10 More Terrifying Horror Movies Set During Daylight

8. The Reflecting Skin (1990)

YellowBrickRoad Movie
Miramax

The Reflecting Skin is another one of the horror world's somewhat forgotten titles. The film follows a young boy named Seth living in an isolated farming community in the American Midwest during the 1950s. Director Philip Ridley explores the naive perceptions developed by children, with the movie revealing the sinister dark goings-on plaguing this community that Seth is shielded from by interpreting them as various fairytale stories.

What makes this such a clever direction from Ridley is how he contrasts the darkness of the horrors shown throughout the film with the constantly pleasant surroundings Seth finds himself surrounded by.

The film's setting is the Idaho countryside, and the most enduring mark of Ridley's direction from behind the camera is in how frequently Seth is shown in golden wheatfields with an expansive blue sky above him.

Disturbing, haunting, often times quite disgusting but managing to find a serene beauty in its presentation, The Reflecting Skin is a wonderful encapsulation of how much simpler life looks like through the eyes of a child.

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Contributor

Horror fan, gamer, all round subpar content creator. Strongly believes that Toad is the real hero of the Mario universe, and that we've probably had enough Batman origin stories.