Being a virgin to any of Glazer’s previous films, I was going into the screening intrigued but yet weary of seeing a film by this director for the first time. It’s safe to say I came out speechless, confused and exhausted. Trust me, that’s a good thing.
Before I go on, I shall I give one piece of advice to anyone planning to watch this mesmerising film, read into it first. If you do a 2 minute little investigation into the making of this film you will learn that a lot of the people in this movie aren’t actors. They are mere random people in Scotland’s society that were preyed upon by the film crew to get a real reaction out of them. Basically when Johansson pulls up them in her van riddled with hidden cameras they have no idea it’s a film. Knowing this little piece of information makes the spectacle even more engaging and scary.
The film follows Johansson, a beautifully formed lady who is actually an alien preying on Scottish hitchhikers. There isn’t much too learn, there isn’t any backdrop, any history or any leaked information that gives us insight into our little alien friend. We are more or less pulled into a journey with a murderous, sexy, confused specie who tries to mix in within society whilst hunting prey. There are some other main characters such as a mysterious motorcyclist who clearly is working with the alien, but other than that it’s all down to Johansson and she nails it perfectly. From her sexually provocative presence to her innocent conversation liners she plays the part brilliantly. She moves like someone who isn’t human and interacts like someone who isn’t human impeccably.
When Scarlett is looking for her first victim, Glazer builds up the suspense to an extent I’ve never felt, purely because all the people being filmed have no idea they are being filmed. Just like they have no idea they are being preyed upon by this alien. Some scenes stand out a lot more than others including one involving a couple drowning on a Scottish beach and another involving a facially deformed man. Glazer plays with the thoughts on women, sex and interactivity on society but this is all through help by the real reactions from civilians. Some come across ‘rapey’, some come across kindly and some come across bewildered, it’s a fantastic mixture that freshens each hunt. This film is horrifying, it’s not labelled under the horror genre but there are some aspects to it that make it unwatchable with fright at points. It feels real and you come out of the cinema thinking in a different way. I was walking down the street trying to pick out which of my fellow passer-by’s could be an alien (I know, my thoughts were all over the place). Some shots were maybe too long and there was around 10 minutes in the middle of the story where I began to lose concentration but overall this is a masterpiece for Art-house.
I doubt many people will come out of a film this year like they did with Under The Skin, it leaves you emotionally confused, sexually bewildered and judging everything you see for the next hour after the film. Glazer could easily be the next Tarantino of Art-house.
TheCinemaWhores 