Comments about ‘Reflecting Skin, The’

i first saw this movie in 1994, it was on video of course,
its among my top 3 favorite movies-and yes im a david lynch
fan. i think the reason i liked this movie so much was
because of all the disfuntional characters i really
connected with all of them in some sort of way-all of the
strangeness made for some good entertainment.

I can't disagree with Chris Hicks more. This movie is not
supposed to be uplifting, inspirational, etc, which is what
he seems to base his ridiculously low rating of the movie
on. It's every bit as psychologically powerful as a Lynch
movie, but actually coherent and non-pretensious. There is
symbolism here, and there are metaphors, but if you keep
expecting them to come in the artsy-fartsy Lynch style, you
won't catch them.

The film is about childhood innocence contorted and
destroyed by a wicked world. It isn't forceful, but at the
same time it isn't an in-joke. The Reflecting Skin:
sometimes crap happens, and keeps happening.

Chris Hicks must not pride himself as an acessible
authority on Philip Ridley or his thematic license.
Reflecting Skin fairly enough is a disturbing film. Truly
one of the most disturbing I myself have yet to watch;
surpassing Kubrick's Clockwork, and Stone's Natural Born
Killers. However i should note that both of these movies
capitalize their shock value by explicit use of sex and
violence in horrific circumstance. Ridley does little to
exhibit graphic images within his film with the exception
of it's introduction and gasoline scene. Instead he
supplies the ingredients for the viewer to make the
finished product. And one should note that Ridley is not a
nusance toward alienating the audience. He does so sure
but not by graphic overtones of image and plot. Moreso by
the undertones and implications of figuretive devices
within the characterization. Semiotics, minimalism, and
ambiguity encode the film further to give it a surrealistic
rage that would impress the likes of say Samuel Beckett.
Yet the plot has the flow of a Eugene O'Neal tragedy. For
Hicks to give this film 1 and 1 half stars implies that the
film is lacking. However Hicks probally lost interested
early on because of the films dark dimision. Evident in
his pronouncing that it takes place in the mid-west even
though the sheriff's car has the state of Idaho on it.
Furthermore the only thing that Hicks quotes besides the
film itself, is the press kit that he recieved. If this is
the best way to research Literature or Film then i believe
Cliff Notes has some competition. If it is any concilation
the film has received 11 International Awards. But i would
like to objectively stress that it is not for all people.
Especially those who await the sequal to Titanic

In my memory I was incredebly young when I saw the
Reflecting Skin on Belgian television. I still have
nightmares about those exploding frogs and the fire at the
gasstation.

This film is one big depression-fest, like an Edward Hopper
painting come to life. It's all loneliness and desolation,
but also a creeepy horror film that takes place not at
night, but in the bright daylight. It's a first-class
freak show, and I loved it!