Review of The Skin I Live In (2011) by Stuart K — 16 Apr 2013

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, he had been working on this adaptation of Thierry Jonquet's 1984 novel Tarantula (Mygale) for 10 years, but Almodóvar struggled to make his adaptation faithful, but the premise of the lead character's evil motivation kept him working on it.

But, it's Almodóvar's take on a horror film, and it's got a shocking twist in it, and it's a very arty and compelling story too, with some good moments. In Toledo, Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) is a plastic surgeon who has been inventing a new form of artificial skin which is resistance to burns and insect bites.

Ledgard's invention makes him the toast of the scientific world, however at his home, he keeps a young woman called Vera Cruz (Elena Anaya) locked in a room and dressed in a skin tight body suit. But, then there's an incident where criminal Zeca (Roberto Álamo), the son of Ledgard's servant and adopted mother Marilia (Marisa Paredes), breaks into Vera's room and mistaking her for someone else, rapes Vera, then Ledgard comes back and it's revealed as to how Vera came to be in this situation.

It's a very dark film, but it has all of Almodóvar's usual touches and flourishes, with the odd touch of camp here and there, but the fact remains that this is a very macabre and bloody horror film that doesn't go for shocks and scares, it comes from a weird mood.