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The Reflecting Skin



The Reflecting Skin
(Philip Ridley 1990)

Geez, that exploding frog scene was a bit of silly horror stuff, pffft...It's too bad because it felt like this film had something and could've been great. Instead we get a bunch of animal cruelty scenes in the beginning. I'm going to guess no actual animals were hurt and it was all CG. But still, fake animal cruelty turns my stomach and sank the film right then and there for me...

But it did get more interesting with some amazing sets and shooting locations. The house set was cool and distinctive which help set the tone of the film...And the wheat fields, wheat fields always make an cinematic impact and are perfect for isolating a lone subject when then makes for an emotional statement all without dialogue.

Those dysfunctional little kids sure had some bizarre ideas, but not as bizarre as the mom with her water fixation which was pretty quirky...and the one eyed, one hand sheriff...and the guy who has sinful thoughts...oh and the twin ladies caring the dead bird down the road, wow strange stuff!

It's like the director took what could've been good source material about a messed up boy who thinks the strange English woman in black is a vampire. But instead the director then piles on a bunch of wackiness in a David Lynch Twin Peaks way. Only Lynch knew how to make the quirkiness work, this director didn't.