Philip Ridley

Reflecting Skin Philip Ridley

An instant cult classic when it premiered to sold out screenings at Cannes in 1990, The Reflecting Skin is a darkly humorous, nightmarish vision of the American dream. Growing up in the 1950s in small-town Idaho, 8-year-old Seth and his friends play a prank on the town recluse, a mysterious English widow named Dolphin Blue (Tony-winner Lindsay Duncan). After his father tells him stories of vampires, Seth becomes convinced Dolphin is a vampire, stealing the souls of his neighborhood friends one by one. When his older brother Cameron (3-time Oscar-nominee Viggo Mortensen in one of his first starring roles), returns home from military service in the Pacific and takes a liking to Dolphin, Seth feels it's up to him to save Cameron from his friends' fate. With stunning visuals recalling Edward Hopper paintings and it's surreal blend of horror and humor, The Reflecting Skin is a "stunningly beautiful... Gothic masterpiece" (The Guardian)!"