Entertainment
Scarlett Johansson’s Extremely R-Rated Thriller Will Drag You Through The Abyss
By Robert Scucci
| Published
If you’ve ever heard somebody talking about entering a fugue state and have no idea what the hell they’re talking about, you should point them to 2013’s Under the Skin. In it, Scarlett Johansson is a sort of traveling serial killer who abducts unsuspecting men in her van, brings them into a jet-black, liquid hellscape, and then does the unthinkable with their bodies. The entire plot plays like a fugue state in the sense that we’re witnessing an unnamed protagonist drive around endlessly, losing track of long stretches of time, coming to terms with the horrific acts she commits, and continuing on her journey once she gathers herself.
I watch, read, and listen to a lot of true crime, and while Under the Skin leans heavily on sci-fi, there are parallels that are hard to ignore. If you’ve read anything about Jeffrey Dahmer’s crimes, you know that he’d have to get blackout drunk before getting to the slicing and dicing because somewhere deep down, he was ashamed of what he was doing. Canadian serial killer Robert “Willie” Pickton, who was suspected of murdering 49 women but only charged with 21 and convicted of six, stalked his victims by driving his truck around Vancouver, waiting for the perfect opportunity.
The Female And Her Crimes
Known only as the Female, Scarlett Johansson is a woman of few words in Under the Skin. She spends her time driving around, luring men into her van under false pretenses. Sometimes she acts like she’s looking for directions, and sometimes she plays the good samaritan card, offering men rides to their destinations. Those who take the bait end up being seduced by the Female into an endless, murky black void of unknown origin. There, these men get submerged in the muck and their bodies collapse in on themselves. Naked, afraid, and in some form of suspended animation, the men disintegrate, and then the Female moves on to her next target.
The entire film operates on these interactions, and there’s not much else to the plot. Watching the Female go from place to place forces you into the fugue state being depicted, as there’s no real way to clock the timeline or how long she’s been operating like this. Between the stylish, mysterious abyss scenes and the scenes set in the real world, it’s impossible to tell if this has been going on for days, weeks, or months. What we do know is that somewhere along the way, the Female starts to feel empathy, which leads to her undoing.
Clear Themes, Muddled Motives
While Under the Skin’s ending is very open-ended and vague, and also one of the most wtf moments I’ve seen in a minute, its themes were not lost on me. Continuing with the serial killer analogy, one thing that’s made crystal clear is just how differently men and women experience the world. In most cases, women are rightfully guarded when walking alone at night because they’re on heightened watch for predators. Statistically, they’re more at risk of being abducted. Men, on the other hand, have no qualms getting out of the cold and into a stranger’s van, which in the film is the worst possible thing they can do because it means certain death.
This role reversal, compounded by the fact that all of this abducting pretty much happens out in the open, exposes just how vulnerable we can be if we put too much faith in a perfect stranger. Conversely, the Female’s moments of empathy almost make her sympathetic, which is dangerous because she’s demonstrated time and time again what horrific acts she’s capable of.
Until the third-act reveal (again, wtf) the dark void scenes remind me of the fantasy worlds that serial killers are known to have, like Jeffrey Dahmer’s “Infinity Land.” And like with Dahmer, we’re never really informed of the Female’s motives. She clearly has some sort of insatiable urge to kill, and she takes her victims to this mysterious place that’s either a real alternate dimension or a manifestation of her subconscious, but outside of that, we’re left in the dark as to why she acts the way she does.
Under the Skin is a total vibe piece like 2010’s Beyond the Black Rainbow. It doesn’t tell a story in the traditional sense, but rather thrusts a visceral experience onto the viewer so they can feel just as uncomfortable as the people being depicted on screen. It’s a heavy watch, but beyond cool to look at when things get existential. Just know that you’ll probably remember life before viewing this film and life after it, because it’s a very intense watch.
As of this writing, Under the Skin is streaming for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
Stop guessing which AI model is best — test them all at once for $74.97
TL;DR: Secure lifetime access to ChatPlayground AI for $74.97 (reg. $619) through May 10 and evaluate 25+ leading AI models side by side in a single workspace.
Credit: ChatPlayground AI
Switching between multiple AI tools to test the same prompt is a common yet inefficient workflow. Since each model performs differently depending on the task, comparison is valuable—but managing tabs and subscriptions isn’t. ChatPlayground AI centralizes top models into one interface, allowing you to review outputs simultaneously without the friction. Lifetime access is currently discounted to $74.97 through May 10 (reg. $619).
GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet, Gemini, DeepSeek, Llama, Perplexity, and more — all in one clean interface. It’s built for people who iterate fast, test variations, and actually care about optimizing results.
Mashable Deals
Beyond comparisons, ChatPlayground AI includes prompt engineering tools to refine outputs, image and PDF chat for context-aware responses, saved chat history for ongoing projects, and AI image generation powered by leading models. There’s even a Chrome extension to integrate it directly into your browsing workflow.
The Unlimited Plan means unlimited messages per month, making it ideal for startups, product teams, marketers, and prompt engineers who run experiments nonstop. You also get priority support and early access to new features and future models.
If you’re already paying for multiple AI tools — or constantly switching between them — this consolidates everything into one streamlined platform.
Mashable Deals
Grab lifetime access to ChatPlayground AI Unlimited for $74.97 before May 10 and stop juggling models for good.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Entertainment
Get Microsoft Office for life at a throwback ’90s price with this $30 deal
TL;DR: Get eight apps for life for just $29.97 with this Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows deal (reg. $219.99) now through May 3.
$29.97
$219.99
Save $190.02
Remember back in the day when you didn’t have to pay monthly to use software? If you’d like to take a trip down memory lane, this Microsoft Office lifetime license is for you. Not only does it include some of the classic programs from decades ago, now available as apps, but you also pay once and enjoy them for life.
This Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows lifetime license is yours now for just $29.97 (reg. $219.99) — less than $5 per app — now through May 3.
Mashable Deals
If you miss actually owning your favorite work tools, you’ll appreciate this Microsoft Office deal. It helps you avoid monthly subscription fees, allowing you to download your apps outright and work offline on your PC whenever you need to. And you get each tool for less than $5 with this lifetime license.
Feel like it’s the ’90s all over again with permanent access to classics like Word for all your document needs, Excel for building spreadsheets, PowerPoint for creating presentations, and Outlook to manage your emails.
You’ll also get newer Microsoft Office favorites like Access, which helps you manage large databases, and Publisher, which makes creating professional documents easy. There’s Teams to keep you connected with coworkers, friends, and family, and OneNote rounds out the suite to help you upgrade your note-taking routine.
Don’t be deceived by this edition’s 2021 label. These apps have been redesigned and are ready to help everyone from designers to data analysts. There’s also a ribbon-based interface that gives you easy access to features, tools, and customizations.
Just note, your computer needs to be running Windows 10 or 11 to be compatible.
Mashable Deals
Lock in a lifetime of savings with this Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows deal, now $29.97 (reg. $219.99) through May 3.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Entertainment
4 tips for using hookup apps discretely — advice for Feeld, Tinder, AdultFriendFinder, and Grindr
There are a lot of valid reasons for looking for a hookup and you certainly don’t need to justify your quest for a fling to us.
If you want to protect your privacy or at least keep a low profile while you swipe through sexy singles in your area, there are a few different approaches you can take, some general guidance that works across all apps and sites, and some more targeted advice depending on the service you’re using.
General tips for browsing hookup apps discreetly
The following tips work well across all hookup sites. Think of them as general guidelines for limiting your exposure:
Hookup apps for everyone
AdultFriendFinder
—
readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder
—
top pick for finding hookups
Hinge
—
popular choice for regular meetups
-
Sign up using an alternative email address. Not only does this spare you in the event of a data breach (and trust us: they’re more common than you would think), but it also means that no one who catches a glance at your inbox will ever find out which hookup sites you frequent.
-
Anonymize your photos as far as possible. You don’t have to blur your face, but neither should you be taking photos of yourself that could show someone what neighborhood you live in or where you work. Additionally, ensure you leave out any identifying marks, such as unique tattoos, from any of your profile photos.
-
Don’t link your social media in your profile. Too many people share their Instagram pages or TikTok handles in their profiles, but doing so dramatically increases your exposure, since every image and story you post there could inadvertently contain identifying information about you, from who your friends are to where you hang out.
-
Take advantage of gift cards or prepaid credit cards. If you opt to purchase a premium membership to a hookup app or site, the paper trail linking your bank account or credit card to the service is a definite liability. To maximize your anonymity, use a prepaid card or purchase a gift card rather than using your main credit or debit card to register your membership.
App-specific tips to retain your anonymity
Feeld
For the privacy-conscious dater, Feeld’s Incognito mode is a game-changer: you can scout the Discover feed without leaving a digital footprint, remaining invisible to anyone you haven’t explicitly “liked.” The app also supports private photo vaults that only unlock for confirmed connections.
Tinder
Tinder offers a few unique features that can help you lower your profile, even as you swipe away. First, consider turning off Discovery mode when you’re trying to keep a low profile. This will make it impossible for new people to find your profile in search without preventing you from speaking to the people you’ve already matched with.
Mashable Trend Report
If you really want to take things up a notch and you already have a Tinder Plus, Gold or Platinum membership, you can use Passport Mode to browse singles in a nearby city, or a place you’re travelling to for work or on a vacation. This is a great way to prevent your local friends and family from accidentally coming across your profile.
You can also block phone numbers if you really don’t want certain individuals coming across your profile, like your boss or sibling.
Grindr
The first line of defence on Grindr is a relatively new feature called Profile Hide that works on one user at a time. Say, for example, you come across a co-worker on the app, and don’t want them to know you’re also using it. Simply click on their profile and find the Hide icon. If you tap this, your profile will become invisible to them and their profile will become invisible to you, like magic.
If you want to take things up a notch, you’ll need a Grindr Unlimited membership, which unlocks a really useful privacy feature called Incignito mode, which essentially allows you to use the service in total secrecy, without anyone knowing you’re there until you initiate an interaction.
AdultFriendFinder
AdultFriendFinder is like the Wild West of hookup sites, a place where seemingly anything goes, but that carefree attitude can also be a privacy nightmare. We strongly recommend you limit the amount of identifiable information you put on your profile, including being very selective about which photos you choose to share.
One good way to strike a balance between total anonymity and a modicum of privacy is to take advantage of AFF’s many photo features, specifically their photo permissions options. You can make your main profile photo something reasonably discrete, such as a full-length picture of you wearing a hat or a photo shot from a distance or even a photo with your face blurred out, but then you can create a photo album of more identifiable, personal photos that you choose to share only with friends.
That way, you become the final gatekeeper over your photos, allowing you to be selective about who you share them with.
Oilers in familiar spot trailing high-scoring Ducks in series
Struggling Kodai Senga seeks better form during Mets-Rockies doubleheader
