Reputation is everything, but even great first impressions can backfire. Take “ Skincare ,” an online harassment whodunit that never gets as ugly as its taut set-up suggests it might. Known mostly for music videos, director Austin Peters makes his narrative feature debut for IFC Films in the niche world of luxury cosmetology.
Set in Los Angeles circa 2013 — with the statement jewelry, high-low hemlines, and pop music to match — this psychosexual thriller invites audiences into the crumbling façade of boutique aesthetician Hope Goldman ( Elizabeth Banks ). Hope is seemingly successful enough, beautiful enough, happy enough . But when a plan for a line of her own skincare products turns sour, the quietly fucked-up facialist finds herself in serious debt.
After rival beautician Angel (Luis Gerardo Méndez) opens a competing storefront, an unseen foe starts harassing Hope online, pushing the already exhausted business owner that much closer to personal catastrophe. Skewering #GirlBoss culture is still entertaining in 2024, but the “Skincare” script is neither funny enough nor dark enough to stick out in a crowded subgenre. (Try Season 1, Episode 4 “The Outside” from Guillermo del Toro’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” — you might fare better.
) “Skincare,” co-written by Peters with Sam Freilich & Deering Regan, is a colorful exploration of dead-end American Dreams and the Hollywood It Girl image that lands closer to the “Bling Ring” than “The Neon Dem.