A Canadian import bearing a most interesting dichotomy: it’s a superbly evocative and unnerving horror-fest that’s also boring as shit. With no narrative to speak of, an indistinct setting, characters we never get to know (or even entirely see) and a punishing 100 minute runtime (which is at least 30 minutes too long) it’s not an easy view, yet I say the $15 thousand budgeted SKINAMARINK is a landmark in the horror field. It handily accomplishes what so many genre filmmakers have attempted (with only varying degrees of success) in its spot-on rendering of the primal fears of early childhood, accomplished without obfuscation, excess or apology.
…a landmark in the horror field.
SKINAMARINK’s notoriety stems from it having been copied from a 2022 Fantasia Festival DVD screener and leaked onto the internet, where it quickly went viral. This means the distributors Shudder and IFC had to scramble to speed up their timelines for the film’s theatrical and online releases, which ultimately occurred in January of 2023. As the film’s creator Kyle Edward Ball has admitted, “Am I happy that it blew up as a result of the leak? Well, maybe a little.”
…creator Kyle Edward Ball has admitted, “Am I happy that it blew up as a result of the leak? Well, maybe a little.”
The situation: in the year 1995 (as the opening credits make sure to inform us) the four year old Kevin (Lucas Paul) and his little sister Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault), whose faces are never seen and whose dialogue is spoken entirely in voice-over, find themselves alone in a dark, forbidding house (actually Ball’s childhood home). In this increasingly irrational environ doors, windows and furniture have a tendency to disappear, objects stick to the ceiling and solace (of a sort) is found in the flickering light of a TV screen.
Clearly there’s a demonic presence afoot, and the kids’ parents, as glimpsed by Kaylee, are acting seriously weird. Kaylee disappears, after which a strange voice is heard saying “Kaylee didn’t do as she was told…so I took her mouth away.” This leaves Kevin to deal with the supernatural what’s-it by himself, and in an increasingly cluttered (with Ball’s own childhood toys) and indistinct setting.
At one point we hear the strange voice say “Put the knife in your eye,” followed by a lot of disconnected images—including the sight of spattered blood on a wall—and a scream. This is followed, several minutes later, by an off-screen 911 call on which Kevin is heard telling the dispatcher that “I cut myself with a knife and now I feel sick.” The police, for the record, never turn up, although the sequence as a whole represents the closest this film comes to narrative progression.
At one point we hear the strange voice say “Put the knife in your eye…”
Darkness is crucial to the effect—real darkness (as opposed to the blue-filtered faux-moonlight that usually passes for movie darkness), enhanced by ultra-grainy photography that invites the viewer to conjure images that may or may not actually be extant. There are periodic jump scares that belong in a different, more conventional film, but they don’t detract from the overall effect. Kyle Edward Ball runs a YouTube channel called Bitesized Nightmares in which he dramatizes peoples’ bad dreams, and he followed a similar dictate with SKINAMARINK, which grew out of a short (2021’s HECK) posted on the channel, and is indeed authentically nightmarish.
The sound design is impeccable, with dialogue that has an eerie far-off quality, and is vocalized more often than not in undiluted four-year-old tones (nescessitating the periodic use of subtitles). Disquieting electronic undertones take the place of music, an effect that works in conjunction with the haunting visuals to create an atmospheric scare-fest like no other. If allowed the proper amount of time and attention to weave its spell, this film will work its way into the viewer’s subconscious, guaranteed.
The sound design is impeccable…
BTW, for those of you wondering what the title means, it comes from the Canadian preschool tune “Skidamarink,” but was spelled differently so children wouldn’t accidentally stumble on this film while searching for the song online.
Vital Statistics
SKINAMARINK
IFC Midnight/Shudder/Bayview Entertainment/Ero Picture Company
Director/Producer/Screenwriter/Editor: Kyle Edward Ball
Cinematography: Jamie McRae
Cast: Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul, Jamie Hill