Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Under Our Skin

2008 1h 44m Documentary List
81% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
One difficulty in diagnosing Lyme disease is the fact that its symptoms are very broad, they seem to mimic those of other diseases and they vary from patient to patient. This documentary investigates the epidemic we are now facing and traces its flourishing to a negligent and corrupt health care system. Interviews with patients and doctors paints a clear picture of a medical industry that has decided to place profits ahead of the health of the people it is supposed to be treating.
Under Our Skin

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A scathing indictment of the American medical system, Under Our Skin is timely, frightening stuff.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (32) Critics Reviews
Maitland McDonagh Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle The information it presents is eye-opening for medical consumers and health professionals of any stripe. And the film incidentally makes a great case for health care reform. Rated: 3.5/5 Oct 2, 2009 Full Review Justin Berton San Francisco Chronicle We may not get to argue both sides of the debate, but Under Our Skin stirs the deepest emotions and reveals the most unsettling truth: We're all vulnerable to a tick bite, sure, but it's the health care system that really gets us in the end. Rated: 3/4 Sep 18, 2009 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row While one can't help but wonder if this is sound science or needless hysteria, Under Our Skin makes a very convincing case. Rated: 3/4 Aug 5, 2019 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a well-made yet overlong documentary exploring the hidden epidemic of Lyme disease... Rated: 2/4 Sep 25, 2013 Full Review Sarah Sluis Film Journal International An infectiously persuasive account of chronic Lyme, a disease that has politicized the medical community. Aug 15, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (49) audience reviews
Mike C This film is so important, I feel it should be a part of school curriculum in areas of the country plagued with lyme disease. The AMA, which was founded by pharmaceutical companies, needs a complete overhaul in its corruption. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent, very informatve!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Is it chronic Lyme disease(s) or a neurological disorder possibly caused by the infection? What is apparently happening according to this mostly convincing documentary is that (1) some people get a chronic form of Lyme disease and, (2) the insurance companies don't want to pay for the long-term treatment required, and (3) their method for avoiding the costs is to deny the disease exists. (4) Additionally, the sufferers are accused of faking it or having it all in their heads. Furthermore, doctors who treat (and apparently cure) patients with chronic Lyme disease are threatened with losing their medical licenses because the medical establishment believes that the long-term use of intravenous antibiotics (as seen in this film) is harmful. If all of this is true then this is a national disgrace of a criminal nature. However, according to the article in Wikipedia, "Chronic Lyme disease is a generally unrecognised diagnosis that encompasses 'a broad array of illnesses or symptom complexes for which there is no reproducible or convincing scientific evidence of any relationship to B. burgdorferi infection.'" One of the citations that Wikipedia gives is an article in The New England Journal of Medicine. The documentary shows several persons who were bitten by a tick or ticks and contracted Lyme disease but continued to have horrendous symptoms months or years after they should have been cured. Then these same persons are treated with intravenous antibiotics over months or years and then become free of symptoms. At issue here is did the antibiotics cure them? And if so, what was it that was cured? My belief is twofold (1) that the infectious agent Borrelia burgdorferi disrupted or compromised the immune system of these people so badly that it took months or years for their bodies to recover, and (2) the infectious agent was able to hide from the immune system in biofilms within the body for months or years. Consequently, in the first case, the antibiotics did not cure them. The passage of time and perhaps love and good life style choices did. In the second case gradually the antibiotics may have cured the disease. In other cases the immune system may be keeping the bacteria at bay. By the way, the disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi is only one of many similar diseases caused by tick bites throughout the world. Consequently, when doctors are not able to find the Lyme disease agent in a chronically sick person it may be the case they are looking for the wrong bug. I invite the reader to see the recent Australian documentary "Our Battle Ongoing: Lyme Disease in Australia" (2017) for more information. There is also an "Under Out Skin 2: Emergence" documentary from 2015 that brings the viewer more up to date. Interested people should also read relevant literature on the Web and reach your own conclusions. As far as this documentary goes, it is very well done, nicely edited, clearly presented and seemingly fair, but alarming. Perhaps a subject like chronic Lyme disease IS alarming and should be treated as such. I hope that this documentary will encourage more research so that we can understand what happens to the relatively few people who get "chronic Lyme disease" and find a cure that spares them months and years of pain and suffering. --Dennis Littrell, author of "The World Is Not as We Think It Is" Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Exceptionally well done documentary on Lyme Disease--the in's and out's. It is a must watch if you are suffering from or know someone who is suffering from any chronic illness (or if you use or have ever used your health care system). This documentary follows several M.D.'s, people with Lyme, and the underlying mysteries that keep it from being properly diagnosed and treated. The follow up, "Under Our Skin 2: Emergence," contains updates on the people involved and progress being made with diagnosis and treatment of Lyme in the U.S. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Seen it and it was an EYE OPENER Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member that is freaky that insurance company / money can shut down an entire system to prevent people from getting better.. and those doctors that make money from patents or grants are a shame for the scientific community.. another beautiful example of how the US health system is fucked up! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Under Our Skin

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

The Business of Being Born 81% 85% The Business of Being Born Sicko 91% 87% Sicko Bigger, Stronger, Faster 96% 81% Bigger, Stronger, Faster King Corn 96% 78% King Corn A Decent Factory 57% % A Decent Factory Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis One difficulty in diagnosing Lyme disease is the fact that its symptoms are very broad, they seem to mimic those of other diseases and they vary from patient to patient. This documentary investigates the epidemic we are now facing and traces its flourishing to a negligent and corrupt health care system. Interviews with patients and doctors paints a clear picture of a medical industry that has decided to place profits ahead of the health of the people it is supposed to be treating.
Director
Andy Abrahams Wilson
Production Co
Open Eye Pictures
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 5, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$97.7K
Runtime
1h 44m