Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 71 Ratings

  • Summary: Ever since his wife was burned in a car crash, Dr. Robert Ledgard, an eminent plastic surgeon, has been interested in creating a new skin with which he could have saved her. After twelve years, he manages to cultivate a skin that is a real shield against every assault. In addition to years of study and experimentation, Robert needed a further three things: no scruples, an accomplice and a human guinea pig. Scruples were never a problem. Marilia, the woman who looked after him from the day he was born, is his most faithful accomplice. And as for the human guinea pig... Loosely based on Thierry Jonquet's 1995 novel "Mygale." (Sony Pictures Classics)
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 37
  2. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    Nov 3, 2011
    91
    And while it may be true that Almodóvar doesn't have Hitchcock's way with terror, it's not clear that Hitchcock could leave the real world behind so wholly and convincingly as Almodóvar does here.
  2. Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    Oct 13, 2011
    80
    It's as stylish and kinky as you could want, but compared to his recent female-centric melodramas ("Broken Embraces," "Volver," "All About My Mother"), this is a chilly genre exercise that casts his obsession with gender and sexuality in a harsh new light.
  3. Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    Nov 3, 2011
    80
    There are plot twists and turns, some of which amuse, some of which disgust. Issues of gender and identity take an eventual backseat to gruesome experiments -- gruesome because of the manner in which they're conducted, by an unfeeling monster.
  4. Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    Oct 14, 2011
    60
    Almodovar makes some missteps in his icky mélange of melodrama and mischief, but the end result is playfully devious.

See all 37 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. 10
    I have to admit This is the first Almodóvar movie I've ever watched, I generally don't stand watching movies in spanish but ever since I watched Pan's Labyrinth, I give some of them a try, and I don't regret giving this one a try. This movie might not be a masterpiece, but I'd like to give more than a 9 just because this movie made an impact on me, it is a movie that I know will stay in my memory forever, maybe in a creepy way, and that is why I give a freaking 10. Expand
  2. I can not explain, that strangest movie, fascinating mind traps you until the last minute. great the soundtrack was one of the key parts that will make this film a gem. Almadovar wow, you know making movies shocking. Expand
  3. Stylistically perfect, a beautiful score, an even more beautiful lead actress. In contrast, a sick and twisted yet greatly woven script, borderline erotic but also dark and sinister. Almodovar is never shy to tell a different story and we are never tired of watching his films. Expand
  4. The latest from Pedro Almodóvar is unlike anything he's done before: it's not an offbeat comedy or an introspective drama. More a moody science fiction tragedy. Antonio Banderas plays a plastic surgeon who's created a beautiful sort of Frankenstein. His drive for a medical breakthrough combines with grief and revenge to motivate his intense obsession. The film is visually interesting, often off kilter and intriguing on several levels, but some may find the deliberate pacing gets in the way of the film's power. Still, it's an unusual, compelling and slightly-creepy experience. Expand

See all 23 User Reviews

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