Under the Skin

Under the Skin is a sci-fi horror film from director Jonathan Glazer (Birth, Sexy Beast). Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film stars Scarlett Johansson as a mysterious woman traveling around the country seducing men. What the hapless men don’t realize is that this woman is an alien in human skin, luring men back to her lair and stripping them of their flesh. It’s a smooth and successful operation until an encounter with one man leaves her wondering about the human experience. Straying from her mission angers one of her superiors though, making the hunter become the hunted.

The visionary director that he is, Glazer came up with a unique way to shoot the many street scenes where Johansson lured men to come home with her. The van and streets were rigged up with a series of hidden cameras, controlled remotely from a location where the crew would supervise. Only two of the pick-up scenes were scripted and cast. The rest are improvised scenes starring random men actually interacting with Johansson. “Once you make the decision that you’re going to create a film in this way, you’re simply dealing with the logistics of how not to be spotted,” Glazer explains. “It made the scenes very tense. You could spend the day shooting with the best intentions and wind up with footage you couldn’t use. But I knew in my mind this was the best way to work for this particular character and story.”

Under the Skin is rated 14A.

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