The Unsettling Success of This Shudder Film: A Worthy Successor to ‘The Blair Witch Project’

Article Summary

"Skinamarink" disrupts the horror genre with its experimental, genre-breaking craft and analog horror style.

The film immerses viewers into a hostile atmosphere through its predominant use of static POV shots and obscured imagery, effectively building a feeling of unease. Departing from conventional horror films, "Skinamarink" relies on the fear of the unfamiliar, consistently keeping viewers on edge without resorting to jump scares, resulting in a truly immersive and horrifying experience.

Horror has consistently been a catalyst for groundbreaking innovations, and in 2023, Kyle Edward Ball's Skinamarink stands as a testament to this fact. This bold horror experiment rivals the impact of The Blair Witch Project, a film that revolutionized the found-footage genre. While hindsight may reveal the Blair Witch Project as a clever marketing campaign, falsely portraying itself as based on true events, Skinamarink takes a different approach. It doesn't pretend to be a true story, but rather showcases its innovation through its experimental and genre-breaking craftsmanship.

Skinamarink, a product of analog horror, continues the legacy started by The Blair Witch Project with its VHS aesthetic. This subgenre, perfected by Ball, blurs the line between style and substance. The logline is familiar yet captivating: two children awaken in the middle of the night to find their father missing and all the windows and doors of their home vanished. Instead of following the traditional approach seen in films like The Conjuring or Poltergeist, Ball draws inspiration from online communities like The Backrooms and creepypasta forums. This brings a unique form of entertainment, usually confined to basements, to a larger audience on the big screen. It's worth mentioning that Ball himself is a YouTuber, and alongside the RackaRacka brothers' Talk to Me, they are well-versed in the world of horror.

Skinamarink

Release Date January 13, 2023Director Kyle Edward BallCast Jaime Hill, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul, Lucas PaulRuntime 100 minutesMain Genre Horror

How Does ‘Skinamarink’ Disrupt the Horror Genre?

Image via IFC Midnight

Ball's channel, Bitesized Nightmares, offers a wide array of appetizer dishes before the main course, utilizing elements like ambiance, liminal spaces, film grain, and public domain cartoons to evoke a chilling sense of nostalgia that may elicit uncomfortable memories. The true brilliance of Skinamarink lies in its ability to tap into universally relatable fears, particularly the childhood dread of waking up in the dead of night, navigating the eerie silence with an overactive imagination while making a dash to the bathroom. Interestingly, Skinamarink dares to withhold the comfort of showing any of the characters' faces, instead trapping viewers within their constrained and unchanging field of vision, leaving only hauntingly familiar glimpses of the corners of our homes that we often choose to ignore.

To achieve this effect, Ball saturates each frame with an abundance of grain akin to the works of Jackson Pollock, purposely obstructing even the clearest imagery as if seen through blurred vision. Rather than relying on traditional character development, Ball engrosses viewers in a prolonged state of unease through uninterrupted shots of scattered childhood toys, the edge of a television screen, or even a ceiling light, purposefully framed in an inverted manner. Understandably, Skinamarink proves to be a frustrating and divisive experience, as it demands patience from its viewers and immerses them in an analogue form of terror. However, for those willing and able to succumb to this uniquely unsettling possession, Skinamarink swiftly transforms into one of the most terrifying films in existence.

Now, we all enjoy a thrilling surprise and Skinamarink may include one or two, but these surprises always evoke one common response within the audience: relief. Relief that the mysterious has been revealed and while it might have startled its viewer, at least they are granted a respite from the mounting tension leading up to that climax. However, in Skinamarink, this is not the case! The movie has every opportunity to shock and terrify you, but it is the constant unfulfilled anticipation that effectively conveys the sense of dread more powerfully than any abrupt noise or scream ever could.

‘Skinamarink’ Thrives on the Fear of the Unknown

Image via Shudder

A common criticism of horror films is that the fear often diminishes once the monster has been fully revealed. The unknown, the fear of what lies in the dark, is what truly captivates us. This is precisely why The Blair Witch Project chose not to show the titular threat. Instead, it cleverly relies on "eyewitness" testimonies to vividly describe the Witch, leaving us constantly searching for clues and unsettling details as the camera frantically explores the pitch-black forest. This masterful technique of inducing both curiosity and uncertainty is crucial to its enduring reputation as a game-changer in the horror genre, allowing for countless interpretations, none of which can be considered definitively correct.

Skinamarink thrives on its ambiguity, even the plot-heavy scenes remain cryptic. Despite the limited number of these scenes, they are constructed to maintain a sense of mystery. Clocking in at 100 minutes, Ball understands the importance of providing a compelling story to keep viewers engaged, yet he never sacrifices the constant anticipatory tension by overloading on exposition. Instead, most of the conversations between the boy and "the voice" or his 9-1-1 operator are conveyed through subtitles. When the voices are audible, they are intentionally muffled and distorted. This lack of clarity, coupled with the atmospheric backdrop, amplifies the sinister nature of every conversation, emphasizing the analog essence of the experiment. Through subtitles, the voice no longer addresses the child directly, but rather speaks directly to the viewer, establishing a closer connection to the viewer's own personal safe space. This culminates in an impactful final shot where, through weary eyes, the viewer's own personal sleep paralysis demon materializes.

‘Skinmarink’s Cinematic Influences Extend Far Beyond Horror

Image via Janus Films

Skinamarink's virality came at a cost, but not an exorbitant one. Despite its immersion in internet horror (ironically, only made possible in the digital age), the film skyrocketed after being leaked through TikTok clips, which received over 20 million views. This unexpected blessing allowed Skinamarink to thrive in the realm of horror, as its visuals were rooted in reality with a mere $15,000 budget. However, the film drew more inspiration from radical and experimental works by prominent anti-structuralist filmmakers, rather than Paranormal Activity, a similar low-budget sensation.

Speaking with Fangoria, Ball referenced several influential filmmakers. Chantal Akerman, known for her film Jeanne Dielman, which was recently acclaimed as the greatest film of all time. Another notable work by Akerman is Hotel Monterey, an experimental film that captures unusual and disturbing angles that would typically go unnoticed. Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon is a seminal piece in dreamlike cinema and had a significant impact on David Lynch's most peculiar works. Stan Brakhage's Dog Star Man ambitiously incorporates a multitude of elements in each frame, aiming to depict the creation of the cosmos. The colors in his film, Skinamarink, possess a similar dynamic quality. However, perhaps the most influential filmmaker mentioned by Ball is Michael Snow, with his film Wavelength serving as a cornerstone.

Running for just 43 minutes (and fortunately not a second longer), Wavelength captivates its audience with a continuous shot of a peculiar room, gradually zooming in on a photograph adorning the wall. As the camera zooms, subtle shifts in color occur, accompanied by an incessant blast of white noise that irresistibly draws viewers into its "wavelength." It poses a challenge even to the most ardent cinephiles and feels more suited for a contemporary art exhibition. However, it is precisely this mesmerizingly hypnotic effect that director Ball harnesses in his debut film. Unlike Wavelength, which aims to sedate its audience, it disconcertingly unsettles them like nothing else.

Did you miss out on Skinamarink at the theaters? Don't fret! While the big screen always reigns supreme, there's something extraordinary about watching Skinamarink all alone at home after midnight, enveloped in complete darkness, with only your own paranoid thoughts to provide solace. It's a terrifying experience that will make you long for the security of your childhood blanket. Let's be honest, you didn't navigate to Shudder for a heartwarming romantic comedy. You're there for the sheer terror. In Skinamarink, that terror persists even after the credits roll, causing you to glance anxiously at a forgotten corner in your living room. This Halloween, few films can match the captivating blend of horror and artistry found in Skinamarink.

Skinamarink is available to stream on Shudder.

Watch on Shudder

Editor's P/S

Skinamarink is a bold and innovative horror film that takes viewers on a nightmarish journey back to their childhood fears. The film's experimental, genre-breaking craft and analog horror style create a hostile atmosphere that is both unsettling and immersive.

Skinamarink is a worthy successor to The Blair Witch Project, as it continues the legacy of groundbreaking horror films that disrupt the genre. While The Blair Witch Project may have been a clever marketing campaign, Skinamarink takes a different approach. It doesn't pretend to be a true story, but rather showcases its innovation through its experimental and genre-breaking craftsmanship.