Two boys grow up in Hutschinson, Kansas. For cocky, precious Neil McCormick, baseball only becomes attractive, although he’s good at at, when he meets studly coach, who often takes him out and to Sir’s cool home. There the treats and games lead to intimacy. Shy good boy Brian is redrawn from the team by his concerned ma, another ‘disappointment’ according to his dad, after two episodes he can’t remember, causing him to have recurring bloody noses and nightmares. The Halloween one was jackass fire-cracker abuse by Neil and his platonic confident Wendy. Neil makes his gay lust into a profession, ultimately in New York, where the fun wears off and worse. Neill becomes a model student, but searches for the source of his nightmares in alien abduction theories. Trough a college mate, Neil’s admirer Eric, he ultimately discovers.

Mysterious Skin (2004)
  • Rating: (30,528 votes)
  • Tagline:Two boys. One can't remember. The other can't forget. »
  • Runtime:105 minutes
  • Director: Gregg Araki
  • Countries:USA, Netherlands
  • Actors:
    Neil (Age 8)
    Chase Ellison
    Brian (Age 8)
    George Webster
    Deborah (Age 12) (as Rachael Kraft)
    Rachael Nastassja Kraft
    Mrs. Lackey
    Lisa Long
    Mr. Lackey
    Chris Mulkey
    Mrs. McCormick
    Elisabeth Shue
    Alfred
    David Lee Smith
    Coach
    Bill Sage
    Wendy (Age 11)
    Riley McGuire
    Stephen Zepherelli
    Ryan Stenzel
  • Genre:Drama
  • Producers:
    Gregg Araki
    producer  
    Wouter Barendrecht
    executive producer  
    Beau J. Genot
    associate producer  
    Chris Larsen
    associate producer  
    Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
    producer  
    Hans C. Ritter
    co-producer  
    Hans C. Ritter
    line producer  
    Mary Jane Skalski
    producer  
    Michael J. Werner
    executive producer  
    Joshua Zeman
    co-producer  
  • Plot: Brian Lackey is determined to discover what happened during an amnesia blackout when he was eight years old, and then later woke with a bloody nose. He believes he was abducted by aliens, and N. McCormick, a fellow player on Brian's childhood baseball team, may be the key as to exactly what happened that night. As Brian searches for the truth and tries to track him down, Neil McCormick takes up hustling and moves to New York, in attempts to forget childhood memories that haunt him. Together, the two of them uncover the terrible truth of the scars they share. Written by Anonymous
Mysterious Skin
  • User's comment:great film by russell-sherman

    As a movie lover and social worker, I was really moved throughout this film - for most of this film - by the subject matter and by the powerful portrayal and production of these characters. Overall, this is a highly rated movie and one can only wonder at the mentality of persons in Australia who pushed for the banning of this film. This is a realistic account of the affects on the victims of child abuse and tells a compelling story of their plight. But don't expect a happy ending; there is some resolution but you know the battle continues and their struggle to overcome will go on. (I'm getting emotional again just thinking about the last scene.) I work with young people (15-25) who have been abused, often by their own parents, and placed into the care system. However, I have had clients who have then been abused in care as well. It is hard to reconcile such young people but gaining justice is quite central, as is a belief they are accepted and worthwhile human beings. Because they may have been sexually aroused during the abuse they can often feel guilty and to blame. They often internalise these feelings and depending on their personalities they will implode against themselves (drugs etc) and/or become de-sensitised to certain feelings and take risks. The boys in this film portray these two dichotomies and they do it very well. 10 stars.


  • Quotes: Neil: I am so sick of this stinkin' little buttcrack of a town! Brian: [narration voice-over] The summer I was 8 years old, five hours disappeared from my life. Five hours. Lost. Gone without a trace. Brian: [narration voice-over] Last thing I remember I was sitting on the bench at my Little League game. It started to rain. What happened after that remains a pitch black void.
  • Also known as: Mysterious Skin (France), Mysterious Skin (Portugal - imdb display title), Загадочная кожа (Russia), Anoihti pligi (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Mistérios da Carne (Brazil), Mysterious Skin - Unter die Haut (Germany - TV title), Nazomeita hada (Japan - festival title), Piel misteriosa (Argentina - festival title), Souvenirs dans la peau (Canada - French title), Titokzatos bőr (Hungary), Zly dotyk (Poland - imdb display title),

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