I think one of the moments in Skinamarink that hurt the most- in conjunction with the idea that two _very_ little kids were alone in the house essentially from the get-go- was the 911 phonecall Kevin makes. The idea that this four-year-old _understood_ his situation, knew that something was very Wrong and Dangerous and that he _was_ injured, enough to call the police was incredibly just sad. I feel, ultimately, Skinamarink is a very depressing movie. You knew the kids wouldn't make it the second their parents didn't. EDIT: Also, to add, it's even more fucked up if you think of it being in the context of the malevolent entity _allowing_ Kevin to make the call just long enough before transforming/replacing the real phone into the fake toy one. The false sense of security and hope the entity gives a child is soo disturbing.
It's extra fucked if you consider that perhaps there was no other real person on the other line, that it could have been the entity playing pretend. Poor Kevin is given a few seconds of hope, but it's likely that there was never any hope at all.
@@lindseymcdaniel3484I feel like given the entity’s lack of proper replication of human traits, it was real. Also, something of note is that Kevin drops the phone of their volition. Implying that they understood that it was the entity’s doing, so it didn’t matter if they stayed on the line or not.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt this. The child that played Kevin had the most innocent sounding voice, and it broke my heart every time hearing it. That and seeing his sister take charge and trying to stay brave for him....legitmate fucking gut punch at the end to imagine their ultimate fate.
I've never clicked on a thumbnail so fast in my life. Ive said this in a few other comment sections, but this was the first time i ever screamed in a theater. Not shouting, full on screaming. I was completely alone and it was one of the best theater experiences in my life. This film made me understand why theaters are so important, especially for horror films. Having no way to pause and get my bearings after a scare was incredible. Ive never felt more powerless watching a movie. It was great.
@@diegovallines7738 by the end of the film I was in the fetal position. what made it worse was that the theater was a bit rundown and the lights didn't come on after the movie. I sat there for a solid minute unsure if this was part of the movie, and only left after I had the courage to turn around and see if the projector was still on. I ran out of the theater and didn't stop til I was outside the bathroom down the hall. The janitor stopped to ask if I was okay. I told her i just got done with skinamarink. she said "okay", as if this was a totally normal thing she sees everyday and went into the theater to clean.
@@marshmallsy two people left just before the chairs flew up to the ceiling. I feel bad for them, but if they couldn't get through the opening 20 minutes, its probably for the better.
Hearing Kevin cry and scream in pain in the knife scene was so scary because the scream felt so real and children usually get off easy in horror movies. ABSOLUTLEY one of the most unsettling movie experiences I've ever had.
@@iamjackspyramidshapedhelmet ill be honest, i think you should avoid this movie. i finished it a few minutes ago and i was so gutted and upset, these kids really go through it and there is no comfort for them or us. it's a great film but don't disturb yourself if it'll upset you
@@iamjackspyramidshapedhelmet I've got a steel stomach, I've watched a lot of super super messed up movies and have been fine, but Skinamarink almost got me and I had to pause at least twice. It's pretty hard so if you can help it, I'd recommend avoiding it.
I read a really interesting theory that the film is supposed to be the nightmares of a child living with an abusive family member. The entity is the father, exerting supreme control over the family and the house. Seemingly able to do anything. When the daughter shows signs of resistance to his abuse he removes her eyes and mouth, silencing her. Kevin was pushed down the steps. People you recognize become faceless monsters that you can’t even recognize. Your home becomes a prison. And your only solace is in cartoons and legos, but the parent can take those away eventually too.
It's definitely SOME kind of abuse twisting the once safe family home into a dark nightmare, but it's kind of impossible to put it on the dad unless you believe that he sounded insincere in his phone call about Kevin's fall. There is slightly more evidence that the mom might be the abusive one but I think all in all it's probably just meant to be a generally horrible home life following a nasty divorce between the parents, where both of them are too depressed and neglectful to properly care for the children, leaving them to essentially fend for themselves while the home that they once felt so safe inside slowly becomes darker, colder, and more terrifying to even just be inside.
@@spotlightanimation6719 It is worth remembering that the entity takes the form of their mom at one point, but never their dad. If that's the metaphor the film is going for, that's probably relevant.
I think the best way to watch this is totally alone in the dark on a laptop with headphones in. The whole thing gave me the vibe of like a random video you stumbled across on RUclips at 3 am and know deep down inside that you shouldn’t be watching.
I saw it in theaters twice and the first time was a great experience but the second time there was a large group of teenage boys talking through the whole thing. Rewatching in my own house in the dark was a whole different experience and much scarier imo.
I saw it in theaters with about 10 other people. We were all cracking jokes prior to the movie starting but once it started, you could hear a pin drop. When it ended, nobody got up for almost 5 minutes making it feel even more creepy.
when talking about the cartoons, James mentions a cartoon where little kids die in their beds and float up to heaven. this cartoon is actually a great depression era that told the story of two poor siblings who dreamed of a word where they had plenty to eat. when they woke up, they found that local bakers and cooks made them a feast. it was the one part of the movie where I felt some comfort, actually
I forgot that dogs could even sit still, since both my dogs have a really hard time with that. One of them loves everything and thinks everything will be her friend, and the other is terrified of everything. Makes for a very odd couple sorta dynamic.
As someone going into early childhood education, this movie is what made me realize I can’t watch movies where little kids are in danger anymore haha. The moment when I realized that they were so young they needed the flashlights bc they couldn’t reach the light switches absolutely broke my heart, and the scene where the little boy offers to get his sister some juice bc he knows she’s upset….amazing movie, really throws you into the kids’ places.
Skinamarink is definitely not a found footage film, but certainly analog horror. Visually, sfx, etc. all point to heavy analog inspiration. So if you're a fan of analog horror, you'll probably enjoy this film. I'm glad you both enjoyed it!
Best way i described it to a friend is the feeling you had as a kid when you wake up from a nightmare and you're experiencing the dark house for the first time. It's quiet and the house seems alien.
The scariest moment from my childhood was along these lines. There was a continuation of the nightmare that seemed like I was awake but couldn’t have been. Then quiet and dark.
I had the pleasure of seeing this in an old 70’s style theatre without any knowledge of the movie, and it was the scariest movie I’ve ever seen, seeing this in theatre is a crazy experience and I love it. I had to walk home at 1Am for like an hour because the busses were down and that was freaky. So proud this a Canadian horror movie.
@@x0_2q54 People sucking this movie off every time someone on YT or reddit talks about it makes me wonder how much of abject cowards these people really are. Things that scare 3 year old kids don't scare adults and I'm tired of them acting like they're terrified by it.
@@x0_2q54 Dude I was looking over my shoulder so much, so about 40 mins in I called a friend but then when I got home and had to go to sleep, yeesh. My bedroom never felt so freaky I kept leaning out of bed to make sure my windows were still there lol.
Idk why but the scene where the entity is messing with the legos and toys really got under my skin. It just felt like some invading evil entity violating something any kid would find sacred yk? This movie is pretty much an hour and a half of that feeling you get where you run up the stairs hoping you're faster than the basement demon you know is behind you.
Is anyone else stressed out about the door being opened in the background? Definitely fitting for this movie! This movie was effective and preyed in my fears of the dark.
When you guys mentioned the scary basement that you’d run up as fast as you can after your turn off the lights, was EXACTLY how it was at my childhood home lmao. It was a typical Michigan basement (so I KNOW you guys know exactly what I’m takin about) all cement down there with very tiny windows with little light coming in thru. And the light switch was at the bottom of the stairs and I would flip it and just SPRINT up the stairs & not lookin back. This movie really did bring that feeling back out.
We had the nice stars, and then the servants stairs that paralleled the other. I was always afraid something would start up the other set up stairs and meet me halfway up. 🙈🏃♂️
When Kaylee and Kevin told each other that they loved them, I started sobbing 😭 it was so sweet and I was like please don't let anything bad befall them.
I keep thinking about this and him giving Kaylee the juice box when she saw the stuff with her mom as a way of trying to help her, the kids are so sweet and innocent and the fact they went through all that is what got me the most, the movie wouldn't hit the same if it were adults in the situation
I personally think the kid from the director’s short film (I personally prefer it) “Heck” is the demon in this film. After going through that, he escaped and tried to play with these kids but had forgotten all joy and only remembered the deep fear he felt. Exactly like what Chelsea said, the way kids destroy their barbies. The main reason for my theory is how the mom from Heck and the girl from Skinimarink connect.
I absolutely love how the credits are at the beginning of the film, so at the end of the movie, it just abruptly stops and, in my case, went back to the Shudder menu. Made the whole experience so much better imo
I would KILL to see Chelsea and James use their horror connections to make an adaptation of House of Leaves. Also, love my fellow Lego fans for identifying those anachronistic bricks. That's funny as hell.
IM SO GLAD SOMEONE HAS MENTIONED THE WAYSIDE SCHOOL STORIES. ESPECIALLY A HORROR VERSION? PLEASE !!!!!!! i always bring this up when i first get to know people’s childhood tastes and i’ve yet to meet someone in person who’s read them. the amount of money i’d shell out for this …
Skinamarink is such a weird movie to me cause I found it so fascinating and interesting and wanted to keep watching, while i was simultaneously literally falling asleep while watching. The long dark quiet shots had me dozing off. But I still loved the movie. I found the fear of the dark actually very nostalgic. The sort of liquid darkness where you think you're seeing something there in the dark was portrayed so well It literally reminded me of specific moments of me being scared in the dark as a kid that I hadn't thought about in ages
46:57 i've also noticed this trend of gen y adults consuming kids media and having strong aversions for media for adults, or even being an adult in general. I never really saw this take before, but the toys and cartoons juxtaposed with this sense of terror and helplessness against someone more powerful than you enforces the theory. Nowadays, so many people are sucked into nostalgia, disney remaking their most iconic golden age works to market towards nostalgic adults. I grew up in the death throes of my parents failing marriage, watching cartoons as I heard them scream at each other behind a closed door, and I never want to relive that helplessness again. So many people want to be kids again, but no one seems to remember how powerless a child really is.
As someone who's had experiences trying to cohabitate animals, particularly cats and dogs, to varying degrees success, I hope Molly and Lucy learn to love each other. Molly seems like the sweetest little needy coconut
I was scared shitless until I realized nothing was going to happen. The bedroom scene had be plugging my ears and squinting my eyes more than I ever have before.
7:09 this perfectly describes the tone for me. Feels like a terrible nightmare that you can’t quite remember but you can still feel the visceral fear that gripped you throughout. I genuinely couldn’t look at the screen for the final shot. I have NEVER had to cover my eyes in a horror movie until Skinamarink.
Saw this with a buddy at amc. There were only 3 showing for one day and we saw the last one at 10:15. It was surprisingly crowded for the smallest theater they had. People were goofing around drinking drinks and having a good time. I could tell they didn't know what was about to happen lol. Immediately when it started I didn't hear a single noise for the entire movie. Everyone was just locked into this limbo of a nostalgic hellish dream. Definitely one of the best movie experiences I've ever had.
I personally think what Skinamarink does really well is have this sense of dread that just permeates the entire project, of course, most of the horror that can come from the movie comes from if the viewer can relate. When I was a kid, I was terrified of the dark and monsters within, even now my imagination sometimes runs wild and thinks there's a murderer in the dark that will get me. So, I was heavily paralyzed by Skinamarink and the events within, it reminded me of all my childhood fears. I also like arty films, they allow a creator to go absolutely anywhere they want, and I heavily support any creator who wants to make something like this.
I’m trying to write this somewhat comprehensively because I have so many thoughts about this film. As someone who was in a coma for five days as a child, I went into it expecting to somewhat relate to the coma interpretation. I’m not really a fan of interpretations and portrayals of comas in media for a lot of complicated and entangled reasons, but I will say that Skinamarink is one of the few interpretations I understand, like and somewhat resonate with me. But what actually did resonate with me was how well the house itself and the whole films works as a metaphor for child abuse, specifically, the experience of an abused child growing up in such a space. It was at one point when the cartoon was on and I think the TV was on the floor and you could see the carpet when it hit me, because of my own experience as an abused child. I have no idea if it’s intentional, but it is such a good metaphor for it. Growing up as an abused child, your world is this pastiche of domestic normality that hides malevolence. From the outside, it looks normal enough, but there’s something wrong here, which like, so much of Skinamarink is looking at normal objects that just look wrong. For a lot of us, we process the world as ending at your household, and your abuser is this god-like figure, perhaps a director, that controls everything. They can give, they can take, they can destroy. They control the exits and entries. And that’s what the entity does in Skinamarink; it literally disappears doors and windows. It clearly controls everything. It has the power to kill you, but it doesn’t. Same as your abuser, which is part of why a lot of us grow up loving and adoring your abuser despite everything horrific they’ve done. You just want their approval or attention, and I do think Skinamarink portrays it because the kids don’t outright reject the voice. They listen to it and follow the orders sometimes despite everything happening. At least they do until Kaylee says no, and she loses her voice and vision for it. A very apt metaphor, both for what happens when you displease your abuser, but also what abuse does to you. You can’t truly see the world and your voice is controlled by your abuser. Also speaking of Kaylee, she’s also a very good portrayal of the older sibling in these environments. Very often, the younger kids look toward the oldest as a protector who will defend them, and the oldest will take that role and they simply won’t be able to fulfil it. It happened with me and my brother. (Depending on how far it goes, it can reach parentification. I wouldn’t say Skinamarink touches on that, and I can’t speak from personal experience for it because the dynamic between me and my brother didn’t reflect that really.) Additionally, the physical (?) presence of the parents fits into it very well. No idea if they were actually the parents or creations of the entity, but they moreso represent the constructs of a mother and a father in a societal manner. They’re taken away from the kids which is what happens to us abused kids. I have an amazing mother, but I never got the father I was promised. If that makes sense? Honestly, the ending is the bit that really hit me with “what’s your name?” followed by silence, because to me, the entity both represents the abuser and the trauma that follows. I got away from my dad; I don’t speak to him; you could say I escaped him, _but_ his actions still haunt me. He gave me this trauma that I have to carry around and deal with, and none of my actions caused any of it. I am just traumatised because my dad’s a dickhead. And it’s very difficult to acknowledge that trauma and call it what it is because the trauma is also entwined within us. It is part of me. It’s not a case where a traumatic event happened and I’m not longer the old me; I’ve always been traumatised. And it’s frustrating that I have to deal with it while my dad just fucks about with no cares in the world. The ending hits so hard for me because Kevin _cannot_ escape. He cannot escape the entity and he cannot escape child abuse and trauma. You can’t run away with it; you have to live with it and you have to name it. I feel like this is very incomprehensible and rambling, but I just have too many thoughts about this movie, and it’s just ahhh.
Skinamarink is one of the most genuinely scary movies I think I've ever seen. This feeling is quite rare for me because I'm used to comedy horror and cheesy slasher movies.
Saw this in a sold out (250+seat) theatre opening night and you could hear a damn pin drop in that theatre. Some guy behind me gasping at every cut like "oh look at me im so scared" for the first 30min till the "look under the bed" scene then everyone was locked in. This film caused me to tense up and jump so hard, I hurt my back. After the film, I went home and for the first time in 25 years, I wanted to sleep with the lights on. No film has unnerved/shook me like that in recent memory.
i saw this movie alone in the theaters with like two other pairs of ppl in the whole theater and i was genuinely shitting my pants and crying i was like scared in a bad way. then when it ended the other pairs of ppl turned around and were like wtf was that and we had like a socratic seminar in the theater😭😭
I’m imagining a classical painting of Greek philosophers debating each other, but they’re all in a movie theater crying with obvious pee stains on their clothes
I'm in a weird bubble about this film where, I can understand everything the movie is trying to do, appreciate the effort and think it's doing it really well, it's just so *not for me* that I can't watch the movie without feeling totally bored. Glad to hear your guys' takes on it, though. Helps me get what I'm missing.
Something that was upsetting for me about this movie is that it’s really little helpless kids that are stuck in this mean spirited and hopeless situation.
I remember as a little kid I did not have a scary basement, but I had a scary garage. Whenever I had to go out and get sodas or anything out of the garage at night, I ALWAYS had to flip the lights on because if I didn’t I swear I could see scary faces in the dark. I completely forgot about that feeling until I watched Skinamarink. That just made me feel like I was back in my scary garage with the lights off.
I had the pleasure of seeing this film in a local indie/art house theater with 40 people. We were all equally tense and scared. Screams erupted from all of us. It was perfect to see it in theaters.
@@abbywatson8133 the parents bedroom scene, the eyes and face little girl jumpscare, the phone toy, the little boy with the knife. I think at one point when the windows and toilet were disappearing it made us jump but not as bad as the others
I work at the ONE theatre in Canada that screened it. We're in Edmonton (where the film was shot) and so had the cast and crew come in and do a Q&A afterwards. Truly a fun experience in our old theatre with all of the friends and family coming in to cheer it on :)
My interpretation was influenced by my own childhood. Where during a divorce the children are very vulnerable and the entity isn’t a real “entity” but an abusive person taking advantage of the situation. The windows and doors leave because they’re young kids, they’re not allowed to leave the house. The “entity” expects them to listen to all of its directions or else they’re punished. The kids are left without bathing or clean clothes like a lot of abusive situations. The entity also tortures them because “I can do anything” which reminds me of adults saying they can do whatever they want because they are adults. idk it reminds me of what it feels like as a child going through constant traumatic experiences where nothing feels right and you don’t feel safe even though you’re at home.
The bedroom part that lasts for fu(king ever is one of the best horror moments ever, for sure. It's hard to make me shut my eyes, but I was peeking though my fingers the whole time.
As an avid horror fan, this is the first movie that scared me so bad that there were tears in my eyes. I watched in alone at night in my living room and I couldn’t move afterwards. Even thinking about the “In this house…” from the trailer stops me cold when I’m home alone
Also, Molly being fed up with you guys not taking her request to end the podcast seriously is bringing me back to Lucy's butt in the camera days and it kills me lol
This is definitely a movie where you get out what you put in. I had no childhood horror to put in so it did basically nothing for me. I wasn’t mad at it; honestly I wasn’t even bored by it. I just took it in and it fell out of my mind immediately after. Having said that, I’m DOWN for a horror paradigm shift. Seen way too many movies trying and failing to be Hereditary in the past couple years. This might be the kick that indie horror needed to breathe in some new life.
I love this movie so much. Easily the most scared i have ever been while watching a movie. It unlocked so many childhood fears that I thought were gone. It's a horror masterpiece.
Watching this in a theater was a true nightmare with the massive screen and speakers. There was no way to escape what was happening other than to leave the theater, and I would NEVER do that. Truly miserable, in the best way. I’m not sure if it holds up with repeat viewings, but nothing will take away just how badly this scared me the first time
My daughter plays Kaylee in Skinamarink, she’s a huge fan of your channel (the Kill Count videos are her favorite) she watched this video with such excitement ❤
@@emmk6606hey I hate to break this to you but some people may not believe you, some people might need proof that you’re daughter played Kaylee in Skinamarink, also sorry for being 5 months late
I LOVED Wayside when I was little! There was actually a short-lived show adaptation, which was just alright (from my memory). I wanna see you guys tackle this in a horror concept. You two are so brilliant to think of this!
I watched Skinamarink on my laptop with headphones at 10 pm, and it scared me more than anything has scared me in years. The phone scene scared me so bad, I was catching my breath for the next minute or so. Usually, when I'm unable to fall asleep because of something I watched, it's because a certain image from it has been burned into my brain and I see that every time I close my eyes, but this movie scared me in a more visceral, indescribable way. It made me fear shadows in a way I haven't since I was a child. I spent the next day or so on edge because of this movie but I wasn't even sure what I was afraid of. I got skinamarinked so bad.
Ughhh, I wanted to like this so badly, and normally I'm pretty vulnerable to these kinds of movies, but I watched it late at night, in the dark, and it just did nothing for me :( I honestly thought I had been pranked by the internet, but when I realised people were actually genuine, I almost felt jealous? I want to be in on the fun too!! The only scene that REALLY got me was the upstairs bedroom scene. But the jumpscares didn't do much, because I literally could not tell what it was that I was looking at. And I think I fell asleep about three times in the first 30 minutes, and I kept having to rewind all the way to the beginning just because everything looks the same D:
I feel the same way, I felt really stupid like maybe I wasn't getting it or was missing something. I did get spooked near the end but otherwise I struggled to stay awake.
This movie isn’t a movie it’s basically a nightmare made into a movie, just like dreams don’t have easy to understand meaning or linear plot it’s jut like that , i think people who thought it was scary and can appreciate the movie had dreams like this and had a fear of the dark when they were kids , if you were bored then you’ve never had a a fear of the dark or had confusing or bad dreams like the movie presents
@@sean5558 Hmm I think it’s more complex than what you’re saying because I definitely had those childhood fears and I’m very openminded to movies without a clear narrative. So I don’t really know why this didn’t click. It could’ve just been that I was too tired. I just find the discourse around the meaning of the movie more engaging than the movie itself.
It is a movie that requires you to really immerse yourself in it ig, if you don't emotionally allow yourself to engage with it you won't get much mileage
I consider myself as pretty much immune to the scare element of horror movies. I just enjoy watching them but I never felt scared. Skinamarink however, changed that. I genuinely got terrified after realizing I was alone in the dark at my house after finishing the movie. I had to get out for a walk.
My friend and I knew this movies rep. We promised that we’d stay invested… we ended up falling asleep 30 minutes in. We woke up to a loud noise from it, and turned on the Black Phone instead. It was very good
16:58 YES! I loved those books as a kid, and now that I'm older I really appreciate how well they balance multiple tones in each story. The running gag about dead rats constantly trying to sneak into the classroom is just hilarious
That was SO creepy. I stg the movie said “The End” and turned off and the notification for this podcast popped up. That was the weirdest timing ever!!! I knew it was coming today so I threw it in before work. I will say my thoughts(before listening sorry). I had a hard time NOT doing other things while watching. But the moments I say and watched were very creepy, made me jump multiple times. And the ending left me spooked. Also my cat was reacting to all the sounds and voices like someone was actually in the room, which he doesn’t often do! I’m glad I watched this! Wondering if this listen will warrant a rewatch
I watched this a few months ago I can't remember being so conflicted in my opinion, being thoroughly bored, Terrified and absolutely enthralled at the same time
I'm surprised nobody mentioned reading this as experiencing child abuse because my partner mentioned how on the nose the fears and things taken away are to the abuse they experienced. The main scary place in the house is upstairs in the parents' room, the father claims the boy just fell down the stairs (which is a common lie to cover abuse) and the girl doesn't want to talk about mom. It's just not super clear if this is something that happened to them prior to the entity taking them or the entity is an embodiment of the abuse or whatever.
watched this with headphones on inside my very dark bedroom. i was very tired and drowsy bc i just finished studying. dozed off on the last twenty minutes of the film and woke up to that entity staring at me through my screen and telling me to go to sleep. i did not go back to sleep.
I think it played for one day here in one theatre. My friend and I watched it at night a couple of weeks ago. We tried to make the house as quiet as possible. Turned the HVAC off. Tried to be as quiet as possible while eating. It was good. I wanted it to be so much better than I had heard it was. It got a little repetitive and could have ended a little sooner. I love the meme 'Skinamarink is the scariest movie about the corner of a ceiling ever made'.
I watched it alone at night in my house. Which being alone at night in my house a lot as a kid, it really resonated with me. A miniseries of House of Leaves would be perfect! Especially produced by you!
Me and my friends sat up till 3 a.m. and watched it then with all the lights out and I loved it. Genuinely one of the best times I've had with my friends because we were all anxious and scared
I'm so glad you guys have mentioned House of Leaves as much as you have. I finally bought it a few weeks ago and decided to pick it up as the first book I've read in awhile, I have about 100 pages left and I've loved every moment of that fucking book, genuinely one of the scariest stories I've experienced in awhile
Dude when the Skinamarink showed up and said "It's skinamarinkin' time" and then skinamarinked all over them was peak filmmaking. Edit: Someone already made this exact joke but using "skinamarink" as a verb is so funny that I don't care
At 17 yr old and a die hard of horror films, this movie made my skin crawl and almost fell asleep like hopefully many of people but this film has made it to my top ten ❤
I would love to see what dead meat thinks of the outwaters! I dont really enjoy movies of that style but there were some scenes that really terrified me!!! There are lots of rly negative reviews but i think its sorta something u gotta know what to expect going in and a lot of people were expecting a narrative film.
I was one of the people that was instantly enthralled by this movie. I went into it with the idea that it might not be for me and I might not like it, but I wanted to give it a fair shake. I saw it alone, at night, in a movie theater with maybe 7 other people there. The movie had me terrified from very early on and in an almost subliminal way. I noticed at times I subconsciously held my breath or gripped the arms of the seat too hard ( not realizing I was doing this until the moment of dread had passed.) The movie is like a waking nightmare or a blocked out memory from childhood. It evokes the feeling of being a child in a dark room and wanting to get up to leave, but can't because of the fear of what might be out in the hallway. The feeling of being at a child at a park and losing sight of your parents. Skinamarink was haunting, unnerving, and uncomfortable. Everything from the static to the muffled sound made the most mundane things like toys, TVs, and hallways seem surreal and terrifying.
The fact that some people watched this film while falling asleep in bed unnerves me greatly. One time, last year, I fell asleep with Forensic Files on autoplay and had very feverish, disjointed night terrors for what ended up being 5 hours straight. Sometimes I was half awake and could tell the tv was on but, when I tried to call for someone to help me, nothing came out of my mouth. It felt like sleep paralysis. I can't remember what happened in the dreams or what I saw, only how cold, damp, and shaken I felt when I woke up. That was caused by a show I regularly watch so I can't imagine how frightening my night would be if Skinamarink was playing in the background. This film reminds me of the many things my child self experienced due to how disordered my sleep was. Nightmares, night terrors, sleep paralysis, imagining silhouettes in the dark, intrusive thoughts manifesting as voices. It hits this primal area of my brain that I've kept hidden for a long time.
I purposely waited until my fiancée was out of town so I could absorb this movie while in an dark, empty, quiet apartment. Boy did I regret it afterwards lol
I don't think I could have said it better myself, as I was reading House of leaves I was just screaming into nothing that Mike Flanagan really needs to make this into a long-form series because he would truly do it justice. Definitely add on the folks that made this film and it could be amazing
The second I heard about this movie I *had* to hear y'all's opinion of it. Definitely not your typical high stakes, high kill count film but so eerie and interesting in its own experimental film way. Thank you for your insight! Great work as always!
This movie quickly became my favorite horror movie. The vibes of it really brought out the childhood trauma. It captured the feeling of how it felt to be a young kid and deal with scary things you can't understand. And that fucking phone jumpscare- the only thing to ever make me scream. So excited that you guys are covering it!!!
Went to the theater to see this completely blind. I've never been more uncomfortable after a movie. Couldn't get out quickly enough. I'm not sure if I liked the movie, but it was highly effective as a horror moviegoing experience.
I really didn't watch this episode of the podcast bc I have a HUGE fear of SKM bc it hits every single thing i fear most, so for the past two weeks i've been on edge (i have to get up really early and basically fumble through the dark with my phone flashlight so like, SKM put me extra on edge) but the thumbnail for this video single handedly broke that paranoia bubble i've been in. So thank you to whichever person decided to use that.
As someone who saw this in theaters, I can say that’s the worst way to view it. The grainy, low quality look of this film was absolute torture on my eyes. I figured I’d be fine since I loved Cloverfield in theaters, but Skinamarink gave me a headache so I just dipped and watched M3gan instead.
I'll be honest, i have yet to finish this movie in full in one sitting because it is one of the most terrifying movies I've come across. There's just something about the framing, the timing, and the audio direction that makes my skin crawl the moment I turn it on and never leaves. I have to break it up into sections because it's just too much for me. Kudos to the director for making my skin crawl like no other film really has.
I think one of the moments in Skinamarink that hurt the most- in conjunction with the idea that two _very_ little kids were alone in the house essentially from the get-go- was the 911 phonecall Kevin makes. The idea that this four-year-old _understood_ his situation, knew that something was very Wrong and Dangerous and that he _was_ injured, enough to call the police was incredibly just sad. I feel, ultimately, Skinamarink is a very depressing movie. You knew the kids wouldn't make it the second their parents didn't.
EDIT: Also, to add, it's even more fucked up if you think of it being in the context of the malevolent entity _allowing_ Kevin to make the call just long enough before transforming/replacing the real phone into the fake toy one. The false sense of security and hope the entity gives a child is soo disturbing.
It's extra fucked if you consider that perhaps there was no other real person on the other line, that it could have been the entity playing pretend. Poor Kevin is given a few seconds of hope, but it's likely that there was never any hope at all.
@@lindseymcdaniel3484I feel like given the entity’s lack of proper replication of human traits, it was real. Also, something of note is that Kevin drops the phone of their volition. Implying that they understood that it was the entity’s doing, so it didn’t matter if they stayed on the line or not.
@@lindseymcdaniel3484 I was thinking that too! It was just letting him call knowing nothing would happen :(
I felt so bad! Wanted to just give him a little hug
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt this. The child that played Kevin had the most innocent sounding voice, and it broke my heart every time hearing it. That and seeing his sister take charge and trying to stay brave for him....legitmate fucking gut punch at the end to imagine their ultimate fate.
I've never clicked on a thumbnail so fast in my life. Ive said this in a few other comment sections, but this was the first time i ever screamed in a theater. Not shouting, full on screaming. I was completely alone and it was one of the best theater experiences in my life. This film made me understand why theaters are so important, especially for horror films. Having no way to pause and get my bearings after a scare was incredible. Ive never felt more powerless watching a movie. It was great.
omg i envy this experience
Bro I would be stuck in my seat shitting myself, I wouldn’t be able to leave
I got scared so bad I started crying. A 24 year old reduced to a scared 5 year old child 😅
@@diegovallines7738 by the end of the film I was in the fetal position. what made it worse was that the theater was a bit rundown and the lights didn't come on after the movie. I sat there for a solid minute unsure if this was part of the movie, and only left after I had the courage to turn around and see if the projector was still on. I ran out of the theater and didn't stop til I was outside the bathroom down the hall. The janitor stopped to ask if I was okay. I told her i just got done with skinamarink. she said "okay", as if this was a totally normal thing she sees everyday and went into the theater to clean.
@@marshmallsy two people left just before the chairs flew up to the ceiling. I feel bad for them, but if they couldn't get through the opening 20 minutes, its probably for the better.
Hearing Kevin cry and scream in pain in the knife scene was so scary because the scream felt so real and children usually get off easy in horror movies. ABSOLUTLEY one of the most unsettling movie experiences I've ever had.
This is why I’m hesitant to see it, I can’t handle little kids suffering
@@iamjackspyramidshapedhelmet ill be honest, i think you should avoid this movie. i finished it a few minutes ago and i was so gutted and upset, these kids really go through it and there is no comfort for them or us. it's a great film but don't disturb yourself if it'll upset you
@@iamjackspyramidshapedhelmet yeah, if kids being hurt is a big trigger for you I would suggest skipping this one, it's really heavy at times
SINISTER: Allows us to introduce ourselves!
@@iamjackspyramidshapedhelmet I've got a steel stomach, I've watched a lot of super super messed up movies and have been fine, but Skinamarink almost got me and I had to pause at least twice. It's pretty hard so if you can help it, I'd recommend avoiding it.
I read a really interesting theory that the film is supposed to be the nightmares of a child living with an abusive family member. The entity is the father, exerting supreme control over the family and the house. Seemingly able to do anything. When the daughter shows signs of resistance to his abuse he removes her eyes and mouth, silencing her. Kevin was pushed down the steps. People you recognize become faceless monsters that you can’t even recognize. Your home becomes a prison. And your only solace is in cartoons and legos, but the parent can take those away eventually too.
i'm gonna cry
It's definitely SOME kind of abuse twisting the once safe family home into a dark nightmare, but it's kind of impossible to put it on the dad unless you believe that he sounded insincere in his phone call about Kevin's fall. There is slightly more evidence that the mom might be the abusive one but I think all in all it's probably just meant to be a generally horrible home life following a nasty divorce between the parents, where both of them are too depressed and neglectful to properly care for the children, leaving them to essentially fend for themselves while the home that they once felt so safe inside slowly becomes darker, colder, and more terrifying to even just be inside.
I always assumed that the mom was abusive and that the kid's parents were divorced
@@spotlightanimation6719 It is worth remembering that the entity takes the form of their mom at one point, but never their dad. If that's the metaphor the film is going for, that's probably relevant.
I think the best way to watch this is totally alone in the dark on a laptop with headphones in. The whole thing gave me the vibe of like a random video you stumbled across on RUclips at 3 am and know deep down inside that you shouldn’t be watching.
I watched it in what my friends call the scariest room in my house and it made the experience so much better
I saw it in theaters twice and the first time was a great experience but the second time there was a large group of teenage boys talking through the whole thing. Rewatching in my own house in the dark was a whole different experience and much scarier imo.
It’s like stumbling onto Plagued Moth‘s channel in the very early hours, when the thumbnail alone are enough to set you off… 🤐
It’s funny you say that because I’m pretty sure the director started in RUclips horror
@@sub_zero1422 he did. He has a popular RUclips channel and posted his proof of concept for Skinamarink on that channel.
I saw it in theaters with about 10 other people. We were all cracking jokes prior to the movie starting but once it started, you could hear a pin drop. When it ended, nobody got up for almost 5 minutes making it feel even more creepy.
I had such a similar experience! Great theater movie.
Those are really special moments in life… and super rare. But the feeling echoes for several days. =)
my theater was shockingly silent and there were quiet a few people there, it was a fantastic experience since I watched it completely unaccompanied
I watched it in a small, old, but crowded theater. Had the same experience with the silence at the end, terrifying.
People left before the movie ended when I saw it. I envied them
when talking about the cartoons, James mentions a cartoon where little kids die in their beds and float up to heaven. this cartoon is actually a great depression era that told the story of two poor siblings who dreamed of a word where they had plenty to eat. when they woke up, they found that local bakers and cooks made them a feast. it was the one part of the movie where I felt some comfort, actually
I felt the same way! I think it was “Somewhere In Dreamland” from the Fleischers
I genuinely had convinced myself that the face at the end wasn’t real and was a pattern recognition thing I saw. I got so fucking Skinamarinked man
So it WAS a face
I couldn't tell whether it was smiling or not
I swear to god that thing could SEE me. Legitimately one of the scariest shots I’ve ever seen
Bro I got skinamarinked by wendigoon's video about it
I love when Skinny Marink says “no more mister nice skinamarink” and hits Kevin with the skinamarink-beam
Skinama-beam??
thanx for the spoiler u ass
Truly the most movie of all time.
Please stop this meme guys, it was funny once, the first time, every other derivation of it has been terrible.
@@crumblebee6728 No
At first I thought Chelsea had a stuffed dog on her lap because it was completely still for such a long time 🤣
I forgot that dogs could even sit still, since both my dogs have a really hard time with that. One of them loves everything and thinks everything will be her friend, and the other is terrified of everything. Makes for a very odd couple sorta dynamic.
SAME
This is such a difference from when Lucy shows up in the podcast
Me too. I thought that was her COVID stuffed animal.
@@RossPitSharkHunter that sounds hilarious 🤣 your dogs sound very cute.
@@BRBonGiediPrime They are absolutely precious little babies.
As someone going into early childhood education, this movie is what made me realize I can’t watch movies where little kids are in danger anymore haha. The moment when I realized that they were so young they needed the flashlights bc they couldn’t reach the light switches absolutely broke my heart, and the scene where the little boy offers to get his sister some juice bc he knows she’s upset….amazing movie, really throws you into the kids’ places.
Skinamarink is definitely not a found footage film, but certainly analog horror. Visually, sfx, etc. all point to heavy analog inspiration. So if you're a fan of analog horror, you'll probably enjoy this film. I'm glad you both enjoyed it!
Best way i described it to a friend is the feeling you had as a kid when you wake up from a nightmare and you're experiencing the dark house for the first time.
It's quiet and the house seems alien.
The scariest moment from my childhood was along these lines. There was a continuation of the nightmare that seemed like I was awake but couldn’t have been. Then quiet and dark.
Absolutely Cursed thumbnail
Agreed bro
the skinamarink demon got yassified
*blessed
nails looking 🔥 tho
No mi ciela
I had the pleasure of seeing this in an old 70’s style theatre without any knowledge of the movie, and it was the scariest movie I’ve ever seen, seeing this in theatre is a crazy experience and I love it. I had to walk home at 1Am for like an hour because the busses were down and that was freaky. So proud this a Canadian horror movie.
YOU HAD TO WALK HOME AFTER ALONE? OH MY GOD💀💀💀💀
You’re very brave for that holy shit
I would’ve cried or had a panic attack😟
ESPECIALLY FOR A HOUR……
@@x0_2q54 Do you want to stay on the street until the sun rises? Hell no. 😂
@@ArDeeMee when did I ever say I would just stay on the streets?
@@x0_2q54 People sucking this movie off every time someone on YT or reddit talks about it makes me wonder how much of abject cowards these people really are.
Things that scare 3 year old kids don't scare adults and I'm tired of them acting like they're terrified by it.
@@x0_2q54 Dude I was looking over my shoulder so much, so about 40 mins in I called a friend but then when I got home and had to go to sleep, yeesh. My bedroom never felt so freaky I kept leaning out of bed to make sure my windows were still there lol.
Idk why but the scene where the entity is messing with the legos and toys really got under my skin. It just felt like some invading evil entity violating something any kid would find sacred yk? This movie is pretty much an hour and a half of that feeling you get where you run up the stairs hoping you're faster than the basement demon you know is behind you.
I saw Skinamarink alone. I was the only one in the theatre. I think that was a really big factor in the experience of seeing it
It definitely was. Watching it alone vs watching it with someone else is a totally different experience.
I don’t think I could have existed for a day or two watching a movie like this alone
Lucky I would love that experience
Maybe you just thought you were alone..I did once until I heard a cough waaay in the back! Shit myself 😂
I take comfort knowing that you were the only person who wasted money on that showing.
Molly is so stoic. For a second I thought Chelsea was holding a taxidermy dog.
Literally thought the same thing until I read this comment. My dog could literally never be so still
Is anyone else stressed out about the door being opened in the background? Definitely fitting for this movie! This movie was effective and preyed in my fears of the dark.
YES. I was definitely staring into the darkness quite a few times during this video lol
Oh good I'm so glad you pointed it out! 😭
Yes lol.
It bothers me so damn much
When you guys mentioned the scary basement that you’d run up as fast as you can after your turn off the lights, was EXACTLY how it was at my childhood home lmao. It was a typical Michigan basement (so I KNOW you guys know exactly what I’m takin about) all cement down there with very tiny windows with little light coming in thru. And the light switch was at the bottom of the stairs and I would flip it and just SPRINT up the stairs & not lookin back. This movie really did bring that feeling back out.
We had the nice stars, and then the servants stairs that paralleled the other. I was always afraid something would start up the other set up stairs and meet me halfway up. 🙈🏃♂️
When Kaylee and Kevin told each other that they loved them, I started sobbing 😭 it was so sweet and I was like please don't let anything bad befall them.
I keep thinking about this and him giving Kaylee the juice box when she saw the stuff with her mom as a way of trying to help her, the kids are so sweet and innocent and the fact they went through all that is what got me the most, the movie wouldn't hit the same if it were adults in the situation
I personally think the kid from the director’s short film (I personally prefer it) “Heck” is the demon in this film. After going through that, he escaped and tried to play with these kids but had forgotten all joy and only remembered the deep fear he felt. Exactly like what Chelsea said, the way kids destroy their barbies. The main reason for my theory is how the mom from Heck and the girl from Skinimarink connect.
How do the mom from Heck and the girl (I'm assuming you're talking about Kaylee) from Skinamarink connect?
How do they connect ?
How do they connect?
omg I thought that too!! I'm so happy I'm not the only one
I absolutely love how the credits are at the beginning of the film, so at the end of the movie, it just abruptly stops and, in my case, went back to the Shudder menu. Made the whole experience so much better imo
I would KILL to see Chelsea and James use their horror connections to make an adaptation of House of Leaves.
Also, love my fellow Lego fans for identifying those anachronistic bricks. That's funny as hell.
IM SO GLAD SOMEONE HAS MENTIONED THE WAYSIDE SCHOOL STORIES. ESPECIALLY A HORROR VERSION? PLEASE !!!!!!! i always bring this up when i first get to know people’s childhood tastes and i’ve yet to meet someone in person who’s read them. the amount of money i’d shell out for this …
Skinamarink is such a weird movie to me cause I found it so fascinating and interesting and wanted to keep watching, while i was simultaneously literally falling asleep while watching. The long dark quiet shots had me dozing off. But I still loved the movie. I found the fear of the dark actually very nostalgic. The sort of liquid darkness where you think you're seeing something there in the dark was portrayed so well It literally reminded me of specific moments of me being scared in the dark as a kid that I hadn't thought about in ages
46:57 i've also noticed this trend of gen y adults consuming kids media and having strong aversions for media for adults, or even being an adult in general. I never really saw this take before, but the toys and cartoons juxtaposed with this sense of terror and helplessness against someone more powerful than you enforces the theory. Nowadays, so many people are sucked into nostalgia, disney remaking their most iconic golden age works to market towards nostalgic adults. I grew up in the death throes of my parents failing marriage, watching cartoons as I heard them scream at each other behind a closed door, and I never want to relive that helplessness again. So many people want to be kids again, but no one seems to remember how powerless a child really is.
As someone who's had experiences trying to cohabitate animals, particularly cats and dogs, to varying degrees success, I hope Molly and Lucy learn to love each other. Molly seems like the sweetest little needy coconut
I was scared shitless until I realized nothing was going to happen. The bedroom scene had be plugging my ears and squinting my eyes more than I ever have before.
7:09 this perfectly describes the tone for me. Feels like a terrible nightmare that you can’t quite remember but you can still feel the visceral fear that gripped you throughout.
I genuinely couldn’t look at the screen for the final shot. I have NEVER had to cover my eyes in a horror movie until Skinamarink.
Saw this with a buddy at amc. There were only 3 showing for one day and we saw the last one at 10:15. It was surprisingly crowded for the smallest theater they had. People were goofing around drinking drinks and having a good time. I could tell they didn't know what was about to happen lol. Immediately when it started I didn't hear a single noise for the entire movie. Everyone was just locked into this limbo of a nostalgic hellish dream. Definitely one of the best movie experiences I've ever had.
“I was a little bit.. enhanced.”
Might be the best way to watch this movie, honestly.
Also I would love an entire episode of the podcast to hear Chelsea and James talk about House of Leaves.
I personally think what Skinamarink does really well is have this sense of dread that just permeates the entire project, of course, most of the horror that can come from the movie comes from if the viewer can relate. When I was a kid, I was terrified of the dark and monsters within, even now my imagination sometimes runs wild and thinks there's a murderer in the dark that will get me. So, I was heavily paralyzed by Skinamarink and the events within, it reminded me of all my childhood fears. I also like arty films, they allow a creator to go absolutely anywhere they want, and I heavily support any creator who wants to make something like this.
I’m trying to write this somewhat comprehensively because I have so many thoughts about this film. As someone who was in a coma for five days as a child, I went into it expecting to somewhat relate to the coma interpretation.
I’m not really a fan of interpretations and portrayals of comas in media for a lot of complicated and entangled reasons, but I will say that Skinamarink is one of the few interpretations I understand, like and somewhat resonate with me.
But what actually did resonate with me was how well the house itself and the whole films works as a metaphor for child abuse, specifically, the experience of an abused child growing up in such a space.
It was at one point when the cartoon was on and I think the TV was on the floor and you could see the carpet when it hit me, because of my own experience as an abused child.
I have no idea if it’s intentional, but it is such a good metaphor for it.
Growing up as an abused child, your world is this pastiche of domestic normality that hides malevolence. From the outside, it looks normal enough, but there’s something wrong here, which like, so much of Skinamarink is looking at normal objects that just look wrong.
For a lot of us, we process the world as ending at your household, and your abuser is this god-like figure, perhaps a director, that controls everything. They can give, they can take, they can destroy. They control the exits and entries. And that’s what the entity does in Skinamarink; it literally disappears doors and windows. It clearly controls everything.
It has the power to kill you, but it doesn’t. Same as your abuser, which is part of why a lot of us grow up loving and adoring your abuser despite everything horrific they’ve done. You just want their approval or attention, and I do think Skinamarink portrays it because the kids don’t outright reject the voice. They listen to it and follow the orders sometimes despite everything happening.
At least they do until Kaylee says no, and she loses her voice and vision for it. A very apt metaphor, both for what happens when you displease your abuser, but also what abuse does to you. You can’t truly see the world and your voice is controlled by your abuser.
Also speaking of Kaylee, she’s also a very good portrayal of the older sibling in these environments. Very often, the younger kids look toward the oldest as a protector who will defend them, and the oldest will take that role and they simply won’t be able to fulfil it. It happened with me and my brother.
(Depending on how far it goes, it can reach parentification. I wouldn’t say Skinamarink touches on that, and I can’t speak from personal experience for it because the dynamic between me and my brother didn’t reflect that really.)
Additionally, the physical (?) presence of the parents fits into it very well. No idea if they were actually the parents or creations of the entity, but they moreso represent the constructs of a mother and a father in a societal manner. They’re taken away from the kids which is what happens to us abused kids. I have an amazing mother, but I never got the father I was promised. If that makes sense?
Honestly, the ending is the bit that really hit me with “what’s your name?” followed by silence, because to me, the entity both represents the abuser and the trauma that follows.
I got away from my dad; I don’t speak to him; you could say I escaped him, _but_ his actions still haunt me. He gave me this trauma that I have to carry around and deal with, and none of my actions caused any of it. I am just traumatised because my dad’s a dickhead.
And it’s very difficult to acknowledge that trauma and call it what it is because the trauma is also entwined within us. It is part of me. It’s not a case where a traumatic event happened and I’m not longer the old me; I’ve always been traumatised. And it’s frustrating that I have to deal with it while my dad just fucks about with no cares in the world.
The ending hits so hard for me because Kevin _cannot_ escape. He cannot escape the entity and he cannot escape child abuse and trauma. You can’t run away with it; you have to live with it and you have to name it.
I feel like this is very incomprehensible and rambling, but I just have too many thoughts about this movie, and it’s just ahhh.
nobody cares abt ur coma thougths lmfao
Loved having molly on screen. Makes me miss our family shihtzus at my parents. Her not seeming to settle down reminds me of my dogs especially
16:40 as a fellow ADHD haver, seeing Chelsea fidgeting with her ring while focusing on explaining her idea is comforting. Adore you two.
Skinamarink is one of the most genuinely scary movies I think I've ever seen. This feeling is quite rare for me because I'm used to comedy horror and cheesy slasher movies.
I got to meet the director last weekend! He was very nice, 8m so happy for all the success he's had with this film
Saw this in a sold out (250+seat) theatre opening night and you could hear a damn pin drop in that theatre. Some guy behind me gasping at every cut like "oh look at me im so scared" for the first 30min till the "look under the bed" scene then everyone was locked in. This film caused me to tense up and jump so hard, I hurt my back. After the film, I went home and for the first time in 25 years, I wanted to sleep with the lights on. No film has unnerved/shook me like that in recent memory.
i saw this movie alone in the theaters with like two other pairs of ppl in the whole theater and i was genuinely shitting my pants and crying i was like scared in a bad way. then when it ended the other pairs of ppl turned around and were like wtf was that and we had like a socratic seminar in the theater😭😭
I’m imagining a classical painting of Greek philosophers debating each other, but they’re all in a movie theater crying with obvious pee stains on their clothes
@@bigjedimullet i would say that’s pretty accurate
@@bigjedimullet "Plato, what the absolute FUCK did we just watch?"
"I don't know man, I just- fuck-"
@@connorpratt8364 Diogenes comes in waving a Fisher-Price phone. “BEHOLD, PLATO’S SKINAMARINK!”
I'm in a weird bubble about this film where, I can understand everything the movie is trying to do, appreciate the effort and think it's doing it really well, it's just so *not for me* that I can't watch the movie without feeling totally bored. Glad to hear your guys' takes on it, though. Helps me get what I'm missing.
Agreed. I was really bored. Even watched it I a dark room on my laptop thinking the ambience might help, but not really.
That’s ok. It doesn’t work for everyone. ;)
Did you ever have a fear of the dark? Or do you remember what It was like?
I used to get sleep paralysis often when I was a child. I felt similar feelings of dread and terror while watching this movie.
My fav part was when the skinamarink went “EY IM RINKIN OVA ERE!”
Something that was upsetting for me about this movie is that it’s really little helpless kids that are stuck in this mean spirited and hopeless situation.
I remember as a little kid I did not have a scary basement, but I had a scary garage. Whenever I had to go out and get sodas or anything out of the garage at night, I ALWAYS had to flip the lights on because if I didn’t I swear I could see scary faces in the dark. I completely forgot about that feeling until I watched Skinamarink. That just made me feel like I was back in my scary garage with the lights off.
I had the pleasure of seeing this film in a local indie/art house theater with 40 people. We were all equally tense and scared. Screams erupted from all of us. It was perfect to see it in theaters.
At what point did y'all scream?
@@abbywatson8133 the figure in the doorway when they’re in the parents room, the Barbie doll and the girl with the No mouth or eyes
@@abbywatson8133 the parents bedroom scene, the eyes and face little girl jumpscare, the phone toy, the little boy with the knife. I think at one point when the windows and toilet were disappearing it made us jump but not as bad as the others
I work at the ONE theatre in Canada that screened it. We're in Edmonton (where the film was shot) and so had the cast and crew come in and do a Q&A afterwards. Truly a fun experience in our old theatre with all of the friends and family coming in to cheer it on :)
My interpretation was influenced by my own childhood. Where during a divorce the children are very vulnerable and the entity isn’t a real “entity” but an abusive person taking advantage of the situation.
The windows and doors leave because they’re young kids, they’re not allowed to leave the house. The “entity” expects them to listen to all of its directions or else they’re punished. The kids are left without bathing or clean clothes like a lot of abusive situations. The entity also tortures them because “I can do anything” which reminds me of adults saying they can do whatever they want because they are adults.
idk it reminds me of what it feels like as a child going through constant traumatic experiences where nothing feels right and you don’t feel safe even though you’re at home.
I can't believe u actually used my silly edit as your thumbnail!
I love yall so much! 💗
james just giving molly a little kiss in between sentences is so cute (42:15)
The bedroom part that lasts for fu(king ever is one of the best horror moments ever, for sure. It's hard to make me shut my eyes, but I was peeking though my fingers the whole time.
As an avid horror fan, this is the first movie that scared me so bad that there were tears in my eyes. I watched in alone at night in my living room and I couldn’t move afterwards. Even thinking about the “In this house…” from the trailer stops me cold when I’m home alone
this thumbnail is the best thing to ever come from the dead meat channel
Also, Molly being fed up with you guys not taking her request to end the podcast seriously is bringing me back to Lucy's butt in the camera days and it kills me lol
What a calm dog… I thought they were a realistic plushie
This is definitely a movie where you get out what you put in. I had no childhood horror to put in so it did basically nothing for me. I wasn’t mad at it; honestly I wasn’t even bored by it. I just took it in and it fell out of my mind immediately after.
Having said that, I’m DOWN for a horror paradigm shift. Seen way too many movies trying and failing to be Hereditary in the past couple years. This might be the kick that indie horror needed to breathe in some new life.
I love this movie so much. Easily the most scared i have ever been while watching a movie. It unlocked so many childhood fears that I thought were gone. It's a horror masterpiece.
How the fuck can anyone possibly be the slightest bit scared by anything in this film? Stop bullshitting. Please.
couldnt agree more - he basically invented a new genre of horror
@@jesterssketchbook this type of horror has been around forever ☠️
@@jesterssketchbook what, analog horror? its been around for years upon years upon years
Watching this in a theater was a true nightmare with the massive screen and speakers. There was no way to escape what was happening other than to leave the theater, and I would NEVER do that. Truly miserable, in the best way. I’m not sure if it holds up with repeat viewings, but nothing will take away just how badly this scared me the first time
My daughter plays Kaylee in Skinamarink, she’s a huge fan of your channel (the Kill Count videos are her favorite) she watched this video with such excitement ❤
Your daughter was great!
Doubt it
@@suziebelle3738 ok!
@@emmk6606hey I hate to break this to you but some people may not believe you, some people might need proof that you’re daughter played Kaylee in Skinamarink, also sorry for being 5 months late
The dog is very cute. 10/10 improves the watching experience!!
I LOVED Wayside when I was little! There was actually a short-lived show adaptation, which was just alright (from my memory). I wanna see you guys tackle this in a horror concept. You two are so brilliant to think of this!
I watched Skinamarink on my laptop with headphones at 10 pm, and it scared me more than anything has scared me in years. The phone scene scared me so bad, I was catching my breath for the next minute or so. Usually, when I'm unable to fall asleep because of something I watched, it's because a certain image from it has been burned into my brain and I see that every time I close my eyes, but this movie scared me in a more visceral, indescribable way. It made me fear shadows in a way I haven't since I was a child. I spent the next day or so on edge because of this movie but I wasn't even sure what I was afraid of. I got skinamarinked so bad.
Thank you for liking my review and the shoutout/link! I didn't have a lot of horror review podcasts to get into and have now subscribed!
Ughhh, I wanted to like this so badly, and normally I'm pretty vulnerable to these kinds of movies, but I watched it late at night, in the dark, and it just did nothing for me :( I honestly thought I had been pranked by the internet, but when I realised people were actually genuine, I almost felt jealous? I want to be in on the fun too!! The only scene that REALLY got me was the upstairs bedroom scene. But the jumpscares didn't do much, because I literally could not tell what it was that I was looking at. And I think I fell asleep about three times in the first 30 minutes, and I kept having to rewind all the way to the beginning just because everything looks the same D:
My exact reaction. I couldn't believe that people were actually scared of this. It felt overly long and boring, and I too nearly fell asleep.
I feel the same way, I felt really stupid like maybe I wasn't getting it or was missing something. I did get spooked near the end but otherwise I struggled to stay awake.
This movie isn’t a movie it’s basically a nightmare made into a movie, just like dreams don’t have easy to understand meaning or linear plot it’s jut like that , i think people who thought it was scary and can appreciate the movie had dreams like this and had a fear of the dark when they were kids , if you were bored then you’ve never had a a fear of the dark or had confusing or bad dreams like the movie presents
@@sean5558 Hmm I think it’s more complex than what you’re saying because I definitely had those childhood fears and I’m very openminded to movies without a clear narrative. So I don’t really know why this didn’t click. It could’ve just been that I was too tired. I just find the discourse around the meaning of the movie more engaging than the movie itself.
It is a movie that requires you to really immerse yourself in it ig, if you don't emotionally allow yourself to engage with it you won't get much mileage
I consider myself as pretty much immune to the scare element of horror movies. I just enjoy watching them but I never felt scared. Skinamarink however, changed that. I genuinely got terrified after realizing I was alone in the dark at my house after finishing the movie. I had to get out for a walk.
Heard it's a slow film yet manages to be terrifying if you pay into it. So glad you decided to do a podcast James! Much appreciated.
My friend and I knew this movies rep. We promised that we’d stay invested… we ended up falling asleep 30 minutes in. We woke up to a loud noise from it, and turned on the Black Phone instead. It was very good
watched this movie with a friend and i cant lie the toilet jumpscare got me almost as bad as the faceless jumpscare
16:58 YES! I loved those books as a kid, and now that I'm older I really appreciate how well they balance multiple tones in each story. The running gag about dead rats constantly trying to sneak into the classroom is just hilarious
That was SO creepy. I stg the movie said “The End” and turned off and the notification for this podcast popped up. That was the weirdest timing ever!!!
I knew it was coming today so I threw it in before work.
I will say my thoughts(before listening sorry).
I had a hard time NOT doing other things while watching. But the moments I say and watched were very creepy, made me jump multiple times. And the ending left me spooked.
Also my cat was reacting to all the sounds and voices like someone was actually in the room, which he doesn’t often do!
I’m glad I watched this! Wondering if this listen will warrant a rewatch
Update: this listen has warranted a rewatch but I want to watch it with someone so we can talk about it during it haha
James and chelsea don't understand I've been laughing at the thumbnail for 5 mintues 😭
I watched this a few months ago I can't remember being so conflicted in my opinion, being thoroughly bored, Terrified and absolutely enthralled at the same time
Appreciate y'all forever! One of my favorite things after watching newer horror flicks is to come watch y'alls podcast episode on it.
Lol I love that little glimpses of the animal dynamics we're getting with the video version
I'm surprised nobody mentioned reading this as experiencing child abuse because my partner mentioned how on the nose the fears and things taken away are to the abuse they experienced.
The main scary place in the house is upstairs in the parents' room, the father claims the boy just fell down the stairs (which is a common lie to cover abuse) and the girl doesn't want to talk about mom.
It's just not super clear if this is something that happened to them prior to the entity taking them or the entity is an embodiment of the abuse or whatever.
This podcast has low-key inspired me to write a horror short based around Drunk Disney lol
Do tell lol. That sounds super interesting
i know this comment is a year old but im SO interested
@@RileyLastname Tragically I've completely lost what my original idea for this was lol
watched this with headphones on inside my very dark bedroom. i was very tired and drowsy bc i just finished studying. dozed off on the last twenty minutes of the film and woke up to that entity staring at me through my screen and telling me to go to sleep. i did not go back to sleep.
My interpretation of the phone turning into the toy says that the boy was never able to call the police either way
I think it played for one day here in one theatre. My friend and I watched it at night a couple of weeks ago. We tried to make the house as quiet as possible. Turned the HVAC off. Tried to be as quiet as possible while eating. It was good. I wanted it to be so much better than I had heard it was. It got a little repetitive and could have ended a little sooner. I love the meme 'Skinamarink is the scariest movie about the corner of a ceiling ever made'.
I watched it alone at night in my house. Which being alone at night in my house a lot as a kid, it really resonated with me.
A miniseries of House of Leaves would be perfect! Especially produced by you!
anxiety was really getting me today and when i got home from school and seeing this on my recommended really made my day, love you guys
Me and my friends sat up till 3 a.m. and watched it then with all the lights out and I loved it. Genuinely one of the best times I've had with my friends because we were all anxious and scared
I'm so glad you guys have mentioned House of Leaves as much as you have. I finally bought it a few weeks ago and decided to pick it up as the first book I've read in awhile, I have about 100 pages left and I've loved every moment of that fucking book, genuinely one of the scariest stories I've experienced in awhile
My favorite part was when they said “it’s skinamarinking time!”
Dude when the Skinamarink showed up and said "It's skinamarinkin' time" and then skinamarinked all over them was peak filmmaking.
Edit: Someone already made this exact joke but using "skinamarink" as a verb is so funny that I don't care
At 17 yr old and a die hard of horror films, this movie made my skin crawl and almost fell asleep like hopefully many of people but this film has made it to my top ten ❤
I would love to see what dead meat thinks of the outwaters! I dont really enjoy movies of that style but there were some scenes that really terrified me!!! There are lots of rly negative reviews but i think its sorta something u gotta know what to expect going in and a lot of people were expecting a narrative film.
I was one of the people that was instantly enthralled by this movie. I went into it with the idea that it might not be for me and I might not like it, but I wanted to give it a fair shake. I saw it alone, at night, in a movie theater with maybe 7 other people there. The movie had me terrified from very early on and in an almost subliminal way. I noticed at times I subconsciously held my breath or gripped the arms of the seat too hard ( not realizing I was doing this until the moment of dread had passed.) The movie is like a waking nightmare or a blocked out memory from childhood. It evokes the feeling of being a child in a dark room and wanting to get up to leave, but can't because of the fear of what might be out in the hallway. The feeling of being at a child at a park and losing sight of your parents. Skinamarink was haunting, unnerving, and uncomfortable. Everything from the static to the muffled sound made the most mundane things like toys, TVs, and hallways seem surreal and terrifying.
Molly is actually precious sitting there
The fact that some people watched this film while falling asleep in bed unnerves me greatly. One time, last year, I fell asleep with Forensic Files on autoplay and had very feverish, disjointed night terrors for what ended up being 5 hours straight. Sometimes I was half awake and could tell the tv was on but, when I tried to call for someone to help me, nothing came out of my mouth. It felt like sleep paralysis. I can't remember what happened in the dreams or what I saw, only how cold, damp, and shaken I felt when I woke up.
That was caused by a show I regularly watch so I can't imagine how frightening my night would be if Skinamarink was playing in the background.
This film reminds me of the many things my child self experienced due to how disordered my sleep was. Nightmares, night terrors, sleep paralysis, imagining silhouettes in the dark, intrusive thoughts manifesting as voices. It hits this primal area of my brain that I've kept hidden for a long time.
I purposely waited until my fiancée was out of town so I could absorb this movie while in an dark, empty, quiet apartment. Boy did I regret it afterwards lol
I don't think I could have said it better myself, as I was reading House of leaves I was just screaming into nothing that Mike Flanagan really needs to make this into a long-form series because he would truly do it justice. Definitely add on the folks that made this film and it could be amazing
The second I heard about this movie I *had* to hear y'all's opinion of it. Definitely not your typical high stakes, high kill count film but so eerie and interesting in its own experimental film way. Thank you for your insight! Great work as always!
And you can’t even make a Kill Count for this since, arguably, no one ever actually dies…. 😬
@@ArDeeMeeKaylee did, I think?
@@IrieTheGreat Maybe, maybe not. Everything happens offscreen, which makes the atmosphere even more suffocating.
@@ArDeeMee dude we literally saw her die in the movie
This movie quickly became my favorite horror movie. The vibes of it really brought out the childhood trauma. It captured the feeling of how it felt to be a young kid and deal with scary things you can't understand.
And that fucking phone jumpscare- the only thing to ever make me scream.
So excited that you guys are covering it!!!
Chelsea is such a good dog mom ❤ ❤❤
James talking about that jumpscare game just sparked a memory or feeling i didn’t know i had
Went to the theater to see this completely blind. I've never been more uncomfortable after a movie. Couldn't get out quickly enough. I'm not sure if I liked the movie, but it was highly effective as a horror moviegoing experience.
I really didn't watch this episode of the podcast bc I have a HUGE fear of SKM bc it hits every single thing i fear most, so for the past two weeks i've been on edge (i have to get up really early and basically fumble through the dark with my phone flashlight so like, SKM put me extra on edge) but the thumbnail for this video single handedly broke that paranoia bubble i've been in. So thank you to whichever person decided to use that.
As someone who saw this in theaters, I can say that’s the worst way to view it. The grainy, low quality look of this film was absolute torture on my eyes.
I figured I’d be fine since I loved Cloverfield in theaters, but Skinamarink gave me a headache so I just dipped and watched M3gan instead.
I'll be honest, i have yet to finish this movie in full in one sitting because it is one of the most terrifying movies I've come across. There's just something about the framing, the timing, and the audio direction that makes my skin crawl the moment I turn it on and never leaves. I have to break it up into sections because it's just too much for me. Kudos to the director for making my skin crawl like no other film really has.