Cinema review: Under The Skin

IF you took the sleazy sci-fi film Species and combined it with arthouse sensibilities then Under The Skin is what you might be left with.

Although the feel of those films could not be more different, both feature deadly aliens who kill through seduction.

But while Species became little more than titillation for teenage boys, Under The Skin is eerie, tense and mesmerising.

Directed by Sexy Beast’s Jonathan Glazer, the film is a true vehicle for Scarlett Johansson’s talents...and a refreshing change after her recent blockbuster roles in the Marvel movies.

Based on Michael Faber’s novel, her unnamed predator drifts through Glasgow searching for loners.

Her survival relies on luring men away to steal their souls. But when she begins to feel sympathy and mixed emotions for her would-be victims everything goes wrong.

One of the film’s masterstrokes is that many of Johansson’s encounters were non-scripted conversations with non-actors using hidden cameras.

It adds to the sense of unease as does the deliberately jarring soundtrack.

Not a film for everyone but this study of loneliness, human connections and clouded judgement is excellently done.

DAVID MORGAN