The Reflecting Skin (1990)

The Reflecting Skin (1990)

Well folks, you asked for it. I have to start off with an apology though, words do not describe how gloriously f***ed up this movie is. I remember catching this flick originally on some late night channel, probably only 11 or 12 years old, and truly I have never been the same since. This is the one movie, that no matter how many times I watch it, it is pure and simply messed up.

In contemporary film where once brilliant auteurs like Lynch have become veritable hacks of their former selves, I can only imagine that Philip Ridley (who wrote and directed this film) is of the same cloth as Sartre. Lynch could only dream of being as screwed up as this film is.

Well what is so messed up about this film you say? Alright, I will give it the good ol college try here.

The film takes place in rural Idaho (as per wikipedia though I don't recall it ever being mentioned in the film) in the 1950s. We follow our young (10-11 year old) protagonist Seth Dove. Seth is the epitome of a serial killer waiting to happen as the screwed up stuff he experiences and does is definitely there to scar him for life.

But is Seth entirely innocent prior to what he witnesses? Nope, he's already well on his way to being screwed up. We first see him and his two friends inflating a bullfrog they find to the point of rupture. Instead of killing the frog immediately they set it on it's back on a hot rural road where a woman is approaching from the distance. When the woman nears and inspects the frog, our young protagonist Seth takes out his slingshot and shoots the frog, exploding it all over the woman and the road.

And that is pretty much the end of all semblance of reality in this film. Seth becomes obsessed with vampires after hearing his dad speak about a novel he's reading. More importantly, Seth becomes convinced that the woman from before, Dolphin Blue is her name, is a vampire herself.

In a nutshell, Seth experiences religious zealotry, self-immolation, murder, possible remnants of infanticide or a still-born baby, dead angels, possible pedophilia peripherally, homophobia and radiation sickness. Jury's still out on the whole vampire angle and I am sure entire papers can be written on the murmuring chirping twin ladies.

That's not a synopsis, you say? Fine. Seth is the central figure to a mysterious set of murders that begin with the children of his small rural community. Seth's brother Cameron returns about half way through the film (played by Viggo Mortensen) and is definitely affected by his time in the war, hinting at being in or near Japan after Nagasaki or Hiroshima.  This is not the 1950's of "Greece" or "Happy Days" this is more like the 1950's of the apocalypse meets the twilight zone.

Some readers on IMDB boards seem to suggest that the imagery in the film is an allegory for Seth's innocence slowly becoming lost, which is an admirable take on the whole thing, but I don't think that explains enough. I think Seth is already a lost soul, there is nothing absolutely nothing redeemable about any of the characters. Each are bitter, twisted shadows of human beings, but life has been a long time gone from these folks.

If you want purgatory, this is my definition of it. These is bleaker than The Road in many respects.


The good: Well, I've mentioned that the film is bleak and messed up, but is it any good? Yes, it still is. This is a film I could never fully de-construct. I would challenge both many of my former University peers, and established film critics alike to try and make sense of this film. I would love to have lengthy discussions about what transpires in the 95 minutes on screen. Standouts though? Seth. Creepy creepy Seth. Viggo is always good (*coughRolandtheGunslingercough*) and just for sheer absurdity the Sheriff is great too. Oh and creepy dead angel babies. Yep you read that right.

The bad: Sanity as we know it, has no place in this film. That can make for a paradoxical viewing experience in which you simultaneously are revolted, apalled and intrigued by what happens next.

Final thoughts: Not one for mom and dad or your kids. Know that if you put this into your dvd player or watch it on your computer (Authors Note: I don't condone that!) you will bear witness to one of the greatest wtf moments in film that I have ever known. Forget Eraserhead, forget Gummo, forget Blue Velvet. You'd have to go as far back as Un Chien Andalou (1929) for a film on par with The Reflecting Skin.

Add to the Vault? You know what? Yes. For the mere fact that this film is like a drug. How I imagine heroin would feel, getting under your skin and forcing you to want more despite the horrors you experience from it. Perhaps too strong of an allusion but I don't care, I have never done heroin and never will, so I will invoke creative license here. This film definitely should not disappear, but rather serve as the proverbial bar for films aspiring to be messed up pieces of art.