★ FILM LOG ★

But as beautiful as the film is, with clear influences on many later vampire projects including Blade, with incredibly cool half-blood hunter protagonists, the plot itself is unfortunately pretty weak and boring. It is a shame, because it had so much potential had the characters been better developed, which incidentally is the same issue I had with Blade, but neither are interested in this.

The exploration of threads such as D's motivations as a bounty hunter, his self-image, and Charlotte's relationship with both Meier, and her family prior to her "kidnapping" would have made the film far richer and more interesting, but as it stands, I found it impossible to connect with any of the characters — even gorgeous Atsushi Sakurai lookalike D — and Charlotte's love for Meier unconvincing. She barely feels like a character.

Instead, too much time is spent on Leila's crew, who I really did not care for. It is a waste too, as it never makes them feel important enough to be impacted by their deaths.

Call me a killjoy, but I also wasn't a fan of D's hand parasite. He was basically pointless discounting two instances of swallowing the void, and I wished he would shut up every time he made some sort of "witty" quip.

In spite of all this, I appreciate that Leila is given some level of autonomy, and not relegated to token love interest or fanservice provider, having a functional full-coverage armour, and short, choppy hair. But still, it is not enough to make her interesting.

Side note, I really did think D's beautiful black horse was special to him, and possibly also immortal, so it was incredibly funny to see him replace it for an identical one the second it dies.

Speaking of D, the subtitles were a little confusing and misleading regarding his background. He is repeatedly called Dunpeal in the subtitles, which sounds like a reference to his lineage like a family name, when it is merely supposed to be "dhampyr", or half-human half-vampire.

Formulaic as it was, I did like that the ending was bittersweet, Meier finally escaping oppression (which is also not explored by the film), yet without his love, and D's own self-imposed loneliness.

Beautiful, beautiful animation, I just wish it was more.

I really enjoyed the soundtrack, and feel the use of shoegaze throughout contributes to both the themes of memory, as well as giving the film a more heartbreaking quality by grounding it in the real-world realm of children and teenagers, as opposed to a more abstract classical score. The use of music in tandem with memory was especially well done towards the end, playing in the background as Neil recalls the coach's abuse, stopping jarringly as the memories cut back to the future with Brian realising what has been done to him.

Part of the reason this film works so well is because of how heartfelt and genuine the portrayal of the characters is. There is a realistically subdued melancholia within each of them, making them feel like actual people. Both Neil and Brian react to their trauma in different, yet equally human ways, with no moral judgement being cast on either. Brian's repression fantasy of alien abduction especially is treated with so much compassion and sensitivity, never once mocked.

Really, the depiction of sexual abuse and its consequenses in Mysterious Skin may be the best I've ever seen. It is raw, and real, and refuses to be sugar-coated. Brian and Neil feel like real and complex victims, unlike the Hollywood standard of an idealised perfect victim. Neil thinks he enjoys the abuse, even long after it has happened, and commits COCSA both under the coach's instruction and independently. He still seeks it out in some form through his prostitution. As I have said before, none of this is moralised, the aftermath of sexual trauma is not quite so simple. In the end, there is no hope because the damage has been done, and one is left harrowed and heartbroken.

Their entire relationship is laughable, they have known each other only a few days and have very little chemistry. Annette is too flat to work as a compelling love interest, and exists solely to serve the plot. Perhaps if she were more fleshed out, one could begin to understand why on earth she still liked Sebastian even after reading his journal.

Sebastian fares a little better, but the sudden shift from cartoonishly evil villain with menacing all-black ensembles and a Stu-Macher style robe to lover-boy is eye-roll inducing. I audibly groaned when the first hints of his conscience are shown, when he asks Kathryn if she's sure she wants to ruin an innocent girl's life.

Of course, he gets her drunk and coerces her into receiving oral sex anyway. The severity of this act is downplayed as almost humorous, with Cecile having her first orgasm and the experience beginning her descent into nymphomania. Kathryn, too, engages in classic victim blaming and convinces Cecile nothing untoward happened because she eventually enjoyed it -- despite not being able to consent. This is the same gentleman who, in the opening scene of the film, was revealed to have posted revenge porn of his therapist's daughter on the internet, just for fun.

That marked him as irredeemable before the scheme even began for me, but the film seems wont to transfer all fault onto Kathryn. A co-conspirator, sure, but Sebastian's actions are far less forgivable. At any point, Sebastian could have refused to partake in Kathryn's schemes, but he enjoys inflicting suffering as much as her, only making an exception for Annette, whose sex scene is portrayed as gentle and intimate, close frame in warm hues.

Overall, it is a very horny and mildly entertaining campy film, if you ignore all the dubiousness (of which there is a lot), but incredibly misogynistic in its messaging. Kathryn complains about the double standards surrounding male and female sexuality, yet the film unwittingly reinforces them. She is the only sexually emancipated female character is villainised and punished for the fact, while Sebastian is afforded redemption via death. Of course, because he has only been "good" (not a sex criminal) for two seconds, it's impossible for me to feel any sympathy.

Had the film committed to its depravity instead of playing straight a love story, it could have at least made for an interesting discussion piece, but instead it just ends up feeling gross. And what was Annette's satisfied smirk about as she drives away?