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Mysterious Skin ()


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Two pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.

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Complete, Cast awaiting verification

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Neil (age 8)
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Brian (age 8)
Rachael Nastassja Kraft ...
Deborah (age 12) (as Rachael Kraft)
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Mrs. Lackey
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Mr. Lackey
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Mrs. McCormick
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Alfred
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Coach
Riley McGuire ...
Wendy (age 11)
Ryan Stenzel ...
Stephen Zepherelli
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Neil
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Charlie
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Wendy
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Brian
Larry Marko ...
Old man with scar
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Avalyn Friesen
Clover ...
Patches
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Eric (as Jeff Licon)
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Redneck Hick
Forrest Fountain ...
Jackson
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Jackson's Son
Reedy Gibbs ...
Receptionist
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Gay Lumberjack
John Ganun ...
NYC John
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Zeke
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Deborah
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Sedan Driver
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Customer in Yogurt Shop (uncredited)
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Date in "Blood Prom" (uncredited)
Gwenne Hudson ...
Baseball Mom (uncredited)
Spencer Kayden ...
Brooklyn Woman (uncredited)

Directed by

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Gregg Araki

Written by

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Gregg Araki ... (screenplay)
 
Scott Heim ... (novel)

Produced by

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Gregg Araki ... producer
Wouter Barendrecht ... executive producer
Beau J. Genot ... associate producer
Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte ... producer (as Jeffrey Levy-Hinte)
Chris Larsen ... associate producer
Hans Ritter ... co-producer (as Hans C. Ritter) / line producer (as Hans C. Ritter)
Mary Jane Skalski ... producer
Michael J. Werner ... executive producer
Joshua Zeman ... co-producer

Music by

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Harold Budd
Robin Guthrie

Cinematography by

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Steve Gainer ... director of photography

Editing by

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Gregg Araki

Editorial Department

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Alex Blatt ... post-production coordinator
Alana Greenfield ... negative cutter: Viv Kim Negative Cutting
Terry Haggar ... color timer
Vivian Hengsteler ... negative cutter: Viv Kim Negative Cutting
Eden Williams ... negative cutter: Viv Kim Negative Cutting

Casting By

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Shannon Makhanian

Production Design by

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Devorah Herbert

Art Direction by

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Morgan Blackledge ... (as Morgan C. Blackledge)

Set Decoration by

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Erin Smith ... (as Erin K. Smith)

Costume Design by

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Alix Hester

Makeup Department

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Michelle Rene Elam ... key hair stylist (as Michelle Elam Torres)
Nicole Le Bris ... hair stylist: New York / makeup artist: New York
Fleur Morell ... makeup department head
Eleanor Sabaduquia ... assistant makeup artist
Alexis Walker ... assistant makeup artist

Production Management

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Beau J. Genot ... post-production supervisor
Petra Hoebel ... production manager: New York
Lisa Looney ... production supervisor
Per Melita ... production manager: New York
Hans Ritter ... unit production manager (as Hans Christian Ritter)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Heather I. Denton ... second assistant director
Jordan Brendan Finnegan ... second second assistant director (as Jordan Finnegan)
Gavin Kleintop ... second second assistant director
W. Alex Korp ... first assistant director (as Ale Korp)

Art Department

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Treven Bedwell ... property master
Erin Cabeen ... art department intern
Shannon Cabeen ... art department intern
Jonathan Dortch ... assistant property master
Sally Geier ... art department intern
Rob Henning ... leadman
Stacy L. Henning ... swing
Jennifer Ireland ... art department intern (as Jen Ireland)
Mathew Klickstein ... on-set dresser
Scott Schutzki ... swing
Pete Steinke ... swing
Andrew 'Pinky' Swartsel ... swing (as A. Corey Swartsel)

Sound Department

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Bryan Arenas ... sound consultant: Dolby
Steven Avila ... sound effects editor (as Steve Avila)
James Bailey ... foley artist
Trip Brock ... supervising sound editor
Bob Fisher ... boom operator
Heather Fox ... sound coordinator: post-production
Michael J. Fox ... adr supervisor (as Mike Fox) / foley editor (as Mike Fox)
Eric Hoeschen ... foley artist
Peter D. Lago ... first assistant sound editor (as Peter Lago)
Coleman Metts ... production sound mixer
Peter Oreckinto ... optical soundtrack: DJ Audio
Jackie Rodman ... dialogue editor (as Jackie Oster)
Mark A. Rozett ... re-recording mixer (as Mark Rozett)
Elana Saviolis ... sound coordinator: post-production
Geordy Sincavage ... foley mixer / sound effects editor
Melissa Strater ... sound coordinator: post-production (as Melissa Strater-Brock)
Kelly Vandever ... re-recording mixer
Randolph Saucedo ... sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by

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David Waine ... special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by

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Mark S. Driscoll ... visual effects supervisor: Look Effects
Henrik Fett ... visual effects supervisor: Look Effects
Chad Buehler ... digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts

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Eddie Matthews ... stunt driver (as Eddie Mathews)
Louis C. Simon ... stunt coordinator (as Lou Simon)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Sebastián Almeida ... first assistant camera: New ork (as Sebastian Almeida)
Todd Barron ... director of photography: second unit
Craig Bauer ... camera loader
Bernard Cistrunk ... electrician
Josh Daneshgar ... grip intern
Matthew Deetsch ... additional electrician
Mark Evans ... grip (as Mark E. Evans)
Eric Forand ... additional grip
Ben Gamble ... gaffer
Jerry Gregoricka ... electrician (as Jerry C. Gregoricka)
Joshua Harper ... additional electrician
Jarrod Heath ... electrician
Trevor Houghton ... best boy electric
Milan Janicin ... second assistant camera (as Milan 'Miki' Janicin)
Todd Kirschner ... key grip
Jaime R. Mejia ... additional electrician
Patrick Okamura ... camera intern
Hernán Otaño ... director of photography: New York (as Michael Otano)
Omar Pena ... grip
Marcos V. Perez ... grip (as Marcos V. Pérez)
Ryan Purvis ... additional grip
Rocky Romines ... grip (as Rocky 'Rockman' Romines)
Shereen Saleh ... first assistant camera
Lacey Terrell ... still photographer
Victoria Tidmarch ... additional camera loader
William Todd ... additional electrician
Carlos Veron ... gaffer: New York (as Carlos Verón)
Bradford Whitaker ... electrician
Steve Gainer ... camera operator (uncredited)
Mark McIntire ... grip (uncredited)

Casting Department

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Jessica Gee-George ... adr voice casting
Grant George ... adr voice casting
Jennifer Goldstein ... casting assistant
Katya Lidsky ... casting assistant (as Katja Lidsky)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Carla Haupt ... costume intern
Prudence Stein ... costume intern
Pamela Walt ... costumer

Location Management

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Jonathan Dortch ... location scout
Debra Fontenot ... location scout
Susan Gabbay ... location scout: New York
Jonny Gillette ... location assistant
Matthew I. Goldberg ... assistant location manager (as Matthew Goldberg)
Janet Harold ... location scout
Jennifer Antoinette Kennedy ... location scout (as Jennifer Kennedy)
Mathew Klickstein ... location scout
Joe McGraw ... location scout
Naomi Motohashi ... location manager (as N. Motohashi)

Music Department

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Jenée DeAngelis ... music coordinator (as Jenee Clark)
Bradford Ellis ... score engineer / score programmer
Dag Gabrielsen ... composer: additional music
Howard Paar ... music supervisor
Ronald J. Webb ... music editor (as Ron Webb)
Tracy McKnight ... executive soundtrack producer (uncredited)
Alysia Oakley ... assistant to executive soundtrack producer (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Jan McWilliams ... script supervisor

Transportation Department

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Jaime Chapparo ... additional driver (as Jaime Chaparro)
Mac 'Buck' Cook ... driver
Guy Johnson ... transportation captain (as Guy 'Bone' Johnson)
Eli James Lozano ... driver
Sandra Ninham ... additional driver
Stephen 'Stevo' Pate ... transportation coordinator
Marco Ruiz ... additional driver (as Marco A. Ruiz)
Bobby Weaver ... driver
Alexander Yurchikov ... additional driver

Additional Crew

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Jodi Andrade ... craft service
Nicolas Barclift ... office production assistant
Luis Brito ... chef
Carly Brown ... production coordinator
Louis Caric ... set production assistant (as Louis A. Caric)
Dave Carlson ... set production assistant
Martine Charnow ... production intern
Diana Cheng ... production intern
James Debbs ... assistant: Mary Jane Skalski
André Devantier ... caterer
Rex Dominguez ... set production assistant
Colin Elliott ... production intern
John B. Finn ... post-production accountant: JFA Inc. (as John Finn)
Jonathan Gray ... production counsel: Spinak & Gray
Todd Hall ... title designer: F-Stop
Erin Heidenreich ... sales agent
Katherine Hensley ... accounting intern
Tony Hill ... medic
Teresa L. Humphreys ... payroll services: Axium/Avalon (as Teresa Humphreys)
James R. Kerrigan ... title designer: F-Stop (as Jim Kerrigan)
Maria Kerrigan ... title designer: F-Stop
Chris Lum ... medic
Michael Masarof ... production assistant: New York
Ross Miller ... insurance: DR Reiff & Associates
Steve Pawera ... production accountant
Guillermo Pena-Tapia ... production assistant: New York (as Guillermo Pena Tapia)
Anthony Pizzarelli ... medic
Lynn Raines ... welfare worker
Roy A. Ruiz Jr. ... security: Independent Security Co. (as Roy Ruiz Jr.)
Robert Spinak ... production counsel: Spinak & Hray (as Rob Spinak)
Susan J. Spohr ... customer satisfaction: CFI (as Susan Spohr)
David Witten ... production intern
Fei Wong ... additional set production assistant
Ian M. Stratford ... production counsel (uncredited)

Thanks

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Lynn Auerbach ... special thanks: Sundance Institute
Fenton Bailey ... special thanks: World of Wonder Productions
Randy Barbato ... special thanks: World of Wonder Productions
Chris Baugh ... special thanks
Jonathan Bell ... special thanks
Andrew Bentler ... special thanks
Peter Billingsley ... special thanks
Bill Bishop ... special thanks
M.B. Boissonault ... special thanks (as MB Boissonault)
Tom Bronson ... special thanks: Walt Disney Costumes
Erin Cabeen ... special thanks
Shannon Cabeen ... special thanks
Andrew Cannava ... special thanks
Shirley Clark ... special thanks
John Cooper ... special thanks
Mary Corbet ... extra special thanks
Kathy Doherty ... special thanks
Cindy Ellison ... extra special thanks
Patrick Falk ... special thanks
Neil Fenn ... special thanks
Tal Fiala ... special thanks: Keep Me Posted
Hadiya Finley ... special thanks
Eric Fried ... special thanks: Technicolor
Dag Gabrielsen ... special thanks
Alberto Garcia ... special thanks
Cindi Goretski ... special thanks (as Cyndi Goretski)
Rachel Goswell ... special thanks
Zach Grace ... special thanks: Mean Red Music
Toni Halliday ... special thanks
Neil Halstead ... special thanks
Robert Harvey ... special thanks (as Bob Harvey)
Paulette Hawkins ... special thanks
Charles Herzfeld ... special thanks: Technicolor
Amy Hillman ... extra special thanks
Takeo Hori ... special thanks
Millie Hsyu ... special thanks
Marcus Hu ... special thanks
Melanie Johnson ... special thanks
Tim Kelly ... special thanks: Keep Me Posted
Keya Khayatian ... special thanks
Eunice Lee ... special thanks
Cookie Lopez ... special thanks
Tom Lopinski ... special thanks
Pat Lucas ... special thanks
Jim Lyons ... special thanks
Alexander Mayo Williams ... special thanks
Alec McKinlay ... special thanks
Tracy McKnight ... special thanks
Robert Messinger ... special thanks
David Millman ... special thanks
Guido Moretti ... special thanks: Telecine Films
Luz Moretti ... special thanks: Telecine Films
Suzanne Moss ... special thanks
Joy Murphy ... special thanks
Dave Newton ... special thanks
Michel Papadaki ... special thanks: CFI (as Mike Papadaki)
Tonya Puerto ... special thanks
Karyn Rachtman ... special thanks
Simon Raymonde ... special thanks
Joe Robbins ... special thanks
Michelle Satter ... special thanks: Sundance Institute
Ben Schoen ... special thanks: Scarlet Letters
Burt Severy ... special thanks
Sigur Rós ... special thanks (as Sigur Ros)
Kai Simmons ... special thanks
Suicidal Tendencies ... special thanks
Shelley Surpin ... special thanks
Garrard Whatley ... special thanks: Rocketworks
Warren Zavala ... special thanks

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

A gay teenage prostitute and another teen, both from the same small town in Kansas, narrate separate stories from their childhoods. The prostitute's story is about a disturbing homosexual encounter with his pedophile baseball coach, and the other teen's story revolves around an amnesia blackout during which he thinks he may have been abducted by aliens. Later, the second teen finds clues linking the gay prostitute (now living in New York City) to his possible alien abduction, so he tracks him down to finally seek out the truth.

Plot Keywords
Taglines Two boys. One can't remember. The other can't forget. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Mysterious Skin - Unter die Haut (Germany)
  • Oscura inocencia (Spain)
  • Titokzatos bőr (Hungary)
  • Загадкова шкіра (Ukraine)
  • Загадочная кожа (Russia)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 105 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Opening Weekend United States $17,425, 08 May 2005

Did You Know?

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Trivia If you look closely, the scene when the coach rests his head on Neil's chest (at 0:14:45), you can see Neil's not breathing and you cannot see his head. This is because it was an insert shot using a prop for Neil's chest so that the child actor was not aware of the sexual content that was being displayed during the production of the film. See more »
Goofs There is a Metallica "St. Anger" sticker (with the "St." torn off) on the right rear fender of Eric's Gremlin in 1991. "St. Anger" wasn't released until 2003. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in The Lords of Dogtown/Mysterious Skin/Rock School/Batman Begins (2005). See more »
Soundtracks Golden Hair See more »
Crazy Credits The movie title is displayed at the start of the film (at 0:01:56) spaced out as M-YS-TERIOUS S-K-I-N. See more »
Quotes [last lines]
Neil: [narration voice-over] And as we sat there listening to the carolers, I wanted to tell Brian it was over now and everything would be okay. But that was a lie, plus, I couldn't speak anyway. I wish there was some way for us to go back and undo the past. But there wasn't. There was nothing we could do. So I just stayed silent and trying to telepathically communicate how sorry I was about what had happened. And I thought of all the grief and sadness and fucked up suffering in the world, and it made me want to escape. I wished with all my heart that we could just leave this world behind. Rise like two angels in the night and magically... disappear.
See more »

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