Skinamarink Movie ((HOT))
Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote, "I found Skinamarink terrifying, but it's a film that asks for (and rewards) patience, and can therefore invite revolt [...] Yet if you go with it, you may feel that you've touched the uncanny."[9] Michael Gingold from Rue Morgue praised the film's shot compositions and sound design, writing that it "takes you back to being a little kid lying in bed in the middle of the night, listening to strange noises coming from elsewhere in the house and wondering what their frightful sources might be."[10] He added that the film often opts to neither show nor tell, "but it pays off to the point where that offscreen voice's simple request to 'Look under the bed' has you tingling with anticipation, and a simple sound effect can get you shivering."[10] Dread Central's Josh Korngut awarded Skinamarink a score of three-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it "a deeply unsettling exploration of death, childhood, and the house you grew up in", and concluding: "For those seeking a traditional horror movie experience, turn back now. And I say so without judgment. [...] Filmmaker Kyle Edward Ball demands the audience pick up the shovel and do the digging on their own. It's not fair, but it is an exciting and original vision of what horror can look like."[31]
Skinamarink Movie
Jason Adams is a freelance entertainment writer at Mashable. He lives in New York City and is a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic who also writes for Pajiba, The Film Experience, AwardsWatch, and his own personal site My New Plaid Pants. He's extensively covered several film festivals including Sundance, Toronto, New York, SXSW, Fantasia, and Tribeca. He's a member of the LGBTQ critics guild GALECA. He loves slasher movies and Fassbinder and you can follow him on Twitter at @JAMNPP.
Parents need to know that Skinamarink is an experimental horror movie with very little plot about two young siblings who are trapped alone in a scary house from which the doors and windows have vanished. It's the feature writing/directing debut of YouTuber Kyle Edward Ball ("Bitesized Nightmares"). It's definitely not for everyone, but some viewers will find it absolutely terrifying and unforgettable. Characters are almost never fully visible onscreen, but children are unquestionably in peril. There are blood spatters in two scenes, and viewers hear dialogue about a child putting a knife in his eye and about a child falling down the stairs. Children are also heard screaming and crying. There's a general feeling of throttling terror throughout, plus jump-scares, scary noises, and unsettling images such as a face with no mouth or eyes. There's no sex, substance use, or swearing.
A truly unique and absolutely terrifying horror movie, this experimental nightmare doesn't follow standard story structures and isn't for everyone, but those who brave it won't soon forget it. The feature writing/directing debut of YouTuber Kyle Edward Ball ("Bitesized Nightmares"), Skinamarink is an truly experimental movie, without much discernible plot, characters who almost never appear on camera, and dialogue that's often unintelligible. (Subtitles sometimes, but not always, pop up to help.) The film seems most interested in creating an unsettling feeling of terror like being trapped in a nightmare, and at that it fully succeeds. Skinamarink resembles an old movie, shot on film, with scratches and grain, while the audio sounds worn-out, bass-heavy, full of hiss, and distorted. Old cartoons play on a TV set, and their cheery chirps warp into horrible noise. Sometimes things are too dark to see clearly, but blurry or indistinct things within the frame may creep you out. Other times the mere act of cutting from one shot to another creates a jolt. At 100 minutes, the movie may be too long to fully sustain its spell, but it's still an incredible work.
We talked with Kyle Edward Ball about the difference between scary and creepy movies, and if it matters if you watch his film in a theater, on TV, or on a computer, given that it will begin streaming on Shudder on February 2. He also talked about the pressure he feels to make a more traditional narrative movie.
Some of the most intriguing and surprising movies of the last year have been low-budget horror movies such as Barbarian, X and Terrifier 2. The next movie to join these unexpected box office hits is Skinamarink, a social media viral success that brings a new horror to the found footage sub-genre and is already making waves at the box office since its Friday the 13th release.
Sinkamarink is certainly not a formulaic horror movie by any means, so its limited cinematic debut in just 692 theaters across the U.S. could have easily seen the film struggle to make any kind of impact. However, from its next-to-nothing $15,000 reported budget, the buzz around Sinkamarink has seen the film take an amazing $890,000 across the four-day weekend, almost 60 times its budget.
Like most micro-budget movies, Skinamarink is all about suggestion, sounds, and creating unease from nothing much at all. Filmmaker Kyle Edward Bell took the inspiration for his debut feature from multiple comments made on his YouTube channel that showed one childhood terror that many seemed to share. He previously revealed:
"The most commonly shared one was basically the same concept: 'I'm between the ages of 6 to 10. I'm in my house. My parents are either dead or missing, and there's a threat I have to deal with.' I was interested in that because I have a vivid nightmare from that time, too. I thought it was amazing that almost everyone seems to have this dream, so I wanted to explore this thing. I just ran with it and turned it into a movie."
Anthony Lund is an author, songwriter and puppeteer from a small village in the U.K. with an avid love of all genres of TV and film. As well as keeping up with the lastest entertainment news and writing about it for MovieWeb, he works as a video editor, voice over artist and production designer. A child of the 80s, he is the owner of almost 2000 books, more toys than his children, three Warner Bros. Store Gremlins and a production used Howard The Duck movie script.
A few years ago, audiences flocked to see a pair horror movies about a killer sewer clown that ate children. These were the two chapters of "It," based on a novel by Stephen King. The two "It" movies were constructed like thrill rides, presenting childhood fears like bloody, noisy amusement part attractions. Those movies were better watched in large groups, with whole audiences shrieking in unison, and then laughing as the fear dissipates.
Skinamarink is a horror feature film that was picked up by Shudder last year. It was released theatrically in the US on January 13th, and its nightmarish narrative about universal childhood fears has been an instant success. The $15 thousand indie horror movie made over $1 million at the box office only six days after its partial opening, and all responses indicate that Kyle Edward Ball's new horror feature, Skinamarink, is not for the faint of heart.
The movie instantly reminded the audience of the 1999 sensation The Blair Witch Trial, which with a small cast and one scenario broke a lot of constructed foundations of the genre (which Ball's movie also does), and ultimately created a new type of scary narrative. These movies give an experience unlike any other before, and that leaves in both cases, a polarizing audience that either loves it or hates it. While Skinamarink has only been out for a few weeks, it is safe to say that it has provoked some strong emotions from the audience.
Some say this is the scariest horror movie they have seen in a while or even ever. The creepy slow story which resembles in some ways found footage films can be truly unsettling. The long shots of dark corners make the audience wonder what's lurking where they can't see. When the unsettling disembodied voice starts to talk to each of the kids is probably one of the highest tension moments of the movie, that feels like a nightmare that was shot and produced. The Mother (Jaime Hill), an unreliable parent to her kids, also has some of the scariest moments in the movie. And of course, the scarce jump scares.
The way Skinamarink shot is truly what makes it a horror movie: it is not in any sense conventional and keeps the viewer on edge by waiting for a jump scare (that hardly ever comes). One thing is clear from the get-go: the atmosphere is the real focus of the movie. While there is a story happening, it's never given much room to breathe, as the reason why Kaylee doesn't want to talk about their mom (that turns out to be inside the house with them) or why the doors and windows (and other objects) disappear, and what and why the creature is inside the house with them, targeting the family is not addressed.
It is one thing to be ambiguous and leave viewers thinking. David Lynch and Shane Carruth have made brilliant and successful careers out of just that. More recent titles such as The Green Knight and Birdman invite people on a journey and then leave much open for interpretation. But the director must lay out the groundwork so everyone watching understands the baseline rules and operations of their particular narrative and the world it takes place in. Otherwise, the movie is just sound and fury, signifying nothing. It seems the scenes repeat because Ball was desperate to get to the 100-minute mark.
This film makes me angry. I was angry that this is considered a movie. I was angry at how cheep the gimmicks were. I was angry that it was still somehow effective, but mostly I was angry that I watched it.
I'm a big fan of horror movies because it's rare that they aren't interesting. Whether it is a straight to VOD or the latest theatrical release, there is always something to talk about. I also like to sing, wax philosophical about mythology and religion, contemplate the void, and spend time with my family. I am usually up in my head about something, so apologies if I'm looking off into the middle distance. Along with David, I am a co-founder of Horror Movie Talk. 041b061a72