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"Skinamarink" dir. by Kyle Edward


"Skinamarink"

Where I watched it: The Fox Theatre

A student film blown way out of proportion by social media hype.

This film is a series of close up shots on various parts of various rooms. There is no accompanying music, only static sounds and the occasional ghostly whisper that is at times highlighted through subtitles.

The shots are overlayed with an artificial film grain that lasts about 5 seconds and then is thrown into reverse to provide coverage for the lengthy shots of room corners.

There's an atmosphere of tension throughout, there's no doubt about that. I think it might come down to the viewer trying to see the horror or find the fear amidst the shots of nothingness. I think we can all relate to that feeling of being a child and looking into the corner of your bedroom in the middle of the night and wondering if there's something looking back at you from the dark. You pull the blankets up over your head only to have a new fear that something is under the blankets with you. Maybe that was just me. In any event, the point I'm trying to make is that there's a basic maybe even innate sense of childlike fear that this movie taps into. But it is just that... Surface level child fear.

Again and again this film relentlessly shows you long stationary close up shots of rooms, or lego pieces, or toilets that are there and then they aren't there.

Every now and then a loud noise will break the silence, a cheap way to freak the audience out. I actually fell asleep for a couple minutes and was awoken by a particularly loud and shrill jump scare. The couple in front of me in the theatre also appeared to be dosing in and out.

This film is proof that hype can play a tremendous role in the success of a film. I think people who watch this will most likely come out of it finding it boring. I also think it could be seen as an inspiration for aspiring filmmakers. It's an exercise in post production. It's an exercise in making something from nothing.

A film that really succeeded (to me at least) in this vein was "The Blair Witch Project." I can't imagine what people who didn't like that movie will have to say about "Skinamarink." Blair Witch had a lot more going on. There was a human factor that kept the viewer engaged, it wasn't just the fear of the witch, it was the fear of being lost in the woods and ultimately the fear of losing your mind. It helped that there were characters and a... you know... plot.

I'm glad I saw it in a movie theatre, I'm sure I would have turned it off 15 minutes in had I watched it on a TV. I was impressed with the audience's ability to keep it quiet throughout (maybe because everyone was asleep).

In summation, this movie is a letdown. The horror Koyannisqatsi perhaps? No, no there were gorgeous shots in that which made the mind race with existential ideas and delivered a profound power of scale and scope. I guess it's kinda in line with "Paranormal Activity?" But wait no, stuff happens in that movie too. Hmm, yeah I don't know what to liken it to. Experimental art installation. Maybe that's it.

3/10
 

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