Skinamarink (2023)

The only way for this movie to wow you is to give it some respect. Ultimately, this movie is not for everyone and that's okay.

Simply, Skinamarink is a mood piece. Most people come into the horror genre to mock the stupid decisions of the characters, gawk at the intense gore, or to be thrilled in a safe environment. This movie, however, will leave those viewers with nothing. This movie is for the viewers who want to be enveloped by the liminal mood. It sends them back to their childhood, when they were afraid to walk around their house at night. It sent me back to when I would sneak downstairs to try to watch some cartoons and eat cereal, leaving the house dark and quiet so I don't wake anyone else up.

Most of this film is a blank screen with VHS-like fuzz that tricks your mind into seeing things that aren't there. The cinematography is brilliant in the way that it always shows you JUST enough that you want to peek around the corner, but you also don't want to. The amount of interpretations of this very simple movie speaks to its density. The symbolism and ambiguity let the mind run wild with theories and explanations.

If I were to change one thing, then I would make the movie at least a half hour shorter. It would be way more approachable if it were more like "The Backrooms" by Kane Pixels on YouTube. However, I also feel like the length is necessary to fully set the viewer in the mindset to fully enjoy the second half of the film. Thankfully, there is no producer to get in the way of Kyle Edward Ball's genius film making.

I suggest watching this movie at night with no external noise and no distractions, sitting on the floor of your living room to get the full experience. Give it the respect it deserves. And if you can't get into the mood they expect, then you might as well turn off the TV and watch the empty screen for two hours.

I found Skinamarink pretty frustrating. It has moments of extemely effective horror. You'll constantly find yourself searching in the grainy darkness, but you'll rarely find anything. I especially did not like the ending. There are about seven pretty decent endings, I just wish they would fucking pick one. I found myself shouting "just end already!" Unfortunately, the main emotion I felt while watching Skinamarink was tedium, not fear.