Instant Favorite.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

After a young boy named Seth Dove (Jeremy Cooper) is caught with his two buddies causing havoc he must go and meet his odd widow neighbour Dolphin Blue (Lindsay Duncan) to apologize. Quickly Seth believes she is a vampire. Seth's brother Cameron (Viggo Mortensen) returns home from war, but he grows to have an interest in Dolphin, which Seth does not wish to happen. Sheriff Ticker has the look of a villain straight out of an old Sean Connery James Bond movie (see Dr. No & Thunderball). I think it is wonderfully filmed with a great score by Nick Bicat. I think newcomer Jeremy Cooper does a terrific job playing the 8-year old Seth. In fact acting all around is top notch. Interesting that most scenes are played out in sunlight rather than the usual horror staple of darkness. In turn though, did not find scary at all and may work better through the lens of a drama rather than horror.

It's not uncommon to see films about childhood that show life prom their point of view and incorporate an element of fantasy in the process, but it's rare that the vision be this bleak and the fantasy so dark. Little Seth has a lot to deal with ... his friends are disappearing and turning up murdered. His father is suspected due to a past homosexual indiscretion. His mother is a crazy person obsessed with the smell of gasoline and the return of his elder brother (Viggo Mortensen) from WWII. His neighbor, a very depressed widow, is a vampire ... and she's probably killing his brother. His dead friend returns as some sort of rotting fetal angel. Friendly leather boys roam the plains in a shiny car.Dick Pope's cinematography is beautiful. Fans of David Lynch want to see this, yet it has it's own very unique tone.

Jeremy Cooper plays Seth Dove, an impressionable and imaginative youngster living in the American prairies of the 1950s. He comes to believe that a mysterious local English widow named Dolphin Blue (Lindsay Duncan) must be a vampire, based on what his father Luke (Duncan Fraser) has related to him. (The old man is a fan of pulp novels.) Therefore, Seth becomes alarmed when his older brother Cameron (Viggo Mortensen), a military veteran, falls in love with the widow."The Reflecting Skin" is a striking, unusual film, marking the filmmaking debut for Philip Ridley, a British playwright, author, and screenwriter. It's definitely not to all tastes, and certainly not for people expecting a traditional horror film. It depicts a stark world, seen through this childs' eyes, in which adults are often extremely messed up and children are victimized. Ridley's dialogue is literate and amusing, and the actors do seem to be enjoying themselves reciting these lines. The atmosphere is very impressive, with Ridley taking advantage of all these open spaces and endless fields of yellow. Dick Pope did the very efficient cinematography. Another memorable element is the music score by Nick Bicat. It's haunting and helps to draw you into this story that is sure to get under the skin of some of its viewers.Fans of Mortensen should be aware that he doesn't show up for over 40 minutes, but he provides an engaging presence as a young man with little patience for his kid brother. Duncan is absolutely amazing and her character truly does seem to be living in some other universe. Sheila Moore chews the scenery as the shrewish Dove mother, Canadian character actor Fraser is fine as the father with a grim, sordid past, and young Cooper offers a believable performance.Consistently unpredictable, "The Reflecting Skin" does have a fair bit going for it, and it's worth a look for buffs searching for something different and interesting.Seven out of 10.

In the 50's, the eight year-old Seth Dove (Jeremy Cooper) uses to play prank with his friends Kim (Evan Hall) and Eben (Codie Lucas Wilbee) in the rural area of the United States. Seth lives with his father Luke Dove (Duncan Fraser), who runs a gas station and a junkyard in the middle of nowhere, and with his dysfunctional mother Ruth Dove (Sheila Moore), who misses her son Cameron Dove (Viggo Mortensen) that fought in the Pacific. One day, Luke is reading a vampire pulp and Seth asks his father about vampires. When Seth has to apologize for a prank to his neighbor, the widow Dolphin Blue (Lindsay Duncan), he believes she is a vampire. Eben is found murdered and Sheriff Ticker (Robert Koons) and his Deputy (David Bloom) blame Luke that has record of molestation. Luke does not bear the accusation and commits suicide while Seth believes Dolphin killed Eben. Cameron returns and soon he has a love affair with Dolphin while his little brother tries to discourage his brother to meet her. Kim is abducted by a group of youths in a black Cadillac and Seth witnesses the kidnapping. Soon Kim's body is found in a barn but Seth does not tell the Sheriff. When Dolphin asks for a ride to the driver of the Cadillac, Seth does not warn her. What will happen to Dolphin? "The Reflecting Skin" is an unknown little gem by Philip Ridley, with one of the darkest and weirdest stories of cinema. The disturbing plot is very well constructed and uses the innocence of a wicked eight year- old boy and how he fantasizes his interpretation of reality. All the characters are non-likable and vicious, from the children and families to the Sheriff and his Deputy. The cinematography is also very beautiful in the rural landscape with bright colors. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "O Reflexo do Mal" ("The Reflection of Evil")