We all had that fear as a kid that terrified us right?

Spiders? Heights? The dark?

Skinamarink plays up to not one but two childhood fears that we all had growing up.

The dark and the fear of our parents disappearing and not being there, and boy… does it do it well.

Now straight away I’m going to level with you guys here, if you are looking for a fast paced quick moving horror movie, stop… Skinamarink is a slow burner but it’s one you really have to stick with.

The pay off is worth it, so it’s definitely worth sticking with, as it plays on these fears so very well, and it’s really terrifying.

We all know the fear of the unknown right? The feeling that something may or may not be lurking in the dark abyss that is your bedroom, I get it sometimes… when I wake up in the middle of the night, and I stare down the stairs, it looks like a dark abyss where at some point something or someone is going to pull me down.

We have all been there.

But Skinamarink doesn’t do that with adults no… instead thrown in to the mix are two siblings, a brother and a sister named Kevin and Kaylee.

Their house is haunted by something or… someone.

Someone that makes objects float on the ceiling, and whispers to them to come upstairs and look under the bed.

Now sure I do have some *minor* issues with this movie.

One being the cinematography.

Seriously who turned the grain up, the lighting I completely understand where they were going with it, but sometimes it’s so hard to make out just exactly what it is you are looking at.

You definitely need to watch this in a dark room, you watch this in the daytime you are not going to see shit.

The grain is so bad, it’s so bad on the eyes, as I said with the lighting the grain is turned all the way up, making it hard to make out what it is you are looking at.

Whether or not that was the directors intention to further play on the fear of the unknown… it certainly worked, because half the time I was saying to myself “what! What is it! What are you seeing!”

Now of course the critics loved this movie! The audience…. Eh…. Not so much.

But!

The theories that have come out of this movie are fantastic, honestly they are well worth a read, Den Of Geek compiled a list of some of them, I want to talk about my personal favourite theory, and quite possibly the most the plausible one.

Kevin is in a coma:

From the start of the film we hear Kevin fall down the stairs and bang his head, supposedly after a bout of sleepwalking, the rest of the film is literally him and Kaylee trapped in their house, no parents just rather creepy cartoons playing.

Windows and doors go missing, the toilet even goes missing believe it or not, but the editing is so well done, the only way I can describe it is when you have an image on your computer, and then you quickly delete it, undo it and then quickly delete it again.

There are some heartfelt moments in this and there were times where… a tear was shed.

The kid who plays Kevin is rather adorable, he has that typical four year old voice… you know the one where they can’t pronounce the R sound yeah that voice, throughout the film your like “Awww”!

The kid who plays Kaylee as well is great, she’s plays the part of the caring older sister really well, albeit she is in it for 25/30 minutes, now that jumpscare however oooh boy, scared the crap out of me.

Basically Kevin goes upstairs after Kaylee goes missing, he comes across her and we only get to see the bottom half of her, you only see her feet and you hear some heavy breathing coming from Kevin, and then the camera pans up to Kaylee who has no eyes and no mouth.

That scene! Well played mr director, well played… that moment in the film is where I was leaning in for a closer look, and then BAM! Kaylee’s face is revealed.

It is certainly a very effective jump scare.

The amount of tension in this film is brilliant as well, there is this one scene where Kaylee thinks she sees her mum sitting on her bed, and the muffled voice says to her to “look under the bed”

Let me tell you my heart was racing.

Skinamarink is one of those experimental films that you either *get* or don’t get, I can totally understand why people would dislike this movie, it’s definitely not for everyone.

You can tell it starts by going down this road, but midway through the film it’s like it goes “hey you know what let’s make a left turn here and completely deviate off of the path we were on” and that shows in a sense, like it doesn’t offer closure to the fate of Kevin’s character.

All we know is he’s trapped in this purgatory hellhole that’s tormenting him every which way, that’s it… we don’t know if he makes it out, we don’t know if the dad comes back.

We just don’t know.

Now there is another plot hole here.

The mum.

You hear Kevin say to Kaylee, “maybe dad is with mum” to which Kaylee replies “I don’t want to talk about mum” and that’s it.

That’s all you hear about, nothing more is said, nothing else is mentioned… that well it didn’t annoy me as such it’s just, I would’ve loved a backstory on that.

That’s the only plot hole that grinds my gears pretty much, the rest of the film great, that and the graininess is my only criticism I have of Skinamarink.

I’m definitely giving a 7/10 yeah it’s an experimental horror, yeah it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but if you have the time and patience to actually sit and watch it then go for it.

I can understand why people hated it, they basically said that it would’ve worked if it was a short rather than a feature length movie, and… I can see that, it does drag in some places but again, if you have the time and effort to actually focus on the movie then as I said… go for it.

It’s well worth a watch if you are in to experimental horror, rather than the conventional horror movies we know and love.

I just wish there could have been more, like I get it it’s supposed to be minimalistic I totally get that, I just wish they could’ve done more with it if you catch my drift.

I really enjoyed it and hopefully you guys will too!

If any of you guys reading this have seen Skinamarink, let me know your theories! I’m intrigued to know what they are.

But as always guys, catch ya later 🙂

If you remember last year I reviewed a Winnie The Pooh horror film titled Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey, well get ready ladies and gentlemen because… WE HAVE A SEQUEL! Yes, you heard me! A sequel!

I didn’t realise how much of a cult following the first one got, I didn’t even think it warranted a sequel it was that bad, yet somehow Rhys Frake-Waterfield has done it again.

We have new characters, we now have Owl and Tigger, you know Tigger, the bouncy tiger who was so full of energy, well he too is a sadistic psychopathic murdering machine, Owl as well!

I said in the first blood and honey review that this is everything wrong with public domain movies, and blood and honey 2 shows that yet again.

Take a beloved children’s character we have grown up with and turn him into this, a murdering machine, it’s… ridiculous.

Now if you remember I said last year that we are getting a multiverse that literally no one asked for, and one well… we don’t even need, well we have official titles for a Bambi horror film, Bambi: The Reckoning

We also have a Peter Pan horror film, that’s going to be called Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, I wonder if the Lost Boys are going to get revenge on Peter Pan, maybe kidnap Wendy and her brothers, actually the more I think about it… I am actually intrigued as to how that one will pan out (if you pardon the pun)

Now believe it or not but Frake-Waterfield is also thinking of turning other beloved children’s classics in to horror films.

Pinocchio will be getting a horror adaptation, as well as, and no I am not making this up but a Teletubbies horror, I swear to the gods above I am not making that up, he also wants to make a Powerpuff Girls horror.

At this point I want whatever this guy is on, who wakes up in the morning and thinks… “teletubbies… someone needs to make a horror film about them, yeah… that’s a great idea”

I am dreading to think what else he wants to adapt, there are so many beloved children’s classics over here in the UK, if I am being honest… they should not be touched, not now not ever, but deep down I know for a fact that they will indeed be touched.

I hated the first Blood And Honey and for good reason, however the slasher elements were decent to say the least, but damn the kills in this sequel are… they’re really good, I mean they are an improvement to say the least, can’t believe I’m saying this but that was the only decent thing about this sequel, the kills.

The more I think about it and the more i sit here and write about this the more I am intrigued, I am curious as to how this multiverse is going to play out, I mean are you guys not at least one bit curious as to how Bambi, the most adorable little deer can be turned in to a slasher film.

Pinocchio as well, I don’t know why but Pinocchio always gave me the creeps, I can’t explain why, the thought of a puppet that longs to be a real boy and comes to life, like I said I can’t explain it but I just find it creepy.

With all its faults and its flaws, once overlooked it’s not a bad film… I mean you do have to switch your brain off and completely forget who the villains are, but once your there and your completely switched off, it is just another mindless gory slasher film, it’s… not that bad.

Sure I moan and groan about how it’s everything wrong with public domain movies, but as I said once overlooked it’s a pretty decent film, if anything it’s… better than the first.

I can’t believe I just said that!

Sadly it does get a low rating from me, 4/10

Slasher wise yeah great that’s… it, that’s the only redeemable part about this film, as I said once you forget who the villains are and you switch your brain off.

As always until next time, catch ya later 🙂

What is this! Two posts in one day *gasp* what is this madness! Truth be told I’m stuck at home nursing a cold, I’m currently wrapped up in bed honey and lemon on the go, and loads of tissue that my bedroom is starting too look like a teenager who has just discovered porn for the very first time… lovely!

Still, you can’t beat a good movie day and that is exactly what I am currently doing as of typing, as you can tell by the title this film is called Apartment 143.

Where to begin with this doozy, well first things first it’s shit, seriously don’t waste your time it’s shit.

The film follows a team of paranormal investigators trying to solve why this dysfunctional family flat is haunted.

Secondly let’s talk effects! Oh boy this film boasts some of the cheapest effects you will ever see, I mean yeah it’s low budget and whatnot but still, the effects you can tell are very cheaply done, it looks rushed if you know what I mean, like they don’t even look convincing.

Next is the acting, literally it feels like a Hallmark movie, it’s cheesy it’s bad, the dad is wow… the guy who plays the dad is awful, the only decent person in this is the old paranormal guy and he tries so hard to carry this film but ultimately he can’t.

The acting from the teenage daughter is even worse, basically every character is so unlikable, the writers of this film need to go back to film school because some of these lines are just wow, “I’m a widower I guess” trust me there’s even worser lines than that one.

The only thing I will say is the little boy in this is really adorable, I’m not going too lie but some scenes I was like “aww”

Now… the scares, once you get past the cheesy cheap effects they are scary, like some scenes I didn’t expect at all, I first got the DVD way back in 2013, there is a jump scare literally as the first logos appear, and that’s before you even get to the actual DVD menu.

It’s a nice touch and I don’t think I have seen that on a DVD before, that was a nice touch to be fair.

Another downside with this film is that is filled with cliches, there’s mental illnesses, possession, a rundown dingy apartment complex, a family with a traumatic past… there’s a ton more than what I have listed here but essentially you could play a drinking game with this film there is that many in there.

I guess you could say I’m fifty fifty with this film, yeah the scares are great albeit a little cheap but ultimately it’s cliche ridden, and it’s a very short film, it’s eighty minutes long, but by the time those credits roll you are out of breath, because of how many cliches they have thrown at you.

I just can’t wrap my head around how a film with a decent premise can be this bad, the actors don’t put in the effort apart from the little boy, it falls so flat.

I guess I’m going to give it a 4/10 the scares are decent but cheap, the acting is so wooden it’s like a carpenters wet dream, it’s so full of horror movie cliches that it ruins the film for you, but is it scary.

In a sense yes, yeah sure the scares are cheap but ultimately they work, it builds a decent amount of tension and then BAM! Jump scare! You’re scared, you laugh and then crease with laughter at how cheap the effects are.

As I said it gets a 4/10 from me.

Until next time… catch ya later