The Reflecting Skin
1990
****
Director: Philip Ridley
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Cooper, Sheila Moore, Duncan Fraser, David Longworth, Robert Koons, Evan Hall, Coole Lucas Wilbee
Philip Ridley's feature debut is a dreamy if slightly overdramatic horror drama set in rural Idaho in the 1950s, where someone is kidnapping and killing children. Eight-year-old Seth becomes convinced that his neighbour is a vampire who is out to get his brother, who has just returned home. Ridley's wonderful script unravels a haunting story with a distinctly Lynchian feel. On the other hand, the beautiful visuals of the golden wheatfields bring back memories of Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven.
