Crimes of the Future (1970) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The House of Skin is a dermatological clinic that serves as the central location in the film. Run by Adrian Tripod, it functions as both a medical practice and a facility for experimental cosmetic science, representing the dangerous intersection of beauty industry and medical ethics in this dystopian world.

• house of skin
• clinic
• dermatology
• setting
• location

The movie is set in 1997, a dystopian future where a plague caused by cosmetic products has devastated society. This time period represents a world that has been fundamentally altered by a gender-selective epidemic that eliminated sexually mature women.

• 1997
• time period
• setting
• future
• dystopian

The film explores several interconnected themes including body transformation and what it means to be adult or desirable, the moral compromises of medical science in pursuit of beauty, the psychological toll of living in a crisis-ridden world, and the radical reorganization of society when biology is disrupted by industry.

• themes
• body transformation
• medical ethics
• societal change
• mental state

The plague itself triggers puberty-like changes and physical alterations in the population, serving as the film's lens on power, identity, and fear of change. The transformation theme examines how bodily changes reflect broader anxieties about desire, maturity, and control in a collapsing society.

• body transformation
• plague
• physical changes
• identity

The film presents dermatology and cosmetic science as gateways to dangerous experimentation and moral compromise. Through the House of Skin and its director, the story raises questions about consent, profit-driven science, and the ethical boundaries crossed when beauty culture meets medical ambition.

• medical ethics
• dermatology
• cosmetic science
• experimentation

The movie portrays a defeminized society where the extinction of sexually mature women has forced a complete reorganization of sexuality, power structures, and reproduction. This collapse of social norms creates an environment where clinics, fringe groups, and secretive enterprises shape how bodies are managed and perceived.

• society
• gender
• social collapse
• societal change
• defeminized world

Adrian Tripod is the director of the House of Skin, portrayed by Ronald Mlodzik. He is a determined and curious figure who pursues his missing mentor Antoine Rouge across a transformed world. His willingness to take risks draws him into dangerous circumstances as he navigates the plague's consequences and a deteriorating moral order.

• adrian tripod
• protagonist
• house of skin
• director
• ronald mlodzik

Antoine Rouge is Adrian Tripod's missing mentor and a renowned dermatologist. His disappearance after the plague began represents the dangerous scientific bravado and ethical boundary-pushing that characterized beauty science in this world. He embodies the fatal consequences of pursuing beauty at any cost.

• antoine rouge
• mentor
• dermatologist
• missing
• scientist

Adrian Tripod is driven by his determination to find his missing mentor Antoine Rouge, which pulls him into the dangerous circles surrounding the plague's origins and consequences. His search reflects both personal loyalty and a need to understand the catastrophic changes happening to the world around him.

• motivation
• search
• mentor
• quest
• determination