Under the Skin (2014)

The review celebrates the film's hypnotic visuals, Mica Levi score and philosophical depth as a feminist sci-fi fable that lingers powerfully. It singles out a harrowing beach sequence for its icy matter-of-fact depiction of human vulnerability and opportunism.

Collin calls the film a masterpiece, praising its astonishing, abstract approach that strips the story to its essentials and renders Johansson iconic as the nameless alien femme fatale. He highlights the extraordinary score and the film's hypnotic blend of realism and surrealism.

The critic praises Glazer's audacious, experimental approach to the alien narrative and its defamiliarizing effect on human experience. Johansson delivers a singular, alert performance amid vérité footage and striking, otherworldly imagery.

Sharkey describes the film as a genesis moment of sci-fi fable and performance, urging viewers to surrender to its primal, sensory experience and abstraction. She singles out Scarlett Johansson’s fearless, emotionally baring work as the alien protagonist becomes more human, along with the authentic street scenes and Mica Levi’s unsettling score.

The critic highlights Glazer's austere, estranging approach that turns Scotland into an alien landscape and uses the alien protagonist's gradual awakening to explore what it means to be human. He praises the film's clinical detachment and rigorous ending that avoids sentimentality.

Bradshaw finds the film visually stunning and deeply disturbing, a pure injection of mood that blends futuristic body horror with social-realist grit in Glasgow streets. He singles out the casting of Scarlett Johansson as the ultimate alien predator and the film's eerie, erotic power.

Glazer transforms the source material into an abstract, sensory-driven exploration of the death drive and estrangement, using striking visuals, sound, and Johansson's performance to evoke alienation and subtextual unease.

The film is a visually and sonically striking experience best approached without expectations of conventional narrative or sci-fi thrills, rewarding viewers who surrender to its dreamy, alien perspective on humanity. Johansson is disturbingly effective as the detached, repellent-yet-compelling alien figure in real-world situations.

Glazer's film is a seductive, atmospheric sci-fi tale centered on Johansson's alien figure navigating human (and inhuman) encounters in Scotland.

Holden calls the film a cerebral sci-fi horror fantasy and praises Scarlett Johansson’s indelible performance as an extraterrestrial femme fatale whose predatory allure evokes classic Hollywood icons. He highlights how the movie dispenses with the novel’s backstory to create a mood of nightmarish alienation and ends with an image that challenges notions of human identity.

Glazer's adaptation is frustrating and bewildering rather than the sexy thriller suggested by the source novel, yet it contains moments of beauty and horror that provoke thought and debate. Johansson delivers a quietly brilliant, brave performance as the awakening alien figure.

The film is a visually and aurally striking conundrum that loses momentum and coherence, delivering too little dramatic or intellectual substance for most viewers despite strong images and score.

Brody finds the premise promising but criticizes the film for leaving the alien’s perspective and inner life completely undeveloped, relying instead on insistent music for eeriness. He notes one strong shot of Johansson on a Glasgow street but concludes that the movie flattens images and thoughts in advance, remaining orthodox realism despite its sci-fi basis.

Long delivers a scathing verdict, hating the film's pretentious lack of dialogue or plot and its reductionist, misogynistic parable of womanhood. She singles out the empty, mind-numbingly absurd execution as a clumpy disappointment.

The critic praises the film's success in conveying an otherworldly perspective through visual and auditory means, noting its meditation on humanity and strong performances. They single out the stunning cinematography and Mica Levi's score for particular praise.

The review describes the film as one of the scariest of 2014, highlighting its immersive nightmare quality and exploration of what it means to be human. It singles out Scarlett Johansson's career-best performance and the tragic awakening of empathy within the character for praise.

The film is an intimate, disturbing and powerful sci-fi art piece that offers an alien's-eye view of humanity. It is difficult and unsettling from start to finish, but ultimately brilliant for its fresh perspective.

The critic finds the film an elliptical, Roeg-like sci-fi tale of an alien seductress whose growing empathy creates tension with her mission. Johansson is perfectly cast in the lead and the imagery is striking, though the somber pacing and themes may limit mainstream appeal.

Glazer has created a captivating nightmare that is strange, ambiguous and haunting, with Johansson giving a mesmerizing, near-silent performance as the alien developing empathy. The disorienting power stems from both its otherworldliness and familiar horror in the climax.

The critic describes the film as enigmatic and hypnotic, praising its use of sound, music, and elliptical narrative to create a disorienting atmosphere. Scarlett Johansson's performance is singled out as providing an extraordinary window into an alien perspective.