Skinamarink

Whatever you take away from it, the uniting fear Skinamarink creates ensures it will be remembered as an unparalleled achievement in horror cinema in how it paints a portrait of oblivion that beckons us into dark recesses from which there is no escape.

In reality, Skinamarink is just a 100-minute symphony of the vibes being very, very off, a crescendo of creeping dread that eventually overwhelms the viewer.

This is a daring, unsettling, inscrutable and at times deeply boring venture into the farthest boundaries of horror esotericism, utterly unlike anything that most viewers will have ever seen before.

Skinamarink isn’t scary because of what it depicts. It’s scary because it already knows that our imagination will do half of the work.

There is without a doubt something uncanny, almost seance-like, in the way Canadian film-maker Kyle Edward Ball evokes childhood fear of the dark.

The film’s intentionally amateurish visuals are deployed on audiences with the precision of a jackhammer, all in the interest of obscurantism.

This “horror” (used as loosely as possible) debut will only frighten people who get startled by their own shadows every day, as it’s just a slog into nothingness.

watched this movie with my dad one night, instantly became my favorite movie. This movie takes the age-old premise of a haunted house at night, and then uses every shot to make that premise feel as inhuman and alien as possible. I understand why this movie is as divisive as it is, to call it experimental would be an understatement. It DEFINITELY isn't for everyone, but if you do like it, you'll love it.

After seeing the hype for Skinamarink, I truly wanted to enjoy it. A modern horror classic, combining elements of low-fi and analogue horror in an innovative way? Sign me up! Unfortunately, my actual impressions were... mixed. On one hand, I can definitely see why so many people enjoy it. The film's use of silence and grainy, shadowy footage genuinely evokes the feeling of childhood fears and nightmares, and several scenes are unbearably tense knowing the horrors that could be lurking just beyond view. The visuals of a familiar, childhood home, gradually morphing into a hostile, pitch-black prison are extremely effective. On the other hand, (and there is simply no way around this), the movie is empty and extremely long for what is actually there. Without any hyperbole, for every minute you'll spend watching actual horror or sitting with baited breath, you'll spend five staring at TVs, ceilings, and empty hallways, as the constant drone of static literally puts you to sleep. This is an experimental, indie project that simply did not need a 100 minute runtime - thirty minutes of content (or even enough to take the runtime under an hour) could be removed with essentially nothing of substance being lost. Additionally, by the end of the film, the heavy use of static and VHS effects were actually hurting my eyes from the strain of following the events on screen - though I admit this is a personal gripe. The bigger issue from this is the film's simultaneous effective and ineffective use of darkness: so much is obscured, and difficult to visualise, that I wish something had actually been hidden there to reward our attention. In Skinamarink, a black wall of static is just that 99% of the time, which makes you wonder why these effects are so heavy and so constant to begin with. Ultimately, whether you'll enjoy Skinamarink will likely come down to personal preference. If you're able to look past the flaws and enjoy the positives on offer, you'll come away equal parts terrified and refreshed. But if not, the effectiveness of those positives will almost certainly be diluted.

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I congratulate Kyle Edward Ball and his passion for movies, yet I can't be part of the wave of likers because I really got bored. Will always support indie filmmakers. But let's say not for my taste.

The trailer looked interesting but I was bored through most of the movie, it's not particularly scary or interesting and the way it's filmed gets obnoxious very quickly.