Skinless (2013) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Dustin Mills
Starring: Brandon Salkil, Allison Fitzgerald, Erin R. Ryan, Dave Parker
Rated: UR/Region: 0/Widescreen/Number of disc: 1
Available from Whacked Movies
A brilliant medical researcher in his prime is stricken with cancer. Dr. Pete Peele formulates a potential yet unconventional cure for his illness but the clock is running out. He fears that he’ll die before clinical trials prove the efficacy of the treatment so he decides to make himself a human guinea pig. He feels he has nothing to lose. Unfortunately the cure he hoped for yields unspeakable results. His terrifying transformation drives him to madness and wreaks bloody havoc on those closest to him.
In Skinless. director Dustin Mills. takes limited locations, a small but extremely talented group of actors, and a very grim story (also very smart) and makes it into one of the better films I’ve seen this year. It is a bit of a creature story, but the story goes a whole heck of a lot deeper than that. There is a heart in the middle of the gore, nudity, and chaos here. That is driven home by the acting of both Brandon Salkil and Erin Ryan, who we’ve seen in many Dustin Mills films before, but they really seem to tap into the emotional side of this tale and make it a at times touching story. To be able to take a plot that consist of melting faces and regurgitating on something before eating it and add some feelings and emotion that stand out is really a feat to accomplish. It shows that great acting and great story can exceed budget if they are strong enough. Here they certainly are strong enough. It also never hurts to have great gore effects as well.
If you’ve seen and enjoyed movies like The Fly (more Cronenberg version) or if you just enjoy a good tale of a “friend zone” situation gone horribly wrong, you will have enough and then some here to enjoy in Skinless. It might just be the best Dustin Mills film from a pure storytelling standpoint and it also comes along with the great visual effects he has become known for over the years. While there is a lot of movies out there that do effects right and bring enough gore to give any gore fan their fill, it seems almost rare to have a movie do that and also give us likeable characters that you care about. A cast of characters that feel like real people is great to have and this movie has it. This is a movie that does a whole heck of a lot right and is a movie that I feel is one you certainly need to checkout and see. If you can’t enjoy a movie like this, then I simply don’t know what more you could want in a horror film.
- Commentary
- Production Diary Videos
