Under the Skin isn’t a film you “get” on one viewing. It’s one you feel more deeply each time. Let it wash over you, and it will reveal its brilliance.
Much of Under the Skin was filmed using hidden cameras inside the van. Scarlett Johansson actually drove around Glasgow, improvising conversations with non-professional actors who had no idea they were being filmed for a Hollywood movie.
The film famously contains very little dialogue. Glazer trusts the audience to interpret the narrative through Mica Levi’s haunting, dissonant score and the stark visual contrasts: under the skin film better
Jonathan Glazer’s 2013 science fiction film Under the Skin is a haunting, minimalist masterpiece that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll. Starring Scarlett Johansson as an unnamed extraterrestrial entity driving a transit van through Scotland, the movie lures unsuspecting men to a surreal, liquid doom.
Often, aliens in film are depicted as either monsters or humanoid beings with English accents. Under the Skin presents an entity that is truly alien—detached, confused by human emotions, and operating in a way that is utterly inhuman. Under the Skin isn’t a film you “get” on one viewing
In doing so, Glazer created a cinematic masterpiece that surpasses its source material. The 2013 film starring Scarlett Johansson transcends the limitations of the text. It replaces a conventional narrative with a haunting, sensory exploration of what it means to be human.
Glazer strips away the genre baggage to create a timeless piece of surrealism. The alien technology in the film is minimalist—a white room, a black liquid floor, and a van. By removing the dated sci-fi aesthetics, the film avoids becoming obsolete and maintains its artistic purity. The Verdict Much of Under the Skin was filmed using
The harvesting process is transformed into a surreal, ink-black void where human bodies are stripped of their insides, leaving empty skins. This visual serves as a metaphor for isolation and objectification.
One of the most remarkable achievements of the film is its production methodology. Glazer utilized hidden cameras (specifically designed tiny cameras hidden inside the dashboard and body of the van) and cast non-professional actors who had no idea they were being filmed or interacting with a global superstar.
Under the Skin is a masterpiece of showing rather than telling. It relies heavily on Micachu’s discordant score and stunning, unconventional cinematography to tell its story.