Under the Skin

Play trailer

Under the Skin

R

Released Apr 4, 2014

1h 48m

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

259 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Disguising herself as a human female, an extraterrestrial (Scarlett Johansson) drives around Scotland and tries to lure unsuspecting men into her van.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerizing performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience.

Read Critics Reviews

Wael Khairy

RogerEbert.com

By envisioning a world where the consumers get consumed, the film calls for a reconceptualization of human and nonhuman relationships. “Under the Skin” denies human exceptionalism and supremacy.

Mar 21, 2024

Full Review

Kjerstin Johnson

Bitch Media

What started off as a potentially feminist film fell into a tired fairytale.

Jan 21, 2021

Full Review

Sarah Mirk

Bitch Media

It does not develop a plot so much as a fascinating feeling of underlying horror.

Jan 20, 2021

Full Review

JD Duran

InSession Film

While this film features some interesting themes, it’s also methodical, mundane at times and feels like a bunch of random brushstrokes.

Rated: C+

Aug 19, 2024

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…any film or streaming version of Faber’s novel would take an Avatar-level budget to produce, and the commercial possibilities would be limited, but Glazer’s sole misstep as a director was to create this absurdly truncated version of this alienating tale…

Rated: 2/5

Jan 18, 2024

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

[Director Jonathan] Glazer is less interested in the what and the why than in the texture of the experience, the intensity of the imagery, the sense of adaptation and alienation as this alien starts to connect with her victims.

Oct 20, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

sandie

best movie to ever exist

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/19/23

Full Review

ELB S

I may have been able to tolerate this movie if I hadn't read the book by Michel Faber (a stunning story that is part sci fi fable, part cautionary tale of abuse of power, part grand metaphor.) This movie reads like Jonathan Glazer saw the book in a bookstore, read part of the back flap and said, 'Oh, I got this' and then made this movie. This movie is not an adaptation of the book. It is an insult to the author's original intent and masterful storytelling. But I guess one can't expect much from the same guy who made 'Birth,' one of the stupidest, most pretentious movies ever made in the history of cinema.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/26/25

Full Review

Jim P

This is Super Scottish Sci-Fi. But the book is even better!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/12/25

Full Review

George A

This film makes you think about our existence in the universe. Are we a supermarket for aliens, what would their reaction be if they started to become like us. Run!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/11/25

Full Review

Jack S

Terrible, was a waste of my time

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/08/25

Full Review

Audience Member

After finishing this movie I just sat there for about 20 minutes and honestly couldn't stop thinking about this for the entire day after. I was a bit hesitant to watch this at first but now I do not regret it at all. It's an odd movie but in the best way possible. You just really have to sit there and focus on what the story is trying to tell you which in my opinion it had a lot of thoughts and ideas for one to ponder and think through.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Jonathan Glazer

Director

Scarlett Johansson

The Female

Jeremy McWilliams

The Bad Man

Lynsey Taylor Mackay

The Dead Woman

Dougie McConnell

Pick-Up Man

Kevin McAlinden

First Victim

View more videos

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman

22%

40%

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman

Watchlist

Hell Comes to Frogtown

60%

47%

Hell Comes to Frogtown

Watchlist

Beyond the Black Rainbow

61%

53%

Beyond the Black Rainbow

Watchlist

Species III

17%

17%

Species III

Watchlist

The Quiet Earth

71%

69%

The Quiet Earth

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Rank Scarlett Johansson’s 10 Best Movies

Brannon Braga’s 10 Favorite Horror Films

Best Reviewed Movies by Genre 2014

View more photos

Synopsis

Disguising herself as a human female, an extraterrestrial (Scarlett Johansson) drives around Scotland and tries to lure unsuspecting men into her van.

Director: Jonathan Glazer
Producer: Nick Wechsler, James Wilson
Screenwriter: Jonathan Glazer, Walter Campbell
Distributor: A24
Production Co: FilmNation Entertainment, Silver Reel, Nick Wechsler Productions, Scottish Screen, British Film Institute (BFI), JW Films, Film4, Creative Scotland, UK Film Council, Sigma Films
Rating: R (Language|Graphic Nudity|Sexual Content|Some Violence)
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 4, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 25, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.6M
Runtime: 1h 48m

Most Popular at Home Now