It was said of Michael Faber when the book on which this film is based was published that his
work defied categorisation as Under the skin combines horror, thriller and science fiction. True to
the source material Johnathan Glazer produced a film that is equally uncategorisable. It also has
elements taken from sci-fi, thriller, and horror films as well as having very clear influences in
Godard and the French new wave and because of this it is difficult to place in context. There are
not many Sci-fi, horror art road films and so there is not much to compare it to. Whilst it takes
from all these sources it also creates something unique; similarly, the score, written by first-timer
film score composer Mica Levi of Micachu and the Shapes, uses a lot of elements from different
genres but synthesises them into a cohesive musical experience to compliment the visual one
and also adds a certain unique something. The score is a mixture of organic string recordings and
electronics a pairing that has a long history in the sci-fi and horror genres. One only needs to look
Bernard Herrmann’s score for “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, another film about an alien visitor,
to see strings mixed with theremins and tape manipulation techniques. There is also the
connection to Herrmann’s string writing in the score for ‘Psycho’ connecting it with the thriller
genre. The violent attacks in the music for the shower scene allow the uglier textural features of
string instruments through just as Levi does with her scratchy tremolo and microtonal lines. These
features, as well as the electronics used in contemporary scores, are synonymous with horror
also. The exploration of textures and timbres of this kind using extended techniques and
electronics may have come from Levi’s background as a classical composer, she studied
composition at Guildhall School of Music. She says herself “[Studying composition] I was
exposed to a lot of 70s music – Xenakis, Stockhausen, then Cage, Nono, Ligeti, Varèse…”1 . The
specific electronic techniques, such as pitch shifting and the use of midi instruments or
synthesisers, also shows that Levi is comfortable in the pop production world, a somewhat
The protagonist is an alien who has come to earth to hunt for human flesh to send back to her
home planet. She comes into contact with humankind disguised as a human and begins to have
doubts about the ethics of her mission. The film revolves around the idea of introducing the
1Romney, Johnathan, “Away from the picture: Mica Levi on her Under the Skin soundtrack”,
Accessed April 22, 2019, https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/interviews/
away-picture-mica-levi-her-under-skin-soundtrack
audience to the protagonists alien perspective and getting them to see our human world that we
often take for granted through her eyes. The music is a crucial part of this; the music gives
emotional indicators to ideas and images that the human mind might not know how to react to for
example the harvesting scenes are very alien and disturbing to the audience but they still need to
empathise with the protagonist and so the music tells them how Isserly feels. Levi also plays with
the diegetic and the non diegetic to this end. In the first sequence in the van, the underscore,
particularly the percussive elements, has a somewhat filtered quality as if, like the diegetic sound
of the world outside the van, it is being heard from the other side of a windscreen. This separation
between the. protagonist, the camera, and the underscore and the outside world allows the
audience to feel that isolation that the protagonist feels more keenly. One of the aspects of the
film that adds to the sense of seeing this new world through the characters eyes is the distinct
lack of music. Originally there was going to be no music until the man in the village plays her a
record. Glazer’s justification of this was “If we are going to experience everything as she does
then let’s be denied music until she hears it”2 . This concept was abandoned but Levi’s music is
still scarce and, in an almost Godardian way, the ambient sound of a shot is treasured and
sometimes emphasised over music. Like in Godard’s films, the sound design is used almost as a
supplement to the score however Godard is prone to separating the score and sound design from
the picture; Levi and sound designer Johnnie Burn intentionally blur the line between ambient
sound, foley, and score and combine that with the image to lead to a view of a familiar world to
the audience that is unfamiliar and strange. The synchresis of a familiar image and an unfamiliar
sound world creates a cognitive dissonance which helps us understand the confusion of the
protagonist and their inexperience of this world. Godard’s idea of the poetic is also emphasised
in the music with music being used usually at moments outside of the everyday I.e in the
harvesting sequences where all ambient sound is replaced with music. The blur between music
and wild sound also aids in the audience seeing some sequences as poetic even if the images
make them quite mundane for example the sequence after the protagonist has fallen over. The
protagonist starts to see the wonder and the beauty in the human race and so the audience sees
candid shots of people around Glasgow participating in everyday activities but the use of
https://royalconservatoire-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/mwelton_rcs_ac_uk/
EaxVNKUtJ6BFtidLNahgBiwBI2HHgMy8L6QpAnbPq68ZHg?e=1ZYeyv
Romney, Johnathan, “Away from the picture: Mica Levi on her Under the Skin soundtrack”,
Accessed April 22, 2019, https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/interviews/
away-picture-mica-levi-her-under-skin-soundtrack
"Jonathan Glazer on Under The Skin | Film4 Interview Special”, Youtube, Video file, Uploaded on
18 March, 2014. 17:40 min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZUvIfXKVVc