Throughout the years we’ve been
blessed with a slue of cannibalistic films from Blood Feast to the Hills
Have Eyes to Cannibal Man, yet nothing has prepared me for what I’ve just
witnessed. From first time director, Marina DeVan; IN MY SKIN is a
disturbing tale of a woman’s fascination with her own body. IN MY SKIN takes
you on a very disturbing and unsettling trip of self mutilation.
Beginning with a dinner party, IN
MY SKIN follows Esther (DeVan) attending a dinner party with her colleagues.
Mingling and sipping on alcoholic beverages everything seems to be in the
norm. While walking around outside waiting on some friends she stumbles over
a patch of odds and ends debris scraping into various objects. Upon further
inspection later in a bathroom she realizes she’s been hurt worse then
expected and there’s a few deep gashes across her leg. In what seems to be a
state of shock she begins squeezing her leg together in hopes of closing the
wound. After a few minutes she begins to poke and prod on the open wound
pulling and tearing the flaps of skin just making things worse.
Later the injuries are just too
much for her so she begins messing with them again and a little too much I
must make note. The first glance grimaces during inspection turn out to be
orgasmic inspections. Esther has developed an obsession with open wounds.
Worried about Esther, her boyfriend played by Laurent Lucas tries to keep an
eye on her but there’s only so much he can do. Esther’s fascination with her
flesh has become so bad that she begins to try and tear just enough flesh on
her arm with a fork for her to bite and tear till accomplished, during a
dinner meeting. Checking herself into a hotel room to “feast” if you will
she begins to carve and dismember beyond recognition.
IN MY SKIN is without a doubt the
most disturbingly compelling film I‘ve seen in many, many years. Generally
you associate an angst ridden teen carving their bodies up over the dumbest
shit and for the most part commonplace but when you see a 30 something
successful business woman carving and licking in an orgasmic manner, it just
creates a completely different subconscious picture; one that will be etched
in your mind forever. From a woman who claims she doesn’t like horror DeVan
did one hell of a job. IN MY SKIN is superb!
