cook 79

Fuck knows.
Review by Adam Cook 90

It is rare for me to finish a film and be unable to form any real opinion on it. Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, loosely based on Michel Faber’s novel of the same name, is a film that deliberately defies easy understanding. It is a befuddling, enigmatic and contradictory work that demands total engagement from its audience as it avoids all the trappings of a conventional movie. Yet after I left the theatre, both impressed and disappointed, I have been unable to shake the film from my thoughts.

It is a film of surprising contrasts - it is simultaneously mesmerising yet tedious, surreal yet mundane, erotic yet sterile. It is this internal conflict that makes the film so difficult to…
Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 25

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I love it when a straightforward story gets a unique treatment. Glazer's film is deliberately alienating, visually and aurally arresting and singularly engaging. I say the latter with no small amount of reserve as it asks a lot of its audience making it difficult to click with. But click with it I did.

Glazer opens with the birth of Johansson's character. In a beautiful visual sequence, we hear her find her voice followed by a rather disconcerting scene in which she clothes herself. Disconcerting because of the compete lack of empathy for the dead girl she is plucking her new wardrobe from. Against a sterile white background we see her clinically do what needs to be done. She gives the…
Review by Todd Gaines ★★★★ 58

ScarJo cruisin' the hills of Scotland and channeling her inner Natasha Henstridge in Jonathan Glazer's incredibly unique one-of-a-kind viewing experience. Motorcycle zoom zoom. ScarJo naked? Hooker high heels. Ants. The way ScarJo looks in her jeans. Red lipstick makes you more fuckable. Minivan cruisin'. Disorganized directions. You should always buckle up for safety. Lonely guy. Chatty chap. Seductive strip. Disappearing wang. Ocean waves. Wetsuit chum. Lifesaver. ScarJo's jacket. Getting hit in the head with a rock fuckin' hurts. Crying baby. Clubbin' for some lovin'. Leprechaun sounding gent. Sexy backwards walk. Weird as fuck faces. Sideways cock. Fade to what the fuckin' fuck fuck fuckin'? Red rose. ScarJo's eyes. Smart dude. Face first fall. Attack the Block rejects. Hoodie man is…
Review by CinemaClown ★★★★ 41

How do you even evaluate a film when you sort of loved almost everything about it yet in the end have no concrete idea of what it was all about? It is pretty rare in movies to find yourself constantly struggling with your very own emotions, unsure of which opinion to settle with, for whenever a step is taken in either direction, something from the opposite end of the spectrum keeps bringing you back in the middle.

Under the Skin is one film that provides such unique experience. It is a mystical blend of horror, sci-fi & mystery that's easily one of the most perplexing, challenging & polarising narratives to come out in years and tells the story of a mysterious woman…

Recent reviews

Review by Timmy Kandra ★★★★½

Loved the plot and visuals a whole lot. Also, the score is badass.
Review by elysia ★★½

there's a slightly tweaked version of this that an alternate universe me is probably obsessed with, but, as is, i just couldn't manage to fully get on board with it.
Review by Sam Rosenberg ★★★

An anxiety-inducing erotic nightmare, as if David Lynch directed Annihilation. Much scarier than I thought it would be. I'm very much shook. Mica Levi's score will haunt me for days.
Review by grace ★★★½

thank you scarlet, very cool!
Review by Beau Donner ★★★★★

I’ve never loved something so much that I just can’t understand.
There’s just something about this movie, and I can’t even describe what it is. I’m just speechless. I can’t really talk about this until I’ve seen it multiple times. This is definitely one of those films that many people will hate, and I totally understand that. But there’s just a vibe to it that hypnotized me. That’s all I can say for now. I will most definitely have to watch this film again in the near future. My one comment is that the score is the most unsettling I’ve ever heard in film.
Review by tomas sosnik ★★★★★

i don’t think i have words for how good this was
Review by James Palmer ★★★★

Completely ambiguous as nothing is clear, similar to how the central character views the world and the actions she takes. It’s also great to see a film which can tell you the relationships and feelings of characters purely through visual expression. The only exposition in this film is the title credits.
Review by aalons ★

Not a clever film.
Review by carolinepej ★★★★★

Honestly deeply disturbing film. Scarlett Johansson surprised me with this one. Left me feeling upset and curious.