Horror Hunks: Under The Skin

'Do you think I'm pretty?'

So many of the posts and themes that I explore on FH are inspired by a movie or television show that I watched, a play, or book that I've read.  Other times however, it's the theme that introduces me to a project.  I'd never heard for the 2013 Scottish film Under The Skin.  

This was a bit surprisingly to me , given the critical acclaim the film received.  It also featured actress Scarlett Johansson, one of Hollywood's most well known stars.  The film was directed by Jonathan Glazer, who some of you might know from directing Birth and Sexy Beast.  Glazer had been trying to get the film made for about a decade, starting after his success with Sexy Beast in 2000.

The film was based on the book by the same name by Michel Faber.  Originally, the film was going to be about couple, with Brad Pitt cast as the husband.  Instead, they took everything related to the couple, and focused on the character called simply 'the Female', with Johansson playing the lead.

The female is a mysterious young woman who seduces lonely  men during the evening hours in Scotland.  In this scene, we meet one of her first victims, and we see the pattern of her seduction.  She lures the men with her beauty into a dark void, has them strip and then submerges them into a liquid abyss.

The female is both a watcher and predator of men, and from the beginning, it's clear she's some sort of otherworldly and supernatural being.  She's also on her own journey of self-discovery, and we learn her true identity at the films end.   If you don't want to be spoiled, don't scroll down to the end where I feature images of what's under 'the female's skin.