Under The Skin | Audiovisual Alienation 

Vivarium, or Await Further Instructions. AFI because I personally loved the old-school practical effects feel of it. Vivarium for the undiluted wierdness of it all. Honorable mention to The Tommyknockers for Nostalgia, and Color Out of Space for Nick Cage, the man is like an alien all by himself just living his life.

Memoria, at the moment - saw it recently. Tilda Swinton is amazing in it. Although it definitely is an exploration of much wider topics than just aliens (I think it explores alienation, fear of the other and feeling out of place). It's a fantastically calm, slow and reflective film. It uses audiovisual storytelling too, with amplified ambient sounds and strange noises which seem to just be a part of the surrounding environment.

It’s very difficult to name a favorite, but I recently rewatched “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and was reminded again of how much more realistic that movie deals with how the world would react to aliens trying to make contact with us. I’ve seen many videos on it, snd read many breakdowns over the years, yet very few ever mention how the aliens treat us humans in the film. They are quite literally kidnapping people, and either keeping them alive longer than they would’ve lived otherwise, or and/or displacing them from the time they were abducted. In the end it seems like a happy finale, with humans getting on the ship to report back at a future time. The technology the aliens display is so beyond any scientist’s, or even military person’s mind, that there is no discussion of attacking them. The humans who go onto the ship at the end were pre-selected, as they all have visions, or a pull to the destination of where the ship will land. They have no free will, as we see a man lose interest, then leave his family, as if this calling is more important than anything he’s ever known. They abduct the child with a violence that is terrifying, regardless of the fact they didn’t hurt him or the mother. They weren’t going to bring him back to her, just as the pilot, and others from different eras, weren’t brought back. They just drop them off, without a word, to be taken care of by humans. It’s really quite terrifying. The jubilation of realizing the music is how they’re communicating, completely makes people forget that these aliens are imposing their will upon us, without any care for any damage to individuals they’ve done. I just think there is a darker story there, that Spielberg may or may not have intended, or even though about, because we never really know what has been done to the abductees, or what will be done to those chosen, who are leaving everything and everyone they allegedly cared for behind. How many of them even say goodbye to their families? Why were the others taken against their will? I just began seeing the movie differently, as I got older.

This is the ONE! My favorite alien movie for sure. If I start it up to have playing while I'm doing stuff around the house, I end up sitting and watching the whole thing. I am compelled by the visuals and sounds from the get-go. Hypnotized. It draws me in and I don't want it to end. When I first saw it, my thought at the end was, "finally." I mean I felt relief that something like this was finally made to exist. The editing is bold and more of a conscious language. Your analysis was so insightful, as usual. I was looking forward to this video of yours more than any other so far. You have helped me see more clearly what I didn't realize about this gem.

well, Alien.

I just find it funny how people talk so objectively without realizing you’re spewing an opinion. Claiming not many movie makers can do something is just… silly. It’s all subjective.

Agreed. Those stayed with me for a long time afterward. When I rewatched I had to look away knowing what was coming and how much it affected me.

Yeah and the extended interval of time where everyone knows the guy is doomed except for him. As though the siren-like seduction trance these victims become enthralled within is so absolute nothing can rouse them from it. Idk how well I'm expressing myself here but your comment briought me back there, to that first guys demise. It is SO rare to be moved much at all by a death scene in cinema. I can count on one hand how many have managed to 'get me' like this, even after watching countless creative attempts over the years.

@@TheSCPStudio OP places the “i can think of” in the comment there, it was meant to be a personal opinion and is subjective. This is honestly the weirdest straw man i’ve ever seen.

@@TheSCPStudio the phrase meant was “a feeling few movie makers elicit from me, and others like me”

It also reminded me of that alien feeling you feel when you try to go outside and 'live' after long term isolation or depression. Based on personal experience..

Yeah this captures a part of what it feels to be autistic sometimes. There doesn't seem to be a reason to anything anybody is doing and it almost feels like you shouldn't interact with them like you're at a zoo and watching the animals behind the glass. And the feeling of imitation rather than being a real person along with the sharp contrast between audio and visual stimulation at times almost fits too well.

The autistic perspective of the subject is interesting. But for some reason I thought more about psychopathy... I mean the lack of empathy. And the presence apathy, incomprehension, and hunger to devour humans.

Part of the movie that is so interesting to me is that perspective, it really captured the way that I and possibly many other fellow autistic view the world, it's almost like I wasn't part of human society and really feeling like "an alien/outsiders" watching human interaction as if you were watching a species documentary.

yeah instead of a UFO its IDO (identified driving object)

"I DO ",hmmmmm i wonder if we just unlocked a hidden code in the movie together unintentionally

You’re not wrong, outstanding film!

I'm not a super fan, but strangely it goes well watched back to back with The House That Jack Built. Somewhat similar filming methods, and in one we see a blabbering chauvinist serial killer, and contrary to that in the other a non-speaking "man-eating" alien.

It's far too esoteric to be underrated. It was never conceived as an audience friendly film for the masses. Small productions like UTS are for a very narrow audience of film goers that appreciate stories driven by oblique metaphors.

criminally...

​@@johnnyfavorite1194 it's only for clever people, am I right?

I thought it was kind of sweet that they didn't even question her odd behavior and just invited her in their group, probably because she was alone? I think it's pretty common for groups of women to try and protect women who are alone. I'd love it if I was out by myself, and a group of partying girls just swooped me up and took me with them to party lol.

To Laura, it's like us being invited to a cow social gathering. It's like "what the hell are you doing, you're food, you're not supposed to be this advanced".

@@leadpencil-223 I've seen it happen in real life. A woman was being harassed by a man trying to get her into his car, and two women walked up and were like "OMG THERE YOU ARE, we've been looking all over for you, why'd you disappear on us? Anyway we gotta go, nice to meet you dude" and the girl was tearfully thanking them as the girls swiftly whisked her away before the guy could do anything.

@@leadpencil-223 yes agreed!

​@@leadpencil-223Aye that's Scots for you

So basically despite being advanced enough to travel space, they’re just creatures of instinct at the end of the day?

"being self-conscious in a world where you are recognized for your outside appearance can only lead to misery." Fantastic summation. I love how this film flips the classic misogynistic trope of the "evil temptress" who seduces men to their ruin... by making the alien the victim in the end. The creature's fatal mistake was attempting to reinvent its inner self to match the expectations of Johanson's male admirers. From that moment on, its beautiful flesh, or "the skin," ceases to be a powerful tool for manipulation, rendering the creature defenseless. By putting its defenses down the predator became the prey... suffering the tragic and violent end often met by women who are defenseless here on Earth.

The film is way way more sophisticated than the book. I was really disapointed when I read the novel, its no masterpiece.

@@harveydean7952 I totally agree. The movie is great, the book is 'don't waste your time'

This is one of those rare cases where the film is actually better than the book.

I could do with some “don’t waste your time and get to the lore”

This makes me not want to read the book to be honest. I think what makes the movie so good is that it dosent bother to explain anything to you and you just have to fill in the gaps and figure stuff out for yourself.

Right? The leitmotif of the abduction/predatory violin strings weaving their way through the score in that unsettling, unearthly way, seeping back in at the end when Laura herself is being hunted....pure brilliance.

I couldn't bare the baby on that beach.

@@timonkanter368 I read so many comments such as yours. I've always wondered why I never felt anything during the beach scene. I was mourning her boots, and that's all. I am not a sociopath, but that scene puts me in the place of the alien so smoothly, I can just sit back, observe and wonder.

aLIEn = beLIEve 🤔🤫

@@ThePitchblue what are the triggers that you are sensitive to? I can't hear/watch children in distress.

@@keatherel8587 Yes words are made up of letters, some of those letters are the same lol

me too! very odd, but it gives immense comfort for me as-well. i can even listen to the score in it’s entirety among doing random things baha

Same here.

cause of the real scenes with hidden cameras

it may be because of the theme of being human. Despite the disconcerting alienation of seemingly familiar images, you are always reminded you are not an alien. You are human. It's reassuring.

I feel like that whenever I have to drive anywhere. Seeing people, going about their lives. I was always an introvert anyway but the whole COVID quarantine thing pushed me further into being a shut-in where I don't interact with anyone in person unless I have to go get groceries. I was never good at keeping friends anyway but now I feel more alienated than ever, and it doesn't help that I grew up in a completely different country than from where I now live.

That's a quite accurate description I would say.

It has alot of uncanny valley moments for sure.

I remember when it first released, a lot of the discussion was about how it managed to make humans going about their everyday lives seem unmistakably like aliens, almost unrecognisable from our own, subjective experience. I think it's testament to how successfully and quickly the film forces you to see through the actual alien's eyes.

beLIEve

You described it perfectly. The film shows what humanity actually is and not what humanity wants itself to be.

I shit myself when I saw the guy was still alive before being sucked out as if by a massive vacuum cleaner

I was living alone in a remote mountain town when I watched it one night. I share your view.

@Geeves I've seen it 5 times at least. Each time I see different things or think I've figured another thing out. I just think it's a zoo for people so the aliens can learn and better assimilate. It's just a complicated game.

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly! I immediately picked up on a “Kubrickian” vibe from the opening shots. The score, the striking vibrant colors, the mesmerizing atmosphere etc. IMO, this is a perfect film, there’s nothing I would add or take away. Sad that many people haven’t seen it or even heard of it

He’s made a WWII/Holocaust-related film that should be coming out within the next year or so.

@@toddpinkstonisgod Dammit... I'll skip that one.

@@ThunderChunky101 oh…ok. Why?

@@toddpinkstonisgod I just checked at random through the history channels on telly - it's Hitler all the way down. Nazi this, Hitler that, Holocaust this, Himmler that. It's relentless. Absolutely sick of it. It's a religion at this point.

@@ThunderChunky101what’s wrong with that?

You killed men and a baby?

Omg thank you for posting this I just bought it!! So excited fuck yeah dude

Is the book title the same?

@@davetinoco Yes. Its "under the skin" by Michel Faber.

The book is way inferior to the film. I was disapointed when I read it. The Dog People aliens described in the book and all the detail of their motives take away all the moody mystery of the film that doesnt attempt to explain itself.

@@harveydean7952 Completely agree there. The plot of the book is so over used it isn't even funny

Interesting, how long have you been staying in your van Scoob?😄

Yess love it! Thanks for the added two cents!

Oh, true!

That recommendation certainly played a part ;)

Because it's a bit of an artsy movie with a pretty vague story, most audiences will probably not like it because of that.

I've been thinking about this comment. What did that scene add to the movie? Nothing. It was inserted purely to cause pain in the audience. It isn't in the book, which can be read on the Internet Archive, and actually has something to say instead of imagining it does.