Replace (2017)

Replace: Directed by Norbert Keil. With Rebecca Forsythe, Lucie Aron, Barbara Crampton, Sean Knopp. Kira’s skin starts to age rapidly, dry out and crumble away. But then she discovers that she can replace her own skin with somebody else’s.

“Replace is about a young woman (Rebecca Forsythe) who suddenly develops a fast-spreading skin condition (it looks like sheu0026#39;s peeling) and desperately looks for a cure. At least that one aspect of the story. The young woman also has short-term memory loss and slight moments of distorted reality. She meets strangers who say theyu0026#39;ve already met, including a skin specialist. Is she going nuts? Or is she already there? Let me back up. When we first meet Kira, sheu0026#39;s heading to the apartment of a man she met at a bar. They laugh, they flirt, she spends the night. When she wakes up, heu0026#39;s gone, and the skin condition appears. She tries scratching it and picking at it, as one is wont to do, which only makes matters worse. She visits a dermatologist (Barbara Crampton) who prescribes some medication u0026quot;for the pain.u0026quot; But Kira discovers something really wacked, and completely by accident. She learns that if she peels off some affected skin and then applies someone elseu0026#39;s skin to that spot, the new skin will adhere immediately to her body. This contradicts known medicine, as skin grafts can be a very lengthy and painful process. Has she found a cure for her malady? Lest one think this is just about a woman and her need for some good lotion, thereu0026#39;s a mindbending twist, a psychological smack in the head for the viewer. Itu0026#39;s too wonderful to explicate here, but in the great tradition of these thrillers, not all is what it seems. In fact, little is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe final twist is perfect. Enough pieces fall into place that Kirau0026#39;s situation makes some sense, although not every question is answered neatly. The script is well written (by Norbert Keil and Richard Stanley), and Forsythe, Crampton, and Lucie Aron (as Kirau0026#39;s neighbor) turn in strong performances. Well made all around.”