Before 'The Substance', There Was This French Extreme Body Horror You Wouldn't Want to Watch Twice

David Cronenberg is considered the father of body horror, meanwhile, Julia Ducournau and Coralie Fargeat are considered the genre's mothers: Ducournau won the Palme d'Or for Titane, and Fargeat sparked worldwide discussion with The Substance.

However, Marina de Van, director of the extreme body horror In My Skin, is rarely mentioned – her film was ahead of its time and paved the way for a wave of female-driven extreme cinema.

What Is 'In My Skin' About?

From the outside, Esther's life seems perfect: her career is booming, and her loving boyfriend has proposed that they move in together. However, this facade of well-being crumbles when she cuts her foot after a party.

The wound becomes the starting point of her morbid obsession with her own body: she begins to feel an irresistible urge to self-mutilate and a desire to be alone with herself, covered in blood. This isolates her from her boyfriend, friends, and work.

She experiences reality as hostile and unreal. The only refuge Esther can find is her body, which she explores piece by piece, seeking solitude through it.

'In My Skin' Is Based on Semi-Autobiographical Elements and a Rejection of Genre Labels

The script for In My Skin draws heavily from Marina de Van's painful and personal experiences. Although she tried to avoid autobiographical aspects when the movie was released, she later admitted that she was herself addicted to self-harm at the time of filming.

Working on the movie became a kind of therapy for her. De Van didn't want to reduce the plot to mere self-loathing and physiology, however, she couldn't find a suitable actress for the lead role, so she decided to play herself.

De Van rejected any genre labels, including body horror. In My Skin can be viewed from various angles: for some, it's a feminist film, for others, it's a movie that addresses deviance in a unique way.

In most horror films, the female body is often portrayed as an object of control, persecution, or torture, typically at the hands of men.

Without even attempting to make a horror movie, De Van inverts this model by showing a woman attempting to regain control of her own body through mutilation and refusing to present the events through a voyeuristic or sexualized lens.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'In My Skin'?

• In My Skin has 66% from critics and 64% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the movie has a score of 6.2/10.

• On Letterboxd, In My Skin scored 3.5/5.0.

Where to Watch 'In My Skin'?

In My Skin is available to stream on AMC+.