Jonathan Glazer's third film should probably win an Oscar (if not all the Oscars), but it almost certainly won't. For one thing, its premise involves an alien taking the form of a human woman and seducing men, whose life forces are absorbed when she takes them to her home. For another thing, that synopsis is entirely based on conjecture, since the film is so abstract and vague to the point that you take it in like a painting, or a piece of ambient music. Or a David Lynch movie, come to think of it. Under The Skin gained some notoriety from the fact that the alien - who spends a lot of time half-naked - is played by Scarlett Johansson. But how many people actually saw it? Not many, and you can't blame them. Under The Skin isn't an easy film to watch. That's because it involves some truly grotesque and disturbing scenes of body horror and human cruelty, and because it's difficult to know what the hell is going on most of the time. It opens with a series of strange patterns and shapes, and that's about as much "exposition" as you ever get. The film features scant dialogue, zero explanation for what's going on, and a woozy (yet brilliant) score from Mica Levi, which only serves to heighten what a bizarre film Under The Skin is. It's not only a film about an alien, it's like a film made by an alien, with little understanding of how humans - or human cinematic techniques - work. It's brave, barnstorming, brain-melting stuff, and you probably should've watched it already. Once you do, you'll not be able to stop thinking about it. Probably what the title was on about, then. Any more unsung gems from 2014? How many of this list have you seen? Head to the comments and have your say.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
