Hiding fandom in the underwear drawer since 1977

I recently watched The Reflecting Skin again after maybe a decade since the last time. Although I grew up in the 90s, I didn't know about this movie until I was an adult, so I have no nostalgia for it. My impression is that it was critically lauded at the time, but a pretty small release and mostly forgotten among the more pulpy horror films that were around circa 1990/1991. I think with the resurgence of trauma-related themes in horror, The Reflecting Skin would probably appeal to some of today's audience more so than its own time.

It's hard to describe the movie without spoiling everything about it. It's about an eight year old boy growing up in the American midwest during the 1950s. His home life is awful and then his friends start going missing one by one, eventually turning up dead. He suspects that the strange widow next door is a vampire and that she is doing the killings. Is that what is happening? Or is it someone else?

There's a lot that's going on in this movie, although it is a slow burn and mostly doesn't play like a horror film. There are no set pieces or real gore, just a focus on character drama and creepy atmosphere. There is a major David Lynch vibe; the setting of the film in the rural wheat fields is beauty, but it's a fucked up place where fucked up things happen; some of the characters are eccentric and broadly drawn (the sheriff investigating the murders is a pretty absurd character, but in a fun way); there is a whole lot going on regarding perception versus reality. Basically, if you like Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, or Twin Peaks, you might like this.

Plot-wise, there are also some similarities to Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling, as they both involve the murder of young boys and the impact it has on the already hostile townies in an isolated rural community. You can also say the film is in the Val Lewton vein of "maybe there's something supernatural going on here, maybe it's just people".

There is also the continued theme of innocent children having to operate in a very flawed, very fucked up world created by adults. Basically, something happens every ten minutes or so to make you go "well, that's fucked up, a kid shouldn't have to deal with that". Further than that, we see how the innocence of children can also take them down a disturbing path.

Finally, it has to be addressed that our protagonist Seth is strongly implied to be the real killer and the greasers are a dissociative figment of his mind. Once you know this, the film becomes more disturbing on second watch, since Seth is rather "off" throughout and he shows all the signs of a budding psychopath. It's a great performance because he's not cartoonishly evil or in the mold of The Bad Seed or The Good Son; instead, he seems blissfully unaware of how fucked up he is. Given the abuse and neglect in his household, it's no wonder he turned out the way he does.

The performances are all great from the adults. Viggo Mortensen is in this with an early role as the older brother. He brings an intensity to the role which elevates it. Lindsay Duncan as the depressed neighbor/maybe vampire is a treasure; she is both very sad and very funny. She should be a goth icon.

The only negatives I can think of is that the score (mostly beautiful strings) can maybe be a bit too melodramatic and bombastic at times. The final shot of the film is also quite good, but I think some people might think of it as too silly and melodramatic. These are minor nits though. Easily one of the best horror films of the 90s.

Has anyone else seen it?

I find cults very interesting and am looking for some films that depict that, though maybe with less of a focus on supernatural elements (though some movies I’ve seen handle it alright such as The Ritual or The Apostle).

I’m looking more for films that cover “realistic” cults in the same vein as Jonestown, Waco or the Manson family. A charismatic figure and a surrounding crazy group of fanatics.

It reminded me of Halloween II: the killer kills everyone at the hospital and it takes the final act for killer and victim to face off one another except instead of a teenage girl, the final girl is a 60 year old woman with a page boy wig and Michael Myers is a woman-hating leather daddy,creepily played by Michael Ironside, easily his most villainous part ever in movies.

Lee Grant camps it up as she screams and cries for most of her screen time. She's like a guest star from THe Love Boat who's been transported into a Slasher movie. William Shatner looks so awkward throughout while having a bad perm and at one point, we see him eat Pudding for 5 minutes.

Still, the movie is extremely violent,a lot of brutality and stabbings and then an attempted rape scene of a hooker, played by the actress who voices Rogue on X-Men 97'.

The standout, for me,is Linda Purl, a nurse who cares for Grant and temporarily becomes a target of the killer. The best scene in the movie is when Ironside invades her home with her kids while she's in the hospital. I had to wonder if Chris Landon was inspired by that sequence when he did "Drop".