Mysterious Skin

Mysterious Skin
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gregg Araki
Screenplay by	Gregg Araki
Based on	Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim
Produced by	Gregg Araki
Starring	Joseph Gordon-Levitt Brady Corbet Michelle Trachtenberg Jeff Licon Bill Sage Mary Lynn Rajskub Elisabeth Shue
Cinematography	Steve Gainer
Edited by	Gregg Araki
Music by	Harold Budd Robin Guthrie
Production companies	Fortissimo Films Antidote Films Desperate Pictures
Distributed by	Tartan Films (United Kingdom) TLA Releasing (United States) 1More Film (Netherlands)
Release dates	September 3, 2004 (2004-09-03) (Venice) May 6, 2005 (2005-05-06) (United States) May 25, 2005 (2005-05-25) (Netherlands)
Running time	105 minutes[1]
Countries	United States Netherlands
Language	English
Box office	$2.1 million[2]

Mysterious Skin is a 2004 coming-of-age drama film written, produced, and directed by Gregg Araki, adapted from Scott Heim's 1995 novel of the same name. The film tells the story of two pre-adolescent boys who both experienced sexual abuse as children, and how it affects their lives in different ways into their young adulthood. One boy becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous sex worker (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), while the other (Brady Corbet) retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.

Mysterious Skin premiered at the 61st Venice International Film Festival in September 2004, moving into wider distribution in May 2005 without a rating. It grossed $2.1 million at the box office and received critical acclaim. Psychologists have praised Mysterious Skin for its accurate depiction of the long-term effects of child sex abuse.