When the initial NSFW teaser for UNDER THE SKIN was revealed a couple of weeks ago, it was hard to tell just what the movie was about. From the synopsis, we knew it was a horror thriller and that Scarlett Johansson was playing an alien, but not much else. Based on the novel by Michael Faber, many had compared it to the David Bowie film THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. Now we have an extended trailer that doubles the length of that first teaser but gives us no more to go on.
The new clip incorporates that first teaser but also shows Isserley (Scarlett Johansson) on the prowl for men. Now, if you saw someone as hot as Johansson beckoning you for a little flagrante delicto, you would go too. What I can’t tell from the trailer is if that weird, deformed guy is the product of bumping uglies with Scarlett. Meh, small price to pay.
Isserley, an alien on earth, disguised as the perfect aesthetic form of a mesmerizing woman. She scours remote highways and desolate scenery looking to use her greatest weapon to snare human prey — her voracious sexuality. She is deadly efficient, but over time becomes drawn to and changed by the complexity of life on earth. With this new found humanity and weakening alien resolve, she finds herself on a collision course with her own kind.
I get a very Kubrickian vibe off of this footage which suits me just fine. It looks dark, grungy, and horrific without crossing over the line from realistic. I started reading the novel and the tone of the narrative fits well with the look of the movie. Hopefully the full film is as enjoyable as these snippets have been.
UNDER THE SKIN was picked up for distribution by A24 at the Toronto International Film Festival, but no release date has been set yet.