Under the Skin (2014)

Under the Skin (2014) Directed by Jonathan Glazer

A mysterious woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. Events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery. - imdb.com

For the task 2 project, I have been given a task to create an experimental three minute film based on a single object or word. I am in partnership with my lecture peer Jessy Busgeeth to create the piece. Since then, I have researched many experimental films and have gained inspiration from some.

Under the Skin is a 2014 independent film starring Hollywood Actress Scarlett Johansson. In the film, this young woman (Johansson) in van picking up men who instantly show an interest into her. Soon we see the men get lured into the woman's darkness to never return. The production is based in Scotland.

The film starts off with a strong use of sound which belongs to the 'Horror' genre. We then see images of objects that look like stars coming together to create a picture but it is never explained. The scene then cuts to a close-up of an eye and we begin to hear gibberish dialogue from Johnasson's character which I can only make out that she is trying to learn the English Language. The film stays on the eye for sometime before it cross-dissolves to a person on a motorcycle picking up an unconscious female from a field, then abruptly cuts to white room where Johnasson's character is stripping off the female of her clothes and putting them on. (below)

Unconscious woman laying in the white room

In this scene, the two character are shown in low lighting to show the audience that this is what they should be focusing on. I believe that having low lighting is also to hide the identity of the two. The act taking place in the scene is very sinister and I think the filmmaker chose that sort of lighting to depict that.

The woman driving around Scotland

The film mainly focuses on Scarlett Johansson's character picking up men around the local town and seduces them to go somewhere with her. When they accept the offer, the film cuts to them in a black room being taken by black water where they fall into a trance. After awhile, their skins starts to rip off from the body. Shortly after this, the film cuts back into the real world where the woman goes to lure another person in to her world.

The film never explains who or what the woman is but by the end you get somewhat of an understanding of what the woman wanted with the mens skin. Figuring out the film by yourself was more thrilling and rewarding as I feel if the film told us all the answers it would lose all the sense of it being experimental. The film contains minimal dialogue and the sound design played a big part as I felt that the sound speaks louder than words. The sound design is the best thing about the film as it felt like a horror without any jump scares needed to frighten people. 

Not everyone would enjoy Under the Skin but I feel that the film will become a cult in years to come. It is probably one of my favorite films of the year and it deserves all the recognition it gets.