Scarlet Johansson plays an alien in disguise (Image: Studio Canal/A24)
Who’s to say what movies are the best of all time? Many a publication has risen to the challenge, including the UK’s own British Film Institute (BFI). Sight and Sound, the BFI’s magazine, has conducted a poll of the greatest films every 10 years since the tradition began in 1952.
The most recent list had over 1,600 film critics, programmers, curators, archivists and academics submitting their personal top 10. These ballots get tallied up into a list of 250 greatest films of all time. That is certainly a lot of movies to sift through, so we are highlighting the British film from the 21st century that ranked highest — a gripping film starring Scarlett Johansson as a seductive alien prowling the streets of Scotland.
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The sci-fi horror is the work of English filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, whose next film, The Zone of Interest, racked up wins at the BAFTAs and Cannes in 2023.
But a decade earlier, Glazer loosely adapted Under the Skin from Michel Faber’s novel of the same name in which Johansson’s character is an extraterrestrial disguised as a human.
The woman, who is never named, preys on lonely men who are none the wiser. As its synopsis hints, « Her charm works like magic on them, but they are unaware of her true identity. »
Many of the scenes where Johansson’s character drives around picking up men were real interactions captured on hidden camera.
While the book never shrouds her true intentions (that is, to kill and process the men as meat) in mystery, the film is more ambiguous.
Under the Skin is on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Studio Canal/A24)
Explaining its spot on the list, number 169, the BFI said: « The icily brilliant Scarlett Johansson stars as an alien predator scouring Scotland’s streets for human prey, in Jonathan Glazer’s astonishing amalgam of fantasy and reality.
« Mixing mind-bending visuals and hallucinatory sound design with an unexpected naturalism, Glazer returned to the screens after a nine-year absence in audacious style, utilising guerrilla filmmaking tactics to capture Glasgow and its unsuspecting inhabitants with intimate realism. »
The movie is « fresh » on Rotten Tomatoes with an 83% approval rating. But the film’s ambiguous storytelling is a bit like Marmite, as the website’s critics consensus acknowledges.
« Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerising performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience. »
Scarlett Johansson filming in the Scottish Highlands (Image: Getty)
Though it bombed at the box office, it nabbed BAFTA nominations for Outstanding British Film and Best Original Music.
The Guardian gave it five out of five stars whilst another perfect review from the Chicago Sun-Times gushed: « This is what we talk about when we talk about film as art. »
Film lovers continue to debate whether the movie merits being hailed a masterpiece.
« I just watched Under the Skin and I can’t decide whether it is a masterpiece or a terrible movie, » posited one viewer on Reddit in 2025, over a decade after the film’s release. « What is your opinion? »
One answered: « It’s one of the best movies of the previous decade. » Another echoed: « Masterpiece absolutely. Couldn’t stop thinking about that movie for weeks. Still think about it sometimes. »
A third summed it up: « It’s one of my favourite films, but one of my friends who I saw it with in theatres despised it. »
Under the Skin is available to watch for Amazon Prime subscribers to watch for free.
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