Reflecting Skin, The (UK Blu-ray)
Gareth Jones
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Starring Jeremy Cooper, Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan
Directed by Philip Ridley
Distributed by Soda Pictures
Director Philip Ridley’s highly regarded 1990 childhood nightmare The Reflecting Skin finally receives a quality home video release courtesy of Soda Pictures – and the results are remarkable.
It’s 1950s small town America, and 8-year-old Seth Dove is in the throes of summertime, kicking off the fun for him and his pals by inflating a frog and then blowing it up at the feet of unsuspecting local widow/weirdo Dolphin Blue (Duncan), splattering her from head to toe in blood and guts.
Seth’s mother isn’t impressed when Dolphin comes round with the news, and Seth is shipped off to the solitary woman’s home in order to apologise. Through a mixture of curiosity and his father’s penchant for horror stories, Seth comes to believe that Dolphin is in fact an ancient vampire that may do harm to his family.
At the same time, a car full of sleazy greasers is roaming the area – and wherever they’ve been, a dead child is soon to follow. As Seth’s friends go missing, his family begins to feel the wrath of the local community and law enforcement turned upon them in suspicion – leading to a tragic event that beckons the return of Seth’s older brother, Cameron (Mortensen), from his military duty abroad.
When Cameron enters into a sexual relationship with Dolphin, Seth begins to notice his brother becoming frail and losing hair – something that Seth attributes to the seductress’ vampiric grip, as he decides that something must be done to save his brother from her clutches.
Now, all of that is really just a high-level scratching at the surface of everything going on in The Reflecting Skin. Less concerned with narrative storytelling as it is with sheer artistry of mood and place, Ridley’s film is as perfect a representation of childhood unease and misconception as you’re likely to find in the realm of dark cinema. Seth’s perception of the world is one filled with overtly histrionic adults, threatening authority figures and outright strangeness – filling The Reflecting Skin with a Lynchian vibe that is at once both repellent and completely compelling.
Horror, drama (and melodrama), thriller and comedy elements all come into play at various levels, creating a tonally uneven experience that’s as mesmerising as it is confusingly defiant of cinematic convention. Performances range from earnest to overwrought as scenes progress, but it all comes together in a tapestry of weird that absolutely refuses to implode, no matter how close it often seems to come to it.
What brings everything home, however, is Ridley’s directorial eye as filtered through the magnificent lens of cinematographer Dick Pope. The Reflecting Skin is absolutely beautiful, and Soda Pictures’ restoration is something to behold. From the dusty roads and scenic views to the vibrant, golden seas of corn, everything just looks bloody gorgeous. Ridley’s meticulously crafted frames recall still works of art in composition, whilst the score and visuals work together in absorbing symphony to create an experience that washes over the viewer – often leaving more questions than answers, but remaining fulfilling nevertheless.
The Reflecting Skin most certainly isn’t for everyone. The schizophrenic tone, artsy approach and refusal to settle within genre boundaries can be confounding – but it’s one heck of an example of modern auteur cinema, a singular vision rendered on screen regardless of convention or expectation.
And did I mention that it looks stunning? Yeah. It does.
Special features on Soda Pictures’ UK Blu-ray release include an extended “Making of” section broken into two parts. The first focuses on The Reflecting Skin, including interviews with director Ridley, cinematographer Pope and star Viggo Mortensen. The shorter second part focuses on Ridley’s The Passion of Darkly Noon (starring Brendan Fraser).
Besides those, we have a couple of Ridley’s earlier short films, complete with video introduction for each, a stills gallery, poster and video art gallery, trailer selections and an isolated score track. Finally, Ridley drops in for an insightful commentary track that unlocks many of the confusing aspects of the film while remaining a thoroughly interesting listen – essential for those who find themselves enamoured with the film itself.
Special Features:
- Angels & Atom Bombs: The Making of The Reflecting Skin
- Dreaming Darkly
- Short Film: Visiting Mr. Beak
- Short Film: The Universe of Dermot Finn
- Stills Gallery
- Poster and Video Art Gallery
- Trailers
- Isolated Score
- Director’s Commentary
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Film
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Special Features
Categorized:Reviews
