Aliens are a hot topic of any discussion. Some believe wholeheartedly that the universe is too big for there not to be intelligent life elsewhere, while others claim that it is simply impossible. Like any hot topic, aliens have made it into the media and are apopular topic in the science fictiongenre. They explore possibilities of extraterrestrials both on and off-world. FromtheAlienfranchiseto films likeAnnihilation, there is a wide range of possibilities available at the fingertips of filmmakers when it comes to aliens. One of the best alien movies on the market isUnder the Skin.
Considered to be one of thebest women serial killer movies of all time,Under the Skinis a film that follows an extraterrestrial disguised as a human (Scarlett Johansson) as she preys on victims to feed an unknown entity.The film received a number of accoladesincluding British Film of the Year at the London Film Critics Circle Awards and the Best Depiction of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction went to Johansson.Under the Skinis considered one of the best depictions of alien life on Earth. Here’s what makes it one of the greatest aliens movies of all time.
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Documentary Style of Filming
The film begins with an extraterrestrial disguised as a beautiful human female, driving around asking for directions. This seems harmless enough and, to some, quite boring, but it’s an innocent enough montage of the alien asking men for directions and being casually flirty while her real motives remain hidden.Many of the shots were also filmed using hidden camerasto create the feeling that this is happening for real and that the aliens may be documenting it to closely observe human behavior. On top of this, most of the men seen throughout the film are not actors but are real people that Johansson, dressed in character, actually stopped and asked for directions—even some faces are blurred to protect the non-actors' privacy. This technique was used to give the film a more realistic plot-line as the alien struggles to find a willing victim but soon uses techniques of feminine charm and sex appeal to gain the attention of men.
Filmed from the Alien’s Perspective
The film is one-of-a-kind as the whole film follows the journey of an extraterrestrial on Earth rather than being the traditional movie experience of a human who encounters an extraterrestrial. It follows a single alien as she lures men to an abandoned building and seduces them into becoming another one of her prey. Eventually, the alien gains sympathy for a particular man and lets him go. As a result, the alien is hunted by their own kind for the apparent betrayal. As the alien evades its own kind, the hunter soon becomes the hunted. On the run, the alien encounters a man in the forest who tries to rape her, eventually revealing her true form. We see the alien’s journey in understanding humanity as a whole and how, while humans can be kind and compassionate, they are also capable of horrific acts.
Using Real Human Skin as a Disguise
At the beginning of the film, we hear Scarlett Johansson’s alien practicing her enunciation; we can assume that this is to help her blend in and appear more human. This pinches the gut as we realize that it is plausible that aliens could be among us, and we may not even know it, especially if they go so far as to practice their enunciation to make sure they are speaking properly. As revealed at the end, Johansson’s alien is wearing literal human skin to hide her real appearance. This leaves the audience wondering if this skin belonged to a real human woman, this also makes it obvious that this alien is more alien than could be imagined, with no definable gender and tar-like skin, it is only humanoid in its bipedal stance.
Killing Innocent People with No Remorse
While some believe aliens may be friendly,Under the Skinis not a film that reinforces that notion. It plays up the killer alienstereotype not only by having the alien hunt men down and prey on them but through a scene in which the alien encounters a surfer who tries to save a couple that is drowning from the strong tides. When the surfer makes it back to the shore, she bashes him over the head and drags him back to the truck, all while the couple’s toddler is screaming and crying in the background, left on the beach alone and abandoned. For any human, this would be heartbreaking, but it is a stark reminder that these aliens are not here to befriend us, they are here to prey on us.
Related:Scarlett Johansson Under the Skin Featurette
Using Human Weakness to Prey Upon Us
The aliens found a great weakness that most humans seem to have: sex. They use this to their advantage as the alien disguised as a woman brings nameless men back to an empty space, under the impression that she wants to have sex with them, but instead kills them—walking along a surface that eventually sucks the men into a soupy substance where they are kept and eventually drained of all life. The morbid reality of this concept is that it would actually work, the luring of men with the promise of sex by a beautiful woman, ignorant to the possibility that they may be in danger.
Alien Watches Humans and Wishes to Become One
Perhaps the most horrifying, and yet heartbreaking, concept of the entire film is that the alien’s surveillance of human brings about a desire in her to be more human. When the alien lets one of her victims free after feeling sympathy for him as a lonely malformed man who only wishes to be loved, the alien then runs from their superiors knowing that letting a victim go is against the rules. After her escape, she tries to eat a piece of cake but immediately spits it out. This is her first attempt to become human, in eating their food in the hopes of becoming like them. We see something similar when the man who gives her a place to stay starts kissing her and attempts to have sex with her, until she panics and pulls away, not knowing what is happening between her legs. As much as she wishes she could be human, she is physically incapable of doing so. She is only a human on the outside, but under the skin, she will always be an alien no matter how hard she tries to change it.
