"Evil Under the Skin" (original title "Fading Flowers") appears to be an attempt to make a David Lynch movie. Lynch may be the most influential filmmaker of our time, but it's rare that someone attempts to duplicate the entire Lynch experience.
The plot is simple. Sophie Palmer (get it? "Palmer"?), played by experienced actress Helene Udy, has taken her daughter Rose Lee, played by gorgeous porn star Verronica Kirei under the name "Angela Barajas", out to a lake house for some "bonding time." The two women bond, while neighbors and police are concerned about what's going on in the house.
As I mentioned, much of the movie seems an attempt to make a David Lynch movie. Many of the Lynch trapping are there -- picturesque locations hinting at horrible things beneath the surface, unusual supporting characters, long shots of nature over music (although the music doesn't have the same hypnotic mood as Lynch's films), characters acting and speaking very odd indeed, rampant sexuality (Kirei/Barajas is not shy about showing her body)... It doesn't all work, of course, but surprisingly a decent amount of it does. Some of that comes from an ending that actually explains things, and while I was fairly certain I knew what was going to happen, the ending did come as a bit of a surprise and made what came before it seem even better.
This is one of those films that I objectively know isn't that great, but I found it surprisingly watchable. Maybe a bit of a guilty pleasure?
