Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- eerie
- surreal
- oppressive
- late night arthouse viewing
- cult horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a visually hypnotic, disturbing, unusually controlled cult art-horror work whose grotesque imagery and performances reward reappraisal.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The luminous rural landscape and vivid imagery contrast sharply with murder, abuse, and the boy's fears.
Seth uses his father's vampire stories to interpret Dolphin Blue and the disturbing events around him.
Seth's imaginative world is formed by family abuse, accusations of molestation, murder, and an unforgiving rural environment.
The film combines vampire mythology, noir-inflected rural menace, dark humor, and formally stylized cinematography.
Films like The Reflecting Skin, and why
Blue Velvet
Shares a rural American setting, grotesque surrealism, and a child's nightmare-oriented perspective.
The Night of the Hunter
Combines coming-of-age unease, gothic rural imagery, and horror filtered through a child's imagination.
Gummo
Uses stylized beauty and disturbing Americana to explore innocence, violence, and corrupted domestic life.
The Reflecting Skin
An art-horror film where an unsettling child-centered worldview collides with ominous supernatural suggestion.
Movie Details
- Director
- Philip Ridley
- Release Date
- 1990-08-28
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (230)
Cast
- Viggo Mortensen
- Lindsay Duncan
- Jeremy Cooper
- Sheila Moore
- Duncan Fraser
- David Longworth
- Robert Koons
- David Bloom
- Evan Hall
- Codie Lucas Wilbee
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Midnight Pulp, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel, ARROW
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Reflecting Skin about?
- A boy's vampire fantasies turn an idyllic 1950s farm into a radiant, grotesque landscape of family violence and adult corruption.
- What is The Reflecting Skin like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Reflecting Skin as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Reflecting Skin violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Reflecting Skin as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Reflecting Skin?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a visually hypnotic, disturbing, unusually controlled cult art-horror work whose grotesque imagery and performances reward reappraisal.
- Which films are like The Reflecting Skin?
- Films with a similar feel include Blue Velvet, The Night of the Hunter, Gummo, and The Reflecting Skin.
- How long is The Reflecting Skin?
- The Reflecting Skin runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Reflecting Skin?
- In United States, The Reflecting Skin streams on Midnight Pulp, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel, ARROW.
