Scarlett Johansson at the premiere of Under The Skin (Image: Georges De Keerle, Getty Images)
Who can truly say which films stand as the greatest of all time? Many have risen to the challenge, not least the UK’s own British Film Institute (BFI). Sight and Sound, the BFI’s prestigious magazine, has carried out a poll of the greatest films every 10 years since the tradition was established in 1952.
The last edition from 2022 saw over 1,600 film critics, programmers, curators, archivists and academics submit their personal top 10. These ballots are tallied into a definitive list of 250 greatest films of all time. An enormous catalogue to wade through, so we are shining a spotlight on the list’s highest-ranking British film from the 21st century — a gripping picture starring Scarlett Johansson as a seductive alien driving around Scotland in search for fresh blood.
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The sci-fi horror is the brainchild of English filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, whose subsequent film, The Zone of Interest, swept up awards at the BAFTAs and Cannes in 2023.
A decade prior, however, Glazer loosely adapted Under the Skin from Michel Faber’s novel of the same name. Johansson portrays an unnamed alien in disguise who preys on unsuspecting lonely men.
Notably, many of the scenes in which Johansson’s character roadtrips around Scotland picking up men were real interactions captured on hidden camera. While the book never conceals her true motives (namely, to kill and butcher the men as meat) in any ambiguity, the film takes a far more enigmatic approach.
Explaining its position on the list, number 169, the BFI said: “The icily brilliant Scarlett Johansson stars as an alien predator scouring Scotland’s streets for human prey, in Jonathan Glazer’s astonishing amalgam of fantasy and reality.
“Mixing mind-bending visuals and hallucinatory sound design with an unexpected naturalism, Glazer returned to the screens after a nine-year absence in audacious style, utilising guerrilla filmmaking tactics to capture Glasgow and its unsuspecting inhabitants with intimate realism.”
Under the Skin is on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Studio Canal/A24)
The film has a positive 83% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes, though its deliberately vague storytelling proved divisive, as the site’s critics consensus readily concedes.
“Its message may prove elusive for some, but with absorbing imagery and a mesmerising performance from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin is a haunting viewing experience.”
At the movie’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the Guardian dubbed it a “genuine Marmite moment”. They observed: “Some saw it as a masterpiece, others as a bore. The film’s closing credits played out to an accompaniment of booing.
Despite flopping at the box office, it secured BAFTA nominations for Outstanding British Film and Best Original Music.
Under the Skin was the highest ranking contemporary British film (Image: Studio Canal/A24)
A glowing review from the Chicago Sun-Times enthused: “This is what we talk about when we talk about film as art.”
Film enthusiasts continue to debate whether the picture truly deserves to be celebrated as one of the best. “I just watched Under the Skin and I can’t decide whether it is a masterpiece or a terrible movie,” posed one viewer on Reddit in 2025, more than a decade after the film’s release. “What is your opinion?”
One responded: “It’s one of the best movies of the previous decade.” Another agreed: “Masterpiece absolutely. Couldn’t stop thinking about that movie for weeks. Still think about it sometimes.”
A third summarised it: “It’s one of my favourite films, but one of my friends who I saw it with in theatres despised it.”
Under the Skin is available to stream on platforms including Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Sky Store and Google Play.