Movies: Skinamarink

Going to a movie theatre in 2023 is a lot like visiting a shopping mall in 2023. With the sheer variety of entertainment options out there, midbudget movies (like mid-end mall stores) are disappearing. All that's left are some audience-friendly blockbusters (big department stores) along with indie stuff that's cheap to produce (eyebrow threading salons, dollar stores, and cellphone repair shops).

Skinamarink, an experimental low-budget horror movie, is one such film; it never would seen the inside of a multiplex back in the '90s:

When I say "low-budget," I really mean "no-budget" - the whole movie was shot for $15,000. Unsurprisingly, Skinamarink's runtime is filled with lingering, near-silent shots of hallways, floors, and ceilings lit by a nightlight or the flickering Poltergeist-y glow of a television playing old cartoons. The premise is good - two kids wake up alone in their house at night, but their parents are missing and the doors and windows have disappeared - but there's almost no plot to speak of, so your imagination is going to have to do some work on this one.

The resulting experience is mostly frustrating and dull, and sure to be divisive.  However, there are clever moments of genuine fright and tension that you'd never get from a more conventional horror movie. How well you like Skinamarink depends on how well you like those moments.

Rating: 5/10 (subtract 4 if you hate plodding art films, add 2 if you don't mind them)