Many had long looked forward to what Jonathan Glazer would do next after his earlier works made a strong impression. With Sexy Beast and Birth already gaining admiration from critics and film lovers, there was curiosity about when he would release another project. It eventually took him nearly ten years before his next major film effort.
Glazer spent almost a decade shaping Under the Skin, which eventually premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2013. The movie received praise from those who deeply engage with science fiction and those in the film criticism space, though mainstream cinema-goers found its surreal horror elements confusing.
This isn’t an unusual response when it comes to films that challenge viewers’ expectations—other examples like mother!, The Box, Solaris, and Killing Them Softly also ended up with poor CinemaScore ratings.
Under the Skin slips into your mind and never leaves (Photo: Under the Skin/Film4, the British Film Institute (BFI), and Silver Reel)Watching Under the Skin once may not be enough to take in its deeper meanings. Many viewers may need several attempts to truly understand its emotional, symbolic, and psychological dimensions, as suggested by the title, which hints at hidden depths.
Masquerading as a woman, the alien being goes around various parts of Scotland, luring men into her van with seductive intent. Once they’re inside, she transports them into a different space where they are reduced to lifeless bodies, with nothing left but their flesh.
What Is ‘Under the Skin’ About?
The storyline of Under the Skin centres around an alien being who adopts the form of a human woman, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson. From the chilling opening scene, the character is seen cruising through Glasgow, targeting unsuspecting young men.
After gaining their trust, she takes each one into a mysterious, dark liquid space where they drown and perish. To maintain a natural feel in how the story plays out, Glazer opted to film Johansson while she interacted with real people unaware that they were being filmed, capturing raw and unscripted moments.
Though the ending may feel unexpected, the film lays clues along the way that help explain who Johansson’s character really is. Through different interactions, this extraterrestrial begins to experience and study how people behave.
She approaches the human condition through the lens of an outsider and as a woman, and this perspective contributes to one of Johansson’s strongest performances.
Along the way, her character is confronted with discrimination, harmful masculinity, and social pushback, and slowly becomes aware of the darker layers of human behaviour. These disturbing traits are brought to the forefront in the intense final part of the film.
The Alien Begins To Identify With Her Victims
As she continues to bring men into the strange void, Johansson’s character gradually starts to become more conscious of herself. She begins to reflect on her form and starts making choices of her own. Instead of acting like a scout for a future alien presence, she develops curiosity about what makes human beings kind and noble.
However, it’s not long before she witnesses the cruelty humans are capable of. A particular encounter with a logger, played by Dave Acton, changes everything. After she denies his attempt at intimacy, he becomes violent.
She’s unable to grasp why he is reacting that way. Upon waking up in his shelter, the alien finds herself under attack. Overwhelmed with fear, she escapes into the woods as he chases her.
What becomes apparent is that the alien has formed a connection with her human disguise. Earlier, she had a moment where she tried to help a child left alone on the beach and enjoyed a visit to the cinema—moments that allowed her to connect with the human experience. Her growing compassion makes the attempted sexual assault even more devastating.
Glazer shows the contrast between the two characters’ actions clearly; while Johansson’s alien draws people in due to confusion and a desire to learn, the logger acts out of aggression and spite.
Similar to Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, this movie presents a reflection on the darker sides of humanity. Although the film uses science fiction themes, the intense emotion in this particular scene is undeniable.
During the pursuit in the forest, the logger eventually tackles her. As he begins pulling at her skin, the disguise tears away, revealing the same dark form seen in earlier sequences.
What lies underneath is her genuine alien figure, which unsettles him. Shocked and terrified, he pours fuel on her exposed body and sets her ablaze, bringing the film to a haunting climax that places it among the most disturbing sci-fi pieces in recent memory.
What Happens to Johansson’s Character?
Though the film closes with some ambiguity, the fate of the alien character isn’t entirely definitive. There’s a strong suggestion that she may take on another form in the future, perhaps living through another identity in a new environment.
Nothing is what it seems in Glazer’s haunting world (Photo: Under the Skin/Film4, the British Film Institute (BFI), and Silver Reel)At the beginning of the film, the being is seen arriving from space, though what mission it had—whether to remain on Earth or move on to other worlds—is never explained. Whether there are others like her visiting elsewhere also remains a mystery.
Glazer hasn’t provided specific details about what the ending means, but he did share in a conversation with RogerEbert.com that Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky and 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick heavily shaped his vision.
He made it clear that he didn’t intend to follow the traditional path of science fiction films, choosing instead to use the alien story only as a base concept. Glazer admitted that he never read Michel Faber’s novel on which the film is based, so those looking to the book for clarity may not find all the answers there.
Scarlett Johansson also offered her thoughts in an interview with The Guardian, saying the movie suddenly struck her. “I didn’t know how to react to it,” she said. “I wouldn’t say disturbed, but I was sort of shocked.”
She mentioned how Under the Skin reminded her of Eyes Wide Shut, which also caused mixed feelings when she saw it multiple times. According to Johansson, the movie received both applause and criticism during its premiere.
Under the Skin is currently available for streaming on Max.
