He and Campbell pared it back from an elaborate, special effects-heavy concept to a sparse story focusing on an alien perspective of the human condition.

As the swimmer lies exhausted on the beach, the woman strikes his head with a rock, drags him to the van, and drives away, ignoring the couple's distraught baby.

Writing for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Duane Dudek speculated that Johansson's character assumes a human identity to collect information about humans as an alien intelligence might, inducing an identity crisis causing her to "spin out of control like a broken machine".

He wrote that the motorcyclist can be interpreted as a companion, enabler, or pursuer, and that the "tar-dark world" where the woman submerges her victims may be a nest, a web, another planet or dimension, or a visual representation of how sex feels to her or them.

He interpreted Johansson's character as a "kind of immigrant", and that the film's title "seems like part of an anti-racial slogan, a reminder that despite our racial or ethnic differences we share some basic components".

[7] Critics highlighted the exploration of empathy as a defining human capacity, with Johansson's character coming to share in this over the course of the film.

[8][9][10] Noting that a turning point occurs during Johansson's character's encounter with the man with facial tumours (played by Adam Pearson), the philosopher Colin Heber-Percy wrote: "The film suggests it is our very weakness which we value, which makes us us.

[13] In The Mary Sue, Kristy Puchko wrote that Under the Skin "creates a reverse of contemporary rape culture where violence against women is so common that women are casually warned to be ever alert for those who might harm them ... By and large men don't worry about their safety in the same way when walking home late at night.

If Under the Skin communicates any gender-politics message, it does so through the disparity in excitement between the male characters' reaction to [Johansson] and that of the camera.

"[7] The Atlantic journalist Noah Gittell noted how little hype Johansson's nude scenes attracted, despite her status as a Hollywood sex symbol, and wrote: "The way the film frames it — with Johansson having removed almost all of her personality from the character — it doesn't play as even remotely sexual, and the scene, remarkably, barely attracted any hype.

"[15] The film is thought to be inspired by the Scottish folklore of Baobhan sith, female vampire-like creatures who prowl during the night preying on men.

"[17] Glazer and co-writer Milo Addica, later replaced by Walter Campbell, spent several years writing and rewriting the story.

[17] Glazer eventually decided to make a film that represented an alien perspective of the human world and focused only on the female character.

[20] Under the Skin was jointly financed by Film4 Productions, the British Film Institute, Scottish Screen, Silver Reel, and FilmNation Entertainment.

[20] Gemma Arterton,[21] Eva Green, January Jones, Abbie Cornish and Olivia Wilde were considered for the lead.

I remember seeing her walking along the street in a pink jumper on a long lens and she looks like an exotic insect on the wrong continent.

[19] To create the black room in which her character traps men, the crew built a set with a reflective floor, blackout and custom lighting.

[20] Filming locations included Argyle Street, Glasgow, Buchanan Galleries, Auchmithie Beach, Arbroath, Almondvale, Livingston, Loch Restil and Lochgoilhead, Cairndow, Wanlockhead, Dumfries & Galloway, Tantallon Castle, North Berwick, Port Glasgow, Wishaw, Kilsyth and the vicinity of Celtic Park.

[28][29] The album was released on 28 March 2014 by Rough Trade Records,[30] and received positive response with several websites and publications called it as "one of the best musical scores".

[47] According to Guardian writer Phil Hoad, the Under the Skin budget was in "the danger zone: not in the ultra-low bracket that can make a sharply executed future vision ultra-profitable ... [nor] the $30m-plus range where marketing begins to snag mass audiences".

The website's consensus reads: "Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerizing performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience.

"[49] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

[50] Xan Brooks of The Guardian gave Under the Skin five out of five and called it "far and away the best picture" to play at the Venice Film Festival.

[52] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph wrote: "If my legs hadn't been so wobbly and my mouth so dry, I would have climbed up on my seat and cheered.

"[53] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film four out of four, describing it as "hideously beautiful ... its life force is overwhelming.

[63] In France, the prestigious Cahiers du Cinéma ranked Under the Skin third on its 2014 top ten chart (behind P'tit Quinquin and Goodbye to Language).