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Normally, I would review a Spanish movie on its language, but since I’ve covered every previous surgeon thriller/horror movie that I know of in English, this will have to do.
It was actually because of this title that I watched all the previous ones and what a mistake that was because aside from the original (“Les Yeux Sans Visage”), every other movie was either disposable schlock (“Seddok, l’erede di Satana”, “Corruption”, “Les Predateurs de la Nuite”) or had the potential to be good but only managed to come off as mediocre (“Gritos en la noche”). La piel que habito is easily the best of the bunch.
Production wise is obviously far ahead of all the previous titles, despite its simple looking characters and the lack of a specific aesthetic, which most of the previous movies had. The visuals are overall good, the movements are good for what the cast had to do, there’s enough variety of locations and thus backgrounds despite taking place mostly on closed spaces, and the directing is good, something expected from this director, from what I’ve come to know (this is the first film of Almodóvar that I watched).
The atmosphere is pretty good as well, good and suspenseful soundtrack (unlike the bad and unfitting ones from all the previously mentioned titles), good sound effects, and good acting from everyone, even during the silliest parts of the movie.
The plot this time around isn’t about a surgeon killing women to take their skin and transplant it to his girlfriend, or sister, or daughter, or a random woman, it’s a very twisted premise of him using a woman as a guinea pig for the sake of developing an artificial skin after a tragedy, so it’s a more interesting scenario, even though it affects the character appeal for some by not giving the protagonist a decent goal.
But you know what? Since the movie is basically about sociopaths doing sociopathic things, and since in retrospect it meant not having all the gore schlock from some of the earlier movies, I was fine with the protagonist being the villain and having a selfish goal, especially because he was always presented as such, even while showing his motivation.
The pacing is good at every moment, with every scene progressing the plot or focusing on characterization, something which can’t be said about most of the previous examples, and in general having something happening to prevent the movie of becoming dull.
With that said, besides the changes in the formula, the plot is probably the simplest of all, especially after it was revealed to be a revenge plot. I don’t find much of a deeper meaning or message besides what’s happening on a surface level, I mean yeah, obsession and revenge, the same can be said about some of the similar movies.
The credibility of what happens is…low, from the premise itself, to the way the characters act, at times changing their behavior completely from one moment to another with not much reason, and even by having some silly moments, but at least some of them are explained quickly, thankfully (the dude wearing a leotard disguise and showing his butt cheeks).
The exposition is a bit awkward at times, which, out of all the movies I watched, only happened in the Spanish ones for some reason. In this one, the way the old woman revealed her past was weird, even more so because she is talking to a person that despises her. It’s a shame because soon afterwards another backdrop is completely shown, not told, making the previous scene even weirder.
The plot twist made the already twisted character dynamic even more impactful in a good and bad way, it was quite shocking and made the movie even more messed up, but my enjoyment, which was already low at that point, became even lower afterwards. At least, like I already said, it was shown properly, without any awkward exposition.
The conclusion was…kind of awesome, what the female lead did after her backdrop was revealed and how it flipped everything prior in the movie? And the final scene, that even cuts away at the most emotional moment instead of showing more than needed, as many films tend to do? Yeah, despite the villains falling for it too easily, it was still pretty great.
The characters, being kind of a bunch of sociopaths, sure are a memorable bunch, even if they don’t have the most complex and definitely not likeable personalities. Development is non-existent, no one changes from how they were at the beginning, but at least they are more and more interconnected through their shared backdrop stories, and the catharsis for the female lead was strong, after everything that happened and for how she flipped the whole movie. And it’s interesting how they referenced to it in “Wonder Woman”, since the female lead has a role there.
For better or worse, for all of its highs and lows, it sure is a memorable movie, is it rewatchable though? Mmm I don’t know about that, I find the plot simple and relying heavily on the plot twist for that, but for a one time experience, it is quite the solid watch and the best movie with its premise.
7/10
