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Mysterious Skin

Play trailer Poster for Mysterious Skin Released Sep 11, 2004 1h 39m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 116 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
One youth (Brady Corbet) becomes obsessed with UFOs, while another (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes a gay hustler in the years following a childhood trauma.
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Mysterious Skin

Mysterious Skin

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Critics Consensus

Bold performances and sensitive, spot-on direction make watching this difficult tale of trauma and abuse a thought-provoking, resonant experience.

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Critics Reviews

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David Ansen Newsweek The movie sugarcoats nothing, but it doesn't revel in its own darkness either. It sheds a clear, compassionate, illuminating light. Feb 28, 2018 Full Review Noel Murray The Dissolve [...] For a movie about something as painful as child sexual abuse, Mysterious Skin doesn't repel. There's an allure to the images, which are as carefully posed and framed as figures in a softly illuminated dollhouse. Rated: 4/5 Mar 17, 2014 Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness Gordon-Levitt's performance is nothing short of astonishing. Rated: A- Nov 28, 2005 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy A moving film that examines the betrayal of childhood innocence as well as the fallibility of roiling memories. Rated: 3/4 Jun 28, 2025 Full Review Kathy Fennessy Seattle Film Blog This evocative adaptation of Scott Heim's acclaimed novel is an impressive return to form for writer/director Gregg Araki (The Living End, The Doom Generation). More to the point, it's his best film. Rated: 4/4 Jul 31, 2024 Full Review Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast A harrowing, but ultimately compassionate film that will stick with you long after the credits roll. Rated: 4.5/5 May 20, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Lluis F Everyone should see it at least two times to really feel the message. The way this movie gets into your skin is crazy and it's one of the best representation regarding SA to young kids, you can genuinely feel disgusted in the best way ever, I can't stretch it enough how amazing this movie is to a technical point, it's not only a movie to me but rather an icon regarding one of the most controversial topics present in our society's modern world. Also a little side note on how respectful it is when talking about the topic, being a pioneer in it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/19/25 Full Review Glitching _ This movie genuinely broke me up as an SA victim, it really shows the cruel reality of how it feels and the victims are men which aren't usually common on movies that touch this kind of topics. I see unfair that people give it a lower rating just because they don't understand it or because it was way too strong for them since that's the whole point, the movie was made to make you feel uncomfortable the same way the victims were. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/19/25 Full Review Abdulrhman S @zeyad_1078 on instagram recommended this movie and kept moaning as the guy spat on his face in min 1:21:40 he kept defending the movie although it was very clear he wasnt even convinced he kept yelling "SKIP THIS SKIP THAT " i didnt tho i wanted him to feel the struggel of being his friend Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/15/25 Full Review Sergio A In both its visual and narrative aspects, this film precisely captures what independent cinema should be: honest, direct, and made with heart. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/09/25 Full Review Kendall M I find the film fascinating and the photography of it, let's not even mention it. The score is 5 stars for me, because I really loved it, it made me cry and feel bad for days on end, but I do consider the plot to be very cruel, sad, bad and disgusting, speaking of what the film itself is about, because of the themes it touches on, but I really recommend that you see this film once in your life. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/16/25 Full Review Robert M JGL is brilliant in this. There are many paths the film could have gone terribly wrong but somehow avoids those pitfalls and arrives safely in the end with power and resolution amongst the rubble. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/01/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Mysterious Skin

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Movie Info

Synopsis One youth (Brady Corbet) becomes obsessed with UFOs, while another (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes a gay hustler in the years following a childhood trauma.
Director
Gregg Araki
Producer
Gregg Araki, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Mary Jane Skalski
Screenwriter
Gregg Araki, Scott Heim
Distributor
TLA Releasing, Tartan Films USA
Production Co
Antidote Films, Fortissimo Film Sales, Desperate Pictures
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 11, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
May 6, 2005
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 9, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$697.2K
Runtime
1h 39m
Sound Mix
Surround
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