Hulu Supernatural Horror lets you confront childhood fears
From Robert Scucci
| Published
Most effective horror films play on our fear of the unknown, and I can’t think of a film that evokes feelings of unease like 2022’s Skinamark. With hardly any dialogue – and even fewer shots that are actually centered and well lit – Skinamark creates an atmosphere that is hard to shake even days after the credits roll. Inspired by the analog horror movement that is slowly dominating the YouTube landscape (The Mandela Catalogue And No thoroughfare are prime examples that will ruin your life), Skinamark features a similar aesthetic to some of the more unconventional web series out there, but has the uncanny ability to hold its own as a feature film.
Now that I think about it, “scary” is the perfect description Skinamark.
Skinamarink’s plot is irrelevant
Maybe I’m exaggerating when I say that Skinamarinks The plot doesn’t play that big of a role, but I can safely say that the telling of the story isn’t nearly as important as the cinematography.
Writer/director Kyle Edward Ball tells his story through feelings, images, and sparsely placed bumps in the night, rather than taking a more conventional approach that involves dialogue or narration in some form of exposition. Skinamarinks The sense of terror is shown, not told, through random cryptic ceiling shots, off-center images of the interior of a house, minimal dialogue from two frightened children hiding in a house that slowly changes into different shapes, and a disembodied voice that it tries to manipulate them into doing their bidding by pretending to be their parents.
A naked story
Skinamark The focus is on a four-year-old boy named Kevin (Lucas Paul) and his six-year-old sister Kaylee (DaliRose Tetreault). When they overhear a call from their father (Ross Paul), it becomes clear that Kevin suffered a head injury after falling down the stairs during a sleepwalking episode. The father assures everyone he speaks to on the phone that Kevin is fine and doesn’t need to go to the hospital.
From this point on Skinamark exists in a liminal space between this world and an unknown place you probably won’t want to visit anytime soon.
Kevin and Kaylee wake up in the middle of the night and hear strange noises in the house. They decide it’s best if they stick together and head downstairs to the family room to watch cartoons together. The brother and sister try to remain calm, even though they know they are not alone – that someone or something is watching them. Doors disappear and reappear, and Kaylee is lured upstairs, where both her mother (Jaime Hill) and father speak in cryptic, monotone voices, instructing her to either look under the bed or close her eyes.
I seek refuge downstairs once again, inside the house Skinamark continues to prank Kevin and Kaylee.
Perspective is everything
Filmed on a budget of just $15,000, Skinamark has no fancy special effects. Since most scenes are lit only by a glowing television screen (according to Ball) and a disproportionate amount of off-center shots round out the film’s picture, I liken the viewing experience to a bout of sleep paralysis, having a dream about a malevolent voice or figure in your room, but You don’t have the power to take action against it. As the metallic taste of sleep lingers in your mouth, you try to shake off the nightmare, but the harder you try to resist it, the more aggressively your fears strike back.
Stream Skinamarink
Set in 1995, Skinamark creates the feeling of being abandoned alone at home for the first time with your siblings while your parents go out to eat with friends. Suddenly, the refrigerator’s starting motor takes on a life of its own, and for all you know, it wasn’t really the refrigerator, but an ax murderer trying to break into your house through the crawlspace. The glowing red dot in the corner of the entertainment center that you see every day is now a blinking demon eye that never stops its otherworldly gaze with you.
Although Ball’s directorial debut is open to interpretation, and I have my own thoughts on the film’s ending that I won’t reveal here to avoid spoilers, I can tell you with certainty that this film will stay with you for days.
Just because of its atmosphere, Skinamark deserves high praise because it’s one of the scariest movies I’ve seen in a long time. If you are ready to experience the dreamlike horrors Skinamark has to offer, you can stream the title on Hulu right now.
