''Cold Skin'' is a 2017

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Xavier Gens Xavier Gens (; born on ) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Career Gens directed three short films in his native language, ''BTK – Born to Kast'' (2000), ''Au petit matin'' (2005) and ''Sable noir'' (2006), before being hire ...

and based on the 2002 novel of the same name by

Albert Sánchez Piñol Albert Sánchez Piñol (; born 11 July 1965) is a Spanish anthropologist, non-fiction writer and novelist writing in Catalan and Spanish. He has been described as a "significant European writer". Theroux, Marcel (19 December 2005)"Cold Skin" ...

. The film was released on 20 October 2017 in Spain.

Plot

In 1914, a young Englishman travels to a remote

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

island to work as a weather observer. The only other inhabitant of the island ís Gruner, the caretaker of the crudely fortified

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

. Gruner says the previous observer died from

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

and there is no body. Exploring the island, the unnamed man finds his predecessor's

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digita ...

with drawings of strange sea creatures. At night, his cabin is besieged by those creatures. The next night, he lights a fire to repel the creatures, only to burn down his cabin. The next day, he discovers a female amphibious creature outside. Gruner prevents him from shooting her and shows that she is "tame". Calling the man "Friend," Gruner explains the creature will not leave her master no matter how cruel he is. Friend successfully bribes Gruner into letting him stay in the lighthouse. That night, creatures climb the lighthouse, and Gruner butchers them as Friend faints. While defending the lighthouse the following night, Gruner locks Friend outside on the balcony to fight alone, essentially leaving him to die. In the morning, Gruner discovers Friend covered in creature blood but still alive. The two men settle into a routine. Friend grows to like the captive female creature (treated as a

sex slave Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor that results in sexual ...

by Gruner) and names her Aneris. Friend speculates the nightly attacks are attempts to reclaim Aneris, who sings during the lighthouse attacks. Gruner belittles Friend's ideas. One night, the duo come perilously close to being killed when the lighthouse is overrun by the creatures. The following day, Friend tries to signal a passing ship. Gruner attacks Friend and the two men wrestle for control of the flare gun. Aneris tries to protect Friend. Gruner explains to Friend his reasoning for refusing any rescue. Friend communicates to Aneris his desire to leave the island. She leads him to an abandoned row boat. Friend and Gruner devise a plan to salvage dynamite from a sunken ship just off shore. The two men row the boat to the shipwreck. Friend dons an old diving suit and jumps in, retrieving several boxes of dynamite. Gruner does not pull up Friend and stops pumping air to him. Friend escapes from the dive suit and climbs back aboard the row boat, aware that Gruner had once again tried to kill him. Back at the lighthouse, they discover that the recovered dynamite is dry enough to use. Friend and Gruner form a plan to lure as many sea creatures to the lighthouse as possible before setting off the dynamite, believing that the show of force will kill many and drive them off. The plan largely succeeds, leaving many of the creatures dead or dying. In the morning, Gruner finishes off the remaining creatures. Friend removes a necklace from the neck of one of the dead creatures and once again tries to convince Gruner that the creatures are more civilized than Gruner believes. Later that evening, Gruner reveals that he found Aneris trapped in his net in the sea and freed her from it. The following night the creatures do not attack, and a great wailing sound comes from the sea. Aneris is missing and appears to have run off for the first time. While Gruner sleeps, Friend discovers a photo of Gruner as a young man with a wife. Friend recognizes the woman in the picture as the same one in a photo belonging to his predecessor. Friend leaves a present for the creatures. He discovers a child creature investigating his present. A more confident Aneris re-appears. Friend tries to tell Gruner that the creatures want a truce. Gruner commands Aneris to return to him but she refuses. Gruner retreats back to the lighthouse where he fires a flare that kills the child creature. Friend finds Gruner inside the light house and the two men fight. Friend tells Gruner he knows he is the previous weather observer and asks him to remember love. Gruner drops his axe, exits the lighthouse, and is killed by the awaiting mob of sea creatures. Many months later, the next ship arrives to replace Friend. The captain tells Friend they are there to replace the weather observer. Friend tells the captain the weather observer died from typhus, echoing the same lie he was told upon arrival. Aneris watches from a distance before leaping into the sea and swimming away.

Cast

Production

''Cold Skin'' was produced by Babieka Films and Skin Producciones AIE alongside Pontas Films and Kanzaman France with the participation of

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

and

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

and backing from ICAA and ICEC. The sets were designed by

Gil Parrondo Gil Parrondo Rico OAXS (17 June 1921 – 24 December 2016) was a Spanish art director, set decorator and production designer. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for another in the category of Best Art Direction. Selected film ...

, to whom the film is dedicated.

Release

The film was released theatrically in Spain by Diamond Films on 20 October 2017.

Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films, LLC is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. Th ...

released the film in the United States.

Reception

''Cold Skin'' has grossed a worldwide total of $737,478. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 48% based on 27 reviews, and an average rating of 6.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Cold Skin'' exerts a strong visual pull, even if all that icy atmosphere isn't a truly satisfying substitute for a story that dares to go somewhere different." David Ehrlich of '' IndieWire'' gave the film a 'C+' rating, deeming it to be "a gruesome but uncommonly philosophical creature feature" hinting at "a

Lovecraftian Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is na ...

ambition that it never fully assumes for itself". Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' assessed that the film "offers a good-looking and well-crafted if familiar chunk of creature-siege horror".

References

External links

*
''La piel fría'' (''Cold Skin'')
at

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cold Skin Films set in lighthouses 2017 films 2017 horror films Films based on Spanish novels French science fiction horror films Spanish science fiction horror films French science fiction adventure films 2010s monster movies English-language French films English-language Spanish films Films directed by Xavier Gens 2010s English-language films Films set on islands 2010s French films 2010s science fiction adventure films 2010s Spanish films English-language science fiction horror films French monster movies Spanish monster movies Spanish science fiction adventure films Films set in the Atlantic Ocean English-language science fiction adventure films