Blending found footage and what appears to be grainy 16mm (they shot the film on an early Dv as a matter of fact), Kyle McConaghy and Joe DeBoer’s Dead Mail embraces the creepiness of its concept. Like Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow or Kyle Edward Ball’s Skinamarink, this is the stuff of subconscious nightmares, though Dead Mail falls slightly more into the slasher camp. The film is effectively creepy from the feeling that––à la Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers––it’s a relic of the past. Also, like Schoenbrun’s film, it suggests a story that could have been imagined from a 20/20 segment or a late-night documentary that a child should not have watched after their bedtime but nevertheless did.
Dead Mail delivers something original, playing its horror down the line, no doubt influenced by lesser slasher movies. Yet the picture is grounded in...
Dead Mail delivers something original, playing its horror down the line, no doubt influenced by lesser slasher movies. Yet the picture is grounded in...
- 3/26/2024
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
The campy erotic horror Suitable Flesh, from director Joe Lynch (Mayhem, Chillerama) and adapted from H.P. Lovecraft’s cult favorite short story, is streaming exclusively on Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers and the supernatural. The film will also be available to stream on AMC+.
Psychiatrist Elizabeth Derby becomes obsessed with helping a young patient who’s suffering from extreme personality disorder. However, it soon leads her into occult danger as she tries to escape from a horrific fate. Starring Heather Graham (Boogie Nights), Judah Lewis (The Babysitter), Bruce Davison (X-Men, Ozark) and Barbara Crampton (Superhost).
Suitable Flesh was produced by Crampton, Bob Portal, Inderpal Singh and Joe Wicker.
About Shudder
AMC Networks’ Shudder is a premium streaming video service, super-serving members with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. Shudder’s expanding library of film, TV series, and Original Content is...
Psychiatrist Elizabeth Derby becomes obsessed with helping a young patient who’s suffering from extreme personality disorder. However, it soon leads her into occult danger as she tries to escape from a horrific fate. Starring Heather Graham (Boogie Nights), Judah Lewis (The Babysitter), Bruce Davison (X-Men, Ozark) and Barbara Crampton (Superhost).
Suitable Flesh was produced by Crampton, Bob Portal, Inderpal Singh and Joe Wicker.
About Shudder
AMC Networks’ Shudder is a premium streaming video service, super-serving members with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. Shudder’s expanding library of film, TV series, and Original Content is...
- 2/2/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
In the space of just two movies, Jane Schoenbrun has established a completely unique aesthetic; from the opening credits alone, a riot of black light and neon pastels, it’s obvious that I Saw the TV Glow comes from the same mind that created the trippy 2021 cult hit We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. Anyone puzzled by the latter is advised to stay clear, since the follow-up is more vertiginously dizzying and twice as impressionistic, causing lots of head-scratching at its Sundance premiere. For those ready and willing to embrace its commitment to mood over logic, I Saw the TV Glow is a must-see, pairing the otherworldly ambience of Kyle Edward Ball’s Skinamarink with the morbid surrealism of Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York.
The film’s loose storyline involves a seventh-grader named Owen, a pupil at a school that appears to be...
The film’s loose storyline involves a seventh-grader named Owen, a pupil at a school that appears to be...
- 1/19/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
2023 featured several terrific horror movies, but "Skinamarink," Kyle Edward Ball's ultra-low budget indie that took the horror world by storm early in the year, was the most unconventional. Set in a suburban home in which the doors and windows suddenly vanish, the story (such as it is) focuses on two young children who are trapped in the house with a mysterious evil entity. The camera, often using locked-off shots, lingers on toys strewn about the floor, or light from the television set illuminating an otherwise darkened room. Characters speak in whispers when they speak at all. The movie is less concerned with plot than with capturing a very specific feeling: The lack of control audiences likely felt when they were young. Its glacial pace and lack of conventional structure turned off some audiences (myself included), but deeply impacted others who were slowly drawn in by the patient filmmaking and...
- 1/18/2024
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
In all honesty, the films of 2023 should take a backseat to the images we are seeing every day in Gaza, where journalists and average citizens have been recording and documenting a daily assault on their homes and livelihoods by the Idf. Whatever fakery we watched and enjoyed in the cinema this year should always be kept in perspective in importance with images that are real and actually happening right now. The Palestinians who have documented these important images have been targeted and killed with intent and purpose to silence what their photos and videos are showing and saying.
List of journalists who have been killed.
The below is of lesser note:
Best First Watches:
Angel’s Egg La belle noiseuse Centipede Horror Charley Varrick Coffy Crimson Gold...
In all honesty, the films of 2023 should take a backseat to the images we are seeing every day in Gaza, where journalists and average citizens have been recording and documenting a daily assault on their homes and livelihoods by the Idf. Whatever fakery we watched and enjoyed in the cinema this year should always be kept in perspective in importance with images that are real and actually happening right now. The Palestinians who have documented these important images have been targeted and killed with intent and purpose to silence what their photos and videos are showing and saying.
List of journalists who have been killed.
The below is of lesser note:
Best First Watches:
Angel’s Egg La belle noiseuse Centipede Horror Charley Varrick Coffy Crimson Gold...
- 1/3/2024
- by Soham Gadre
- The Film Stage
The end of the year always brings about reflection, so it felt appropriate to recall the moments that helped define 2023 in horror. As in, the unforgettable moments that shaped the conversation whether through watercooler discussions or going viral on social media. Consider this a fun trip down memory lane before 2024 ushers in its own new wave of horrors.
These ten memorable horror moments stood out, and catapulted their respective movies, video games, or TV series into the public conversation.
M3GAN – A Viral Killer Doll
Technically, one of the buzziest horror moments of the year began in 2022. From the very first look at the dancing queen in the trailer that debuted in October 2022, audiences were smitten. So much so that M3GAN went viral, and Blumhouse leaned into it in a way that ensured this early January release was a not-so-sleeper hit. We’d expect nothing less from the mind...
These ten memorable horror moments stood out, and catapulted their respective movies, video games, or TV series into the public conversation.
M3GAN – A Viral Killer Doll
Technically, one of the buzziest horror moments of the year began in 2022. From the very first look at the dancing queen in the trailer that debuted in October 2022, audiences were smitten. So much so that M3GAN went viral, and Blumhouse leaned into it in a way that ensured this early January release was a not-so-sleeper hit. We’d expect nothing less from the mind...
- 1/1/2024
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
2023 was a good year for villains. With social media discourse at an all-time low, public figures taking constant swipes at each other, and A.I. poised to render all news meaningless, it seems like the year was filled with nefarious people coming out of the woodwork to make our lives a little more stressful.
But no matter what nightmares we saw playing out in real life, we could rest in the knowledge that something equally evil or maybe even worse would be showing at our local cineplex or streaming platform. The horror genre is filled with larger-than-life foes from centuries-old monsters to futuristic killers and this year gave us villains in spades.
Some are humorous, some tragic, some pulled from reality, and some difficult to pin down. But regardless of their stories, the following ten villains made our lives just a little more terrifying – and if we don’t honor them here,...
But no matter what nightmares we saw playing out in real life, we could rest in the knowledge that something equally evil or maybe even worse would be showing at our local cineplex or streaming platform. The horror genre is filled with larger-than-life foes from centuries-old monsters to futuristic killers and this year gave us villains in spades.
Some are humorous, some tragic, some pulled from reality, and some difficult to pin down. But regardless of their stories, the following ten villains made our lives just a little more terrifying – and if we don’t honor them here,...
- 12/31/2023
- by Jenn Adams
- bloody-disgusting.com
Each winter, we invite Notebook contributors to take part in our unique twist on the year-end poll. Rather than tally their favorite new releases from the year, they’re asked to creatively pair a new release with an older film they watched for the first time that year: a “fantasy double feature.” We’re delighted by the range of responses this year; this year’s doubles offer up inspired combinations of moving-image art that might otherwise slip through the cracks.We invite you to plunge into this collective viewing scrapbook, which captures our writers at their most imaginative, adventurous, and thoughtful—maybe it'll motivate you to test some of these out (or come up with your own) over the holidays.We hope you enjoy the read, and find our sixteenth year appropriately sweet!{{notebook_form}}Paul AttardNEW: Skinamarink + Old: Room Film 1973Homebound horror films shrouded in darkness, ones that transform...
- 12/23/2023
- MUBI
(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)
There are some Cinderella stories in the history of the box office. We can look at something like the ultra-low-budget "Skinamarink" earlier this year, which made more than $2 million after it became a genuine viral conversation starter online. Produced for just $15,000, it's a nice little success story for director Kyle Edward Ball. Such things happen from time to time in defiance of the industry norms. But the biggest Cinderella story of all time, in every sense, happened in 2002 when "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" had a run for the ages on its way to becoming the biggest rom-com ever. Take that, "Runaway Bride."
Even for those who have absolutely no interest in this particular genre, the journey of this movie is unquestionably fascinating.
There are some Cinderella stories in the history of the box office. We can look at something like the ultra-low-budget "Skinamarink" earlier this year, which made more than $2 million after it became a genuine viral conversation starter online. Produced for just $15,000, it's a nice little success story for director Kyle Edward Ball. Such things happen from time to time in defiance of the industry norms. But the biggest Cinderella story of all time, in every sense, happened in 2002 when "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" had a run for the ages on its way to becoming the biggest rom-com ever. Take that, "Runaway Bride."
Even for those who have absolutely no interest in this particular genre, the journey of this movie is unquestionably fascinating.
- 9/10/2023
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Clockwise from top left: The Craft (Columbia Pictures), Malignant (Warner Bros. Pictures), Enys Men (British Film Institute), How To Blow Up A Pipeline (Neon)Photo: The A.V. Club
It’s the last full month of summer and Hulu is here to help you escape the heat with some refreshing new titles and genre favorites.
It’s the last full month of summer and Hulu is here to help you escape the heat with some refreshing new titles and genre favorites.
- 7/31/2023
- by Robert DeSalvo
- avclub.com
2023 has certainly given all those aspiring filmmakers on YouTube a good reason to keep chasing their dreams. First, there was the underground success of "Skinarmarink," an avant-garde horror film that was conceived by writer and director Kyle Edward Ball back when he was operating his YouTube channel, Bitesized Nightmares. Now, Danny and Michael Philippou, the Australian brothers who have amassed millions of subscribers thanks to their horror-comedy shorts on their YouTube channel, RackaRacka, are riding a wave of critical accolades thanks to their feature directing debut, "Talk to Me."
The film, which was written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, centers on a group of Australian teenagers who decide to mess with a supernatural artifact in the shape of a dead medium's embalmed hand and forearm, only to learn the hard way what happens when you recklessly meddle with these sorts of things. Chris Evangelista reviewed "Talk to Me" for...
The film, which was written by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, centers on a group of Australian teenagers who decide to mess with a supernatural artifact in the shape of a dead medium's embalmed hand and forearm, only to learn the hard way what happens when you recklessly meddle with these sorts of things. Chris Evangelista reviewed "Talk to Me" for...
- 7/28/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Ventriloquist demons go viral in Talk To Me, the feature film debut of twin brothers and co-directors Danny and Michael Philippou. While the A24 horror venture marks their first official foray into feature filmmaking, the duo have been uploading action-packed videos onto their YouTube channel, RackaRacka, since 2013. Unlike Kyle Edward Ball, another YouTuber-turned-filmmaker whose chilling feature debut Skinamarink released earlier this year, the Philippou’s prior output wasn’t necessarily horror-focused. To date, their channel is mostly comprised of stunts, comedy sketches, satirical vlogs and prank videos. This decade-spanning commitment to making content is likely what primed the brothers to helm Talk […]
The post “Film Sets Are the Best Film School”: YouTubers-Turned-Filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou on Their A24 Horror Debut Talk To Me first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Film Sets Are the Best Film School”: YouTubers-Turned-Filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou on Their A24 Horror Debut Talk To Me first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/27/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Ventriloquist demons go viral in Talk To Me, the feature film debut of twin brothers and co-directors Danny and Michael Philippou. While the A24 horror venture marks their first official foray into feature filmmaking, the duo have been uploading action-packed videos onto their YouTube channel, RackaRacka, since 2013. Unlike Kyle Edward Ball, another YouTuber-turned-filmmaker whose chilling feature debut Skinamarink released earlier this year, the Philippou’s prior output wasn’t necessarily horror-focused. To date, their channel is mostly comprised of stunts, comedy sketches, satirical vlogs and prank videos. This decade-spanning commitment to making content is likely what primed the brothers to helm Talk […]
The post “Film Sets Are the Best Film School”: YouTubers-Turned-Filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou on Their A24 Horror Debut Talk To Me first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Film Sets Are the Best Film School”: YouTubers-Turned-Filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou on Their A24 Horror Debut Talk To Me first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/27/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
‘Easily the most sinister and downright malevolent story put to film in a long time’
Inverse
‘An unsettling Rorschach test with a haunting ending that will settle in the pit of your stomach like a stone’
Empire
‘Skinamarink’s legacy is in its power to linger long after you finish… an important addition to the horror genre’s modern renaissance’
★★★★
Independent
‘Brilliantly evokes the feeling of your childhood where you thought there were things that go bump in the night’
Digital Spy
Watch if you dare… Skinamarink is coming to get you on Blu-ray, DVD and digital this summer.
This Shudder Original from writer-director Kyle Edward Ball – in his feature debut – has been striking fear into the hearts of horror fans and critics galore with its scare-inducing style that creeps up and hits you when you least expect it. Now this acclaimed chiller is set to bring the terror once...
Inverse
‘An unsettling Rorschach test with a haunting ending that will settle in the pit of your stomach like a stone’
Empire
‘Skinamarink’s legacy is in its power to linger long after you finish… an important addition to the horror genre’s modern renaissance’
★★★★
Independent
‘Brilliantly evokes the feeling of your childhood where you thought there were things that go bump in the night’
Digital Spy
Watch if you dare… Skinamarink is coming to get you on Blu-ray, DVD and digital this summer.
This Shudder Original from writer-director Kyle Edward Ball – in his feature debut – has been striking fear into the hearts of horror fans and critics galore with its scare-inducing style that creeps up and hits you when you least expect it. Now this acclaimed chiller is set to bring the terror once...
- 7/5/2023
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
To mark the release of Skinamarink on Blu-ray, DVD and digital 3 July 2023, we have a Blu-Ray to give away to a lucky winner.
This Shudder Original from writer-director Kyle Edward Ball – in his feature debut – has been striking fear into the hearts of horror fans and critics galore with its scare-inducing style that creeps up and hits you when you least expect it. Now this acclaimed chiller is set to bring the terror once more with Acorn Media’s home entertainment release on 3 July 2023.
When two siblings wake up in the middle of the night, their father is nowhere to be found and the windows and doors in their home have vanished… Fuelled by fear and anxiety, the pair take matters into their own hands… With pillows and blankets in hand, they build a den in the living room and watch old videotapes of their favourite cartoons to distract from the scary situation,...
This Shudder Original from writer-director Kyle Edward Ball – in his feature debut – has been striking fear into the hearts of horror fans and critics galore with its scare-inducing style that creeps up and hits you when you least expect it. Now this acclaimed chiller is set to bring the terror once more with Acorn Media’s home entertainment release on 3 July 2023.
When two siblings wake up in the middle of the night, their father is nowhere to be found and the windows and doors in their home have vanished… Fuelled by fear and anxiety, the pair take matters into their own hands… With pillows and blankets in hand, they build a den in the living room and watch old videotapes of their favourite cartoons to distract from the scary situation,...
- 6/29/2023
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Stars: Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul, Jaime Hill | Written and Directed by Kyle Edward Ball
Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.
Have you ever sat down to watch a movie that got tons of great word-of-mouth, only to watch it and think to yourself “How in the world did this film get so much praise? What am I missing here?” That’s the exact same feeling I got upon watching Kyle Edward Ball‘s feature directorial debut horror film Skinamarink, which initially premiered at the 26th Fantasia Film Festival last year.
Skinamarink is certainly an ambitious film, I must admit, but that doesn’t make it any good. In truth, it’s one of the most boring and uneventful films I’ve ever seen in my life.
Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.
Have you ever sat down to watch a movie that got tons of great word-of-mouth, only to watch it and think to yourself “How in the world did this film get so much praise? What am I missing here?” That’s the exact same feeling I got upon watching Kyle Edward Ball‘s feature directorial debut horror film Skinamarink, which initially premiered at the 26th Fantasia Film Festival last year.
Skinamarink is certainly an ambitious film, I must admit, but that doesn’t make it any good. In truth, it’s one of the most boring and uneventful films I’ve ever seen in my life.
- 6/29/2023
- by Guest
- Nerdly
Regardless of your thoughts on the movie, Skinamarink is a fascinating case study in independent filmmaking. The experimental horror effort leaked on the festival circuit and proceeded to spread online via word-of-mouth. The buzz resulted in a surprisingly successful theatrical release via IFC Midnight, which in turn helped to make it one of the most polarizing horror movies in recent memory.
Skinamarink has arrived on Blu-ray and DVD with a single special feature, but it’s the one I was hoping for: an audio commentary. Writer-director-editor Kyle Edward Ball and director of photography Jamie McRae casually discuss the making of the film
Here are seven things I learned from the Skinamarink Blu-ray commentary…
1. The film was shot in seven days in Ball’s childhood home for $15,000.
Production took place over the course of seven days, with eight hours or less of shooting each day. Pre-production and post-production, however, were much more time consuming.
Skinamarink has arrived on Blu-ray and DVD with a single special feature, but it’s the one I was hoping for: an audio commentary. Writer-director-editor Kyle Edward Ball and director of photography Jamie McRae casually discuss the making of the film
Here are seven things I learned from the Skinamarink Blu-ray commentary…
1. The film was shot in seven days in Ball’s childhood home for $15,000.
Production took place over the course of seven days, with eight hours or less of shooting each day. Pre-production and post-production, however, were much more time consuming.
- 6/20/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: Longtime IFC Films and Cinetic Media PR colleagues Laura Sok and Kate McEdwards are launching new PR and strategy firm, Track Shot.
Track Shot will be based in New York City and work across independent, foreign and genre films as well as distribution strategy. The duo brings more than two decades in the publicity and communications field as well as a deep knowledge of the distribution landscape. Sok and McEdwards have built and led hundreds of film campaigns during their careers working in-house and alongside major distributors on the agency side. Previously, they led PR efforts for IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Sundance Selects, IFC Films Unlimited (streaming service) and most recently Shudder and Rlje.
Their final campaign for IFC Films was Matt Johnson’s chart-topping BlackBerry. This year they also launched Kyle Edward Ball’s breakthrough feature Skinamarink for Shudder/IFC Films.
Among their many successful campaigns at IFC...
Track Shot will be based in New York City and work across independent, foreign and genre films as well as distribution strategy. The duo brings more than two decades in the publicity and communications field as well as a deep knowledge of the distribution landscape. Sok and McEdwards have built and led hundreds of film campaigns during their careers working in-house and alongside major distributors on the agency side. Previously, they led PR efforts for IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Sundance Selects, IFC Films Unlimited (streaming service) and most recently Shudder and Rlje.
Their final campaign for IFC Films was Matt Johnson’s chart-topping BlackBerry. This year they also launched Kyle Edward Ball’s breakthrough feature Skinamarink for Shudder/IFC Films.
Among their many successful campaigns at IFC...
- 6/13/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
CinemaCon has been going on in Las Vegas all week, with Hollywood's biggest studios and filmmakers showing theater owners of the world what they have coming down the pipeline. Martin Scorsese showed up to debut a first look at his much-anticipated new crime epic, "Killers of the Flower Moon." But the man behind "Goodfellas" and "Raging Bull" didn't just pop by to shill for his big new movie. Ever the champion of cinema, the legendary filmmaker made a strong case for theaters to get behind true-blue indie films.
/Film's own Ben Pearson was in attendance at the event where Scorsese spoke. At one point, the director urged exhibitors to showcase independent films. Not smaller arthouse films made by studios like A24, but truly indie films like Kevin Smith's "Clerks" or Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," which were made outside the studio system. Here's what Scorsese had...
/Film's own Ben Pearson was in attendance at the event where Scorsese spoke. At one point, the director urged exhibitors to showcase independent films. Not smaller arthouse films made by studios like A24, but truly indie films like Kevin Smith's "Clerks" or Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," which were made outside the studio system. Here's what Scorsese had...
- 4/28/2023
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
As the independent film landscape continues to feel the effects of a changing marketplace, IFC has lost another key executive. Laura Sok, who has served as IFC Films’ vice president of publicity for the past five years, is leaving the independent distributor. Sok confirmed to IndieWire that her departure was her decision and that she plans to announce a new opportunity soon.
News of Sok leaving IFC Films was first reported by Deadline. A representative for AMC Networks, IFC Films’ parent company, also confirmed with IndieWire Sok’s departure.
Sok has been at IFC Films for seven years. Since assuming her current role in 2018, Sok has run public relations for theatrical labels IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Sundance Selects, and the streaming service IFC Films Unlimited. In late 2022, she also began overseeing publicity for Shudder and Rlje Films labels. A 17-year veteran of indie film publicity, Sok previously held roles at Cinetic Media,...
News of Sok leaving IFC Films was first reported by Deadline. A representative for AMC Networks, IFC Films’ parent company, also confirmed with IndieWire Sok’s departure.
Sok has been at IFC Films for seven years. Since assuming her current role in 2018, Sok has run public relations for theatrical labels IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Sundance Selects, and the streaming service IFC Films Unlimited. In late 2022, she also began overseeing publicity for Shudder and Rlje Films labels. A 17-year veteran of indie film publicity, Sok previously held roles at Cinetic Media,...
- 4/24/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Deadline has learned that IFC Films’ longtime Head of PR Laura Sok will be departing the indie distribution company.
Sok has been Head of PR for the last five years in an overall seven-year career at IFC (she worked there from 2008-2010), and was first hired by Jonathan Sehring to run the department. She led public-relations efforts for IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Sundance Selects and streaming service IFC Films Unlimited. Last December, her oversight was expanded to include the labels Shudder and Rlje Films.
Sok led 20th anniversary efforts for IFC Films and was integral in constructing the 2020 drive-in release and promotion strategy during the pandemic. She also led publicity strategy and campaigns for all films during the most successful financial years in IFC Films history.
While Sok is one of many executives to recently leave IFC including distribution head Jasper Basch,...
Sok has been Head of PR for the last five years in an overall seven-year career at IFC (she worked there from 2008-2010), and was first hired by Jonathan Sehring to run the department. She led public-relations efforts for IFC Films, IFC Midnight, Sundance Selects and streaming service IFC Films Unlimited. Last December, her oversight was expanded to include the labels Shudder and Rlje Films.
Sok led 20th anniversary efforts for IFC Films and was integral in constructing the 2020 drive-in release and promotion strategy during the pandemic. She also led publicity strategy and campaigns for all films during the most successful financial years in IFC Films history.
While Sok is one of many executives to recently leave IFC including distribution head Jasper Basch,...
- 4/24/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Former Shudder chief Craig Engler and The Cartel, the production and finance company behind “Creepshow” have teamed up to launch Shiver Studios, a new genre company with plans to make and finance up to 10 horror films a year.
Based in Los Angeles, Shiver Studios will focus on a theatrical-first approach, looking to ride the recent trend of indie horror hits such as Shudder’s release of micro-budget hit horror feature “Skinamarink,” directed by Kyle Edward Ball. Prior to his departure from Shudder Engler oversaw the release of “Skinamarink” which has grossed $2 million in theaters on a budget of $15,000.
The overall plan is for Shiver to follow its theatrical releases with a Tvod, SVOD, AVOD, linear and physical windowing strategy, working with partners that include both streamers and traditional distributors, the nascent studio specified in a statement.
The first announced projects in the Shiver Studios pipeline are:
– “Incident at Joshua Tree...
Based in Los Angeles, Shiver Studios will focus on a theatrical-first approach, looking to ride the recent trend of indie horror hits such as Shudder’s release of micro-budget hit horror feature “Skinamarink,” directed by Kyle Edward Ball. Prior to his departure from Shudder Engler oversaw the release of “Skinamarink” which has grossed $2 million in theaters on a budget of $15,000.
The overall plan is for Shiver to follow its theatrical releases with a Tvod, SVOD, AVOD, linear and physical windowing strategy, working with partners that include both streamers and traditional distributors, the nascent studio specified in a statement.
The first announced projects in the Shiver Studios pipeline are:
– “Incident at Joshua Tree...
- 4/14/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Universal Pictures will Release Blumhouse’s Five Nights At Freddy’S on Friday, October 27, 2023: "Can you survive five nights?
The terrifying horror game phenomenon becomes a blood-chilling cinematic event, as Blumhouse— the producer of M3GAN, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man—joins forces with legendary game creator Scott Cawthon for Five Nights at Freddy’s.
The film follows a troubled security guard as he begins working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. While spending his first night on the job, he realizes the night shift at Freddy’s won’t be so easy to make it through.
Starring Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail, Kat Conner Sterling, Piper Rubio and Mary Stuart Masterson. Five Nights at Freddy’s is directed by Emma Tammi and is written by Scott Cawthon, Emma Tammi and Seth Cuddeback.
The film’s iconic animatronic characters will be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.Five Nights...
The terrifying horror game phenomenon becomes a blood-chilling cinematic event, as Blumhouse— the producer of M3GAN, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man—joins forces with legendary game creator Scott Cawthon for Five Nights at Freddy’s.
The film follows a troubled security guard as he begins working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. While spending his first night on the job, he realizes the night shift at Freddy’s won’t be so easy to make it through.
Starring Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail, Kat Conner Sterling, Piper Rubio and Mary Stuart Masterson. Five Nights at Freddy’s is directed by Emma Tammi and is written by Scott Cawthon, Emma Tammi and Seth Cuddeback.
The film’s iconic animatronic characters will be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.Five Nights...
- 4/7/2023
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
A viral hit on the festival scene, Kyle Edward Ball’s experimental fright flick Skinamarink scared up $2 million at the box office this year, and the film is now headed home to Blu-ray.
Skinamarink comes to Blu-ray and DVD on June 20 via Rlje Films.
Special Features include…
Audio commentary by writer-director Kyle Edward Ball and cinematographer Jamie McRae Trailer
[Related] Why Scary New Movie ‘Skinamarink’ Will Make You Afraid of the Dark Again
In Skinamarink, “Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. To cope with the strange situation, the two bring pillows and blankets to the living room and settle into a quiet slumber party situation. They play well worn videotapes of cartoons to fill the silence of the house and distract from the frightening and inexplicable situation. All the while...
Skinamarink comes to Blu-ray and DVD on June 20 via Rlje Films.
Special Features include…
Audio commentary by writer-director Kyle Edward Ball and cinematographer Jamie McRae Trailer
[Related] Why Scary New Movie ‘Skinamarink’ Will Make You Afraid of the Dark Again
In Skinamarink, “Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. To cope with the strange situation, the two bring pillows and blankets to the living room and settle into a quiet slumber party situation. They play well worn videotapes of cartoons to fill the silence of the house and distract from the frightening and inexplicable situation. All the while...
- 4/7/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
We are currently living through an exciting time in the horror genre. It seems that as long as you've got a good enough team on your hands, even the lowest-budget and experimental of movies can secure nationwide theatrical releases. The unexpected success of "Skinamarink" earlier this year proved as such, and it's likely that you will hear Kyle Edward Ball's debut talked about alongside distributor Neon and director Mark Jenkin's new release, "Enys Men." This won't exactly be for undeserved reasons — both movies are period pieces with minimal dialogue, eerie cinematography, and an overarching feeling of wrongness embedded in their very cores.
However, what makes "Enys Men" different from its analog contemporary lies in how far more abstract its message is. In 1973, a woman (Mary Woodvine) is tasked with monitoring the natural surroundings of an island with a devastating history. However, when lichen begins to grow on the island's flowers,...
However, what makes "Enys Men" different from its analog contemporary lies in how far more abstract its message is. In 1973, a woman (Mary Woodvine) is tasked with monitoring the natural surroundings of an island with a devastating history. However, when lichen begins to grow on the island's flowers,...
- 3/31/2023
- by Erin Brady
- Slash Film
We are only a matter of weeks into 2023, but a strong contender for the title of “scariest movie” in some folks’ minds has already emerged in Skinamarink. The idea of the “scariest movie ever,” i.e. a horror film that generates word-of-mouth buzz, might seem like a modern concept but it actually goes back nearly a century. One of the first examples can be traced back to 1932 and the tastefully titled Freaks, a movie centered around a beautiful trapeze artist who schemes to steal a side-show performer’s inheritance only to be thwarted by his deformed cohorts.
Featuring real life circus performers, the movie was drastically recut by MGM after test screenings in which several terrified audience members “got up and ran out.” Today, those kinds of reports would be worth their weight in gold, but back then they led to the 90-minute running time being slashed to just 64, with...
Featuring real life circus performers, the movie was drastically recut by MGM after test screenings in which several terrified audience members “got up and ran out.” Today, those kinds of reports would be worth their weight in gold, but back then they led to the 90-minute running time being slashed to just 64, with...
- 2/20/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Hollywood loves to pat itself on the back, touting successes in the moment at the expense of seeing the bigger picture. You couldn’t ask for a more literal demonstration of that narrow-minded tendency than Steven Spielberg crediting Tom Cruise for “saving Hollywood’s ass” and possibly “the entire theatrical industry” as well.
That exchange went viral this past week in a clip of the two men at the annual Oscar nominee luncheon, and it stood out as a rare peek at the self-congratulatory echo chamber where the industry lives at its highest levels. As this weekly column looks at sustainability for the film community, Spielberg’s remarks demanded a closer look.
If your entire definition of the theatrical industry comes down to box-office juggernauts, then sure, Spielberg has a point: “Top Gun: Maverick” made close to 2 billion after two years of doom-and-gloom prognostication that exhibition was on a downward slope.
That exchange went viral this past week in a clip of the two men at the annual Oscar nominee luncheon, and it stood out as a rare peek at the self-congratulatory echo chamber where the industry lives at its highest levels. As this weekly column looks at sustainability for the film community, Spielberg’s remarks demanded a closer look.
If your entire definition of the theatrical industry comes down to box-office juggernauts, then sure, Spielberg has a point: “Top Gun: Maverick” made close to 2 billion after two years of doom-and-gloom prognostication that exhibition was on a downward slope.
- 2/18/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
At first glance, Robbie Banfitch's found footage nightmare, "The Outwaters," may read as experimental. It certainly has to a lot of viewers, and the Letterboxd review section is peppered with the word. But Banfitch, who not only wrote and directed the movie but also starred in it, never viewed the film this way.
"I never thought of 'The Outwaters' as experimental as I was making it," the multi-hyphenate told "Skinamarink" writer-director Kyle Edward Ball in a recent New York Times interview. "The logic of the story — what would be filmed or not in the situation — makes it experimental in parts. But that was never the plan."
The movie's gory descent into hell — which follows a group of friends who set out to film a music video in a secluded region of the Mojave Desert — is a wild ride, the kind of film that needs to be seen to be believed.
"I never thought of 'The Outwaters' as experimental as I was making it," the multi-hyphenate told "Skinamarink" writer-director Kyle Edward Ball in a recent New York Times interview. "The logic of the story — what would be filmed or not in the situation — makes it experimental in parts. But that was never the plan."
The movie's gory descent into hell — which follows a group of friends who set out to film a music video in a secluded region of the Mojave Desert — is a wild ride, the kind of film that needs to be seen to be believed.
- 2/16/2023
- by Lex Briscuso
- Slash Film
Thanks to the insatiable appetite of horror fans for the twisted and depraved, the independent film scene has seen some recent microbudget box office hits, from “Terrifier 2” to “Skinamarink.” The next one may come from the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.”
Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, “Blood and Honey” reimagines Winnie the Pooh and Piglet as bloodthirsty slasher villains bent on revenge against Christopher Robin after he left them behind upon reaching adulthood. The film’s first trailer was a viral hit after it was released this past August, and now event film distributor Fathom Events will be bringing “Blood and Honey” to approximately 1,500 theaters starting February 15 for a nine-day limited engagement.
“There are so many films with the usual horror monsters, like werewolves and ghosts, and we want to make something that really stood out,” Frake-Waterfield told TheWrap. “I thought that maybe if we were lucky,...
Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, “Blood and Honey” reimagines Winnie the Pooh and Piglet as bloodthirsty slasher villains bent on revenge against Christopher Robin after he left them behind upon reaching adulthood. The film’s first trailer was a viral hit after it was released this past August, and now event film distributor Fathom Events will be bringing “Blood and Honey” to approximately 1,500 theaters starting February 15 for a nine-day limited engagement.
“There are so many films with the usual horror monsters, like werewolves and ghosts, and we want to make something that really stood out,” Frake-Waterfield told TheWrap. “I thought that maybe if we were lucky,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
“Skinamarink,” the low-budget first feature from Kyle Edward Ball, is an arresting-looking horror film designed to succeed within creative financial constraints. A stew of digitally-replicated film grain and oblique angles make what you see unnerving, but Ball designed “Skinamarink” so that what you hear from beyond the frame is truly the stuff of nightmares.
Filmed over a week in his parents’ house — where they blocked out all light using a combination of Blackwrap tape and black seamless paper — Ball and his team carefully constructed a house of horrors for siblings Kevin (Lucas Paul) and Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault), left alone and unsure of what might be in the house with them after their father mysteriously vanishes, and all openings in and out of the house abruptly disappear.
Ball’s film is a ticking tomb bomb of terror where wooden beam creaks and crackling carpet lead to the sensation of the...
Filmed over a week in his parents’ house — where they blocked out all light using a combination of Blackwrap tape and black seamless paper — Ball and his team carefully constructed a house of horrors for siblings Kevin (Lucas Paul) and Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault), left alone and unsure of what might be in the house with them after their father mysteriously vanishes, and all openings in and out of the house abruptly disappear.
Ball’s film is a ticking tomb bomb of terror where wooden beam creaks and crackling carpet lead to the sensation of the...
- 2/16/2023
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Fresh off the heels of Kyle Edward Ball's haunting analog horror film, "Skinamarink," horror fans have been served up a delectable bit of dread in the form of Robbie Banfitch's "The Outwaters." /Film's own Lex Brisuco described the film in her review as, "a movie that rightfully feels like our generation's 'Blair Witch Project' but also manages to be unique, specific, and wholly singular." It's a bold statement indeed, but one that is not without merit. "The Outwaters" is compelling, creepy, and loaded with a fresh take on cosmic horror that at times feels downright dangerous. It's the type of found footage movie you feel like you could watch for hours, keeping you glued to the screen with the same sense of morbid curiosity often only found by pre-teens exploring unregulated internet forums at the turn of the millennium.
Written, directed by, and starring Robbie Banfitch,...
Written, directed by, and starring Robbie Banfitch,...
- 2/16/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
February Skinamarink Directed by Kyle Edward Ball Streaming Exclusively on Shudder February 2nd, 2023 Opened In Theaters on January 13th, 2023 via IFC Films *Skinamarink crossed 1 million at the North American box office 6 days into release on partial screens – earning the film an impressive 67X its production budget of 15K* Director/Writer: Kyle …
The post Shudder | 2023 February Program Guide appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
The post Shudder | 2023 February Program Guide appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
- 2/12/2023
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
Microbudget independent horror is certainly having a moment. Kyle Edward Ball’s experimental haunted house flick Skinamarink has grossed $2 million to date on a $15,000 budget, and 17-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons will turn his lo-fi viral series The Backrooms into a feature film for A24. Similarly reinvigorating a long-reliable medium for first-time horror filmmakers, Robbie Banfitch’s found footage gem The Outwaters defies genre expectations while showing seasoned gore hounds exactly what they want to see (and perhaps a few things they’ll probably wish they hadn’t). The film’s writer, director, cinematographer, editor and producer, Banfitch also stars as Robbie Zagorac, the camera-wielding […]
The post “Everything Looks Better if You Throw Some Dirt and Blood on It”: Robbie Banfitch on The Outwaters first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Everything Looks Better if You Throw Some Dirt and Blood on It”: Robbie Banfitch on The Outwaters first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/10/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Microbudget independent horror is certainly having a moment. Kyle Edward Ball’s experimental haunted house flick Skinamarink has grossed $2 million to date on a $15,000 budget, and 17-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons will turn his lo-fi viral series The Backrooms into a feature film for A24. Similarly reinvigorating a long-reliable medium for first-time horror filmmakers, Robbie Banfitch’s found footage gem The Outwaters defies genre expectations while showing seasoned gore hounds exactly what they want to see (and perhaps a few things they’ll probably wish they hadn’t). The film’s writer, director, cinematographer, editor and producer, Banfitch also stars as Robbie Zagorac, the camera-wielding […]
The post “Everything Looks Better if You Throw Some Dirt and Blood on It”: Robbie Banfitch on The Outwaters first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Everything Looks Better if You Throw Some Dirt and Blood on It”: Robbie Banfitch on The Outwaters first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 2/10/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The Outwaters, Robbie Banfitch’s compellingly creepy new horror flick, takes the found-footage genre and the lost-in-the-desert nightmare, smashes them together, and spins them off their axis. Watching it, I kept thinking of that Matt Damon and Casey Affleck movie Gerry, from 2002, about two men who go off-trail during a desert hike, lose their way, and suffer from delirium until one of them is killed by the other. The Outwaters sometimes feels like a nightmare inverse of that movie, in which the people involved, camping out in the Mojave Desert to film a music video,...
- 2/9/2023
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
We’re less than a quarter into 2023 and independent horror appears to be having a moment. Technically it started several months ago when Kyle Edward Ball’s “liminal horror” Skinamarink gained word-of-mouth buzz after leaking online, but its official release in January spawned an inexplicable indie hit. A slow, dread-inducing experimental work made on a micro-budget, Skinamarink received comparisons to avant-garde filmmakers like the late Michael Snow and somehow earned millions in a semi-wide release. One month later we have Robbie Banfitch’s The Outwaters, a found-footage horror movie with an experimental edge. Given both films’ willingness to buck convention, earn raves from terrified viewers, and receive theatrical runs so close together, lumping both Skinamarink and The Outwaters together feels inevitable (even the New York Times had the directors interview each other when reporting on them).
So with that context established, let’s compare. Both are slow burns taking their...
So with that context established, let’s compare. Both are slow burns taking their...
- 2/9/2023
- by C.J. Prince
- The Film Stage
The YouTube-to-feature-filmmaking pipeline will only become more common in the years to come as young creators who develop their voice on the platform get scouted for bigger projects, but for now, each major success story is making headlines. As the 15,000-budgeted Skinamarink––the directorial debut of Kyle Edward Ball, who honed his craft on YouTube for years––is about to cross the 2 million mark at the box office, another horror film creator on the platform is getting his shot in the big leagues.
17-year-old Kane Parsons, whose viral video series The Backrooms has racked up nearly 100 million views on YouTube, has now been set by A24, James Wan’s Atomic Monster, Chernin Entertainment, and 21 Laps to direct a feature adaption of the sci-fi horror feature, Deadline reports. Scripted by Roberto Patino, there are no plot details on this feature adaptation, but the original series is set in the mid-...
17-year-old Kane Parsons, whose viral video series The Backrooms has racked up nearly 100 million views on YouTube, has now been set by A24, James Wan’s Atomic Monster, Chernin Entertainment, and 21 Laps to direct a feature adaption of the sci-fi horror feature, Deadline reports. Scripted by Roberto Patino, there are no plot details on this feature adaptation, but the original series is set in the mid-...
- 2/7/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The nightmarish and surreal bit of Internet folklore about a never-ending maze of empty fluorescent hallways known as the Backrooms is getting a proper film adaptation. A collaboration between four different production companies including A24, the film will be the feature-length product of 17-year-old Youtuber Kane Parsons. Roberto Patino, the showrunner of HBO Max's "Dmz" and a writer and executive producer of HBO's "Westworld," will pen the script. Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Entertainment, the production company behind "Stranger Things," as well as James Wan's Atomic Monster, which most recently produced "M3GAN," are also on board to finance the project. In addition, Chernin Entertainment, which has historically produced for 20th Century Fox but is currently working with Netflix on releases like "Fear Street," is signed on.
Known by his channel name "Kane Pixels," Parsons piqued the interest of horror aficionados with his short film "The Backrooms (Found Footage...
Known by his channel name "Kane Pixels," Parsons piqued the interest of horror aficionados with his short film "The Backrooms (Found Footage...
- 2/6/2023
- by Andrew Housman
- Slash Film
K-Pop legend BTS may be on hiatus but fans are decidedly not. Concert film BTS: Yet To Come hit no. 5 at the North American Box office this weekend with 5.1 million on 1,100+ screens, for a cume topping 7.8 million from the first showing Feb. 1.
The group announced last year it was planning to take a break. In October, after their one-off live concert to support the bid by Busan, Korea’s second biggest city, for the World Expo 2030, BTS said its seven members were planning to fulfill the Korean government’s mandatory military service and reconvene as a group in 2025. That concert footage has been cut, re-edited and remixed for the big screen.
“The members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service. After the phenomenal concert to support Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030, and as each individual embarks on solo endeavors, it’s the...
The group announced last year it was planning to take a break. In October, after their one-off live concert to support the bid by Busan, Korea’s second biggest city, for the World Expo 2030, BTS said its seven members were planning to fulfill the Korean government’s mandatory military service and reconvene as a group in 2025. That concert footage has been cut, re-edited and remixed for the big screen.
“The members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service. After the phenomenal concert to support Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030, and as each individual embarks on solo endeavors, it’s the...
- 2/5/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Leicester Square, London. A damp Saturday night in January. The Odeon, the largest cinema on the square, shines bright blue, the outside screens projecting images of Na’vi, hoping to entice us to step inside and watch Avatar: The Way of Water. Nearby, another of the large cinemas is covered in posters of Margot Robbie being carried through a blazing party; Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, which cost 90 million to make, is playing there. It’s not too busy—unlike around the corner where something remarkable is happening.
A line has formed outside the Prince Charles Cinema, a beloved theater known for spotlighting cult classics and frequently showing The Room. Now a queue isn’t exactly a rarity (we’re in Britain after all), but what these people are lining up for is. They’re not here for a Hollywood star paying a visit (although Brendan Fraiser was there a few...
A line has formed outside the Prince Charles Cinema, a beloved theater known for spotlighting cult classics and frequently showing The Room. Now a queue isn’t exactly a rarity (we’re in Britain after all), but what these people are lining up for is. They’re not here for a Hollywood star paying a visit (although Brendan Fraiser was there a few...
- 2/4/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Pablo Picasso is often credited with having said that good artists borrow and great artists steal. Obviously, the Spanish painter wasn’t referring to plagiarism, but instead insinuating that ideas grow when they inspire other artists to make them their own. After all, all art is part of a larger cultural ouroboros – an ever-growing creature that perpetually eats its own tail.
The fun part of this infinite cycle of influences comes when we try to identify pivotal moments in culture that appear to have been “stolen” from repeatedly. And when it comes to the horror genre, there is one specific work of literature that had a hand in everything from the rise of Found Footage to the success of recent horror phenomena like the Backrooms creepypasta and even Kyle Edward Ball’s Skinamarink. Naturally, I’m referring to Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, an experimental novel that you...
The fun part of this infinite cycle of influences comes when we try to identify pivotal moments in culture that appear to have been “stolen” from repeatedly. And when it comes to the horror genre, there is one specific work of literature that had a hand in everything from the rise of Found Footage to the success of recent horror phenomena like the Backrooms creepypasta and even Kyle Edward Ball’s Skinamarink. Naturally, I’m referring to Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, an experimental novel that you...
- 2/3/2023
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
With fuzzy images that behave more like memories or nightmares and less like a straight-up depiction of a haunted house, “Skinamarink” doesn’t make it easy to tell what’s happening onscreen. Kyle Edward Ball’s micro-budget horror sensation makes audiences peer through a swirling fog of simulated film grain at unexpected, sometimes jarring angles, and we can’t help but imagine the worst for the two small siblings who suddenly realize they’re trapped inside their own home. Ball and his collaborators strategically chose a small number of fairly simple tools to achieve the film’s lo-fi look, where sometimes even the image noise itself seems haunted.
Low Light, High Iso
“Skinamarink” was shot on location in Ball’s parents’ house, where the windows were blacked out and a flickering TV set was often cinematographer Jamie McRae’s only lighting source. In such an environment, the measure of the camera sensor’s light sensitivity,...
Low Light, High Iso
“Skinamarink” was shot on location in Ball’s parents’ house, where the windows were blacked out and a flickering TV set was often cinematographer Jamie McRae’s only lighting source. In such an environment, the measure of the camera sensor’s light sensitivity,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Horror fans have a new contender for “scariest film ever” on their hands.
Each new year sees the release of a bunch of buzzy new titles hoping to be met with acclaim and approval from fans of the genre.
In the last five years, films that generated word-of-mouth excitement ahead of being unveiled included Ari Aster’s Hereditary, Dashcam in 2021 and, last year, Terrifier 2.
Now, you can add Skinamarink to that list.
The film, an independent release from Canadian director Kyle Edward Ball that cost just 15,000 to make, is currently making waves on the horror scene. It’s now available to stream on Shudder.
To fully explain the plot of Skinamarink would be to spoil its surprises. All you need to know is that it follows two young children, played by Lucas Paul and Kaylee Dali Rose Tetreault, who wake up in the middle of the night to discover...
Each new year sees the release of a bunch of buzzy new titles hoping to be met with acclaim and approval from fans of the genre.
In the last five years, films that generated word-of-mouth excitement ahead of being unveiled included Ari Aster’s Hereditary, Dashcam in 2021 and, last year, Terrifier 2.
Now, you can add Skinamarink to that list.
The film, an independent release from Canadian director Kyle Edward Ball that cost just 15,000 to make, is currently making waves on the horror scene. It’s now available to stream on Shudder.
To fully explain the plot of Skinamarink would be to spoil its surprises. All you need to know is that it follows two young children, played by Lucas Paul and Kaylee Dali Rose Tetreault, who wake up in the middle of the night to discover...
- 2/3/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Midway into the film, a disembodied voice whispers into the swallowing blackness: “look under the bed.” A young girl named Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault) bends down to take a peek, the camera following her gaze. It’s not that nothing happens in this moment, but it’s the anticipation that sends goosebumps racing down the spine. What could be tucked away beneath a bed一the boogeyman, an impish spirit, a vengeful demon一is what real-life terror is made of. It’s bumps in the night, creaky floorboards, and wind rustling through the attic. When night falls, there’s no escaping it. That’s what it is like experiencing Kyle Edward Ball’s scary feature film debut Skinamarink, a highly-stylized lo-fi experiment in imagination and unbridled fear of the dark.
Krystal Lewis, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, believes a fear of the dark often relies on...
Krystal Lewis, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health, believes a fear of the dark often relies on...
- 2/2/2023
- by Bee Delores
- bloody-disgusting.com
The thing you should know about Skinamarink going in is that it’s a movie which does everything in its power to not be a movie. Call it an experience, call it an experiment, call it a nightmare simulator. Whatever it is, it’s unlike any movie you’ll see this year, skirting almost every cinematic convention you’ve ever heard about.
The actors’ faces, for example, are never shown. Virtually every shot seems to have no clear focus, with objects and subjects obscured or only partially in-frame, the camera seemingly misplaced and left on by mistake. Shots are often uncomfortably long and lingering, the image quality is oppressively lo-fi, and there’s no traditional soundtrack to speak of. On the surface, it’s almost as if the movie wasn’t meant to be watched by an audience at all. But Skinamarink, directed by Kyle Edward Ball in his feature debut,...
The actors’ faces, for example, are never shown. Virtually every shot seems to have no clear focus, with objects and subjects obscured or only partially in-frame, the camera seemingly misplaced and left on by mistake. Shots are often uncomfortably long and lingering, the image quality is oppressively lo-fi, and there’s no traditional soundtrack to speak of. On the surface, it’s almost as if the movie wasn’t meant to be watched by an audience at all. But Skinamarink, directed by Kyle Edward Ball in his feature debut,...
- 2/2/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Love is in the air this February, particularly regarding horror. The month is packed with theatrical darlings finding new homes on streaming, brand-new originals, and unearthed deep cuts. February has everything from polarizing indie darlings to sleeper hits and beyond.
Here are ten noteworthy horror titles available for streaming in February 2023 on some of the most popular streaming services, along with when/where you can watch them.
The Loved Ones – Paramount+
What’s February without horror romances? This brutal feature introduces Lola, who wants to be a princess and find Prince Charming. She decides that Brent is the one and invites him to the school dance. When he rejects her offer, and she sees him with another girl, Lola decides she’ll get what she wants. Lola doesn’t take rejection lightly, and things get downright brutal. The truth is that maybe no one will love her as much as daddy,...
Here are ten noteworthy horror titles available for streaming in February 2023 on some of the most popular streaming services, along with when/where you can watch them.
The Loved Ones – Paramount+
What’s February without horror romances? This brutal feature introduces Lola, who wants to be a princess and find Prince Charming. She decides that Brent is the one and invites him to the school dance. When he rejects her offer, and she sees him with another girl, Lola decides she’ll get what she wants. Lola doesn’t take rejection lightly, and things get downright brutal. The truth is that maybe no one will love her as much as daddy,...
- 2/1/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Despite comparisons to Blair Witch and Eraserhead, and a scary premise, this atmospheric debut feature runs out of steam
This experimental lo-fi horror debut became a mini viral sensation last year after accidentally being leaked online. Terrorised TikTok users called it “the scariest film ever made”; critics reached for comparisons with The Blair Witch Project and David Lynch’s Eraserhead. I have to admit to being underwowed, finding Skinamarink a little undeserving of its newly acquired cult status.
That said, there is without a doubt something uncanny, almost seance-like, in the way Canadian film-maker Kyle Edward Ball evokes childhood fear of the dark. That primal terror of being little and waking up in the middle of the night, your imagination playing tricks on you, turning the hallway to mum and dad’s room into a scary no man’s land where monsters lurk.
This experimental lo-fi horror debut became a mini viral sensation last year after accidentally being leaked online. Terrorised TikTok users called it “the scariest film ever made”; critics reached for comparisons with The Blair Witch Project and David Lynch’s Eraserhead. I have to admit to being underwowed, finding Skinamarink a little undeserving of its newly acquired cult status.
That said, there is without a doubt something uncanny, almost seance-like, in the way Canadian film-maker Kyle Edward Ball evokes childhood fear of the dark. That primal terror of being little and waking up in the middle of the night, your imagination playing tricks on you, turning the hallway to mum and dad’s room into a scary no man’s land where monsters lurk.
- 2/1/2023
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
Even on a specialty level, horror just works post-pandemic with the latest pop from a strong showing by a trio of films, Fear and Infinity Pool, released this weekend, and Skinamarink in week three.
Fear hails from Deon and Roxanne Avent Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group, the all-Black production company behind cult hit Meet The Blacks (2016) and The House Next Door: Meet The Blacks 2, released into a shaky theatrical marketplace in June of 2021 that made nearly 3 million U.S. Fear, directed by Deon Taylor, was self-distributed by Hidden Empire Releasing on 974 screens, opening to an estimated 1.28 million for a per-screen average of 1,315. The breakdown: Fri: 466.9k (includes 132k in Thursday sneaks); Sat: 504k; Sun: estimated 310k.
Shows were sold out in key markets across the country including LA, New York, Sacramento, Atlanta, Miami, DC, and Chicago. The 50 increase from Friday to Saturday, not including Thursday previews, shows strong...
Fear hails from Deon and Roxanne Avent Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group, the all-Black production company behind cult hit Meet The Blacks (2016) and The House Next Door: Meet The Blacks 2, released into a shaky theatrical marketplace in June of 2021 that made nearly 3 million U.S. Fear, directed by Deon Taylor, was self-distributed by Hidden Empire Releasing on 974 screens, opening to an estimated 1.28 million for a per-screen average of 1,315. The breakdown: Fri: 466.9k (includes 132k in Thursday sneaks); Sat: 504k; Sun: estimated 310k.
Shows were sold out in key markets across the country including LA, New York, Sacramento, Atlanta, Miami, DC, and Chicago. The 50 increase from Friday to Saturday, not including Thursday previews, shows strong...
- 1/29/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
This post contains spoilers for "Skinamarink."
Kyle Edward Ball's "Skinamarink" has become an indie horror phenomenon. For those who need catching up, the micro-budget film was financed via GoFundMe and was shot in Ball's childhood home for a thin 15,000 budget. It initially premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival in 2022, but soon after, the film leaked on the internet after a digital festival screening and became a viral sensation. "Skinamarink" was soon spread all over YouTube and TikTok; the grainy found footage video aesthetic made it an interesting and horrifying watch for those locked in their houses during Covid-19. This month, the film has been enjoying a successful limited theatrical run before it launches on Shudder on February 2nd.
"Skinamarink" follows two children who wake up in the middle of the night to find out that their parents have gone missing. Not only that, but all the doors and windows...
Kyle Edward Ball's "Skinamarink" has become an indie horror phenomenon. For those who need catching up, the micro-budget film was financed via GoFundMe and was shot in Ball's childhood home for a thin 15,000 budget. It initially premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival in 2022, but soon after, the film leaked on the internet after a digital festival screening and became a viral sensation. "Skinamarink" was soon spread all over YouTube and TikTok; the grainy found footage video aesthetic made it an interesting and horrifying watch for those locked in their houses during Covid-19. This month, the film has been enjoying a successful limited theatrical run before it launches on Shudder on February 2nd.
"Skinamarink" follows two children who wake up in the middle of the night to find out that their parents have gone missing. Not only that, but all the doors and windows...
- 1/28/2023
- by Tyler Llewyn Taing
- Slash Film
Winnie Cheung’s “Residency,” which has its world premiere in the Bright Future section of Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam, has debuted its trailer (below). Alief is selling the film, which is a “haunting metafictional tale about female artists pushed beyond their limits at a cursed artist residency.”
The film, set at New York artists’ studio The Locker Room, is described by Alief’s Miguel Angel Govea as “an adventurous take on the final girl horror trope.” It is a “hybrid feature dancing between fiction and non-fiction norms that plays like a punk rock cover of Gaspar Noé’s ‘Climax.'”
Cheung commented: “Rather than representing women as sexualized victims through the traditional lens of male fantasies, I’m exploring the real horror behind the anxiety of being a female artist, which is often mixed in with pleasure, delirium and joy.”
Cheung was the editor and one of the producers of “Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched,...
The film, set at New York artists’ studio The Locker Room, is described by Alief’s Miguel Angel Govea as “an adventurous take on the final girl horror trope.” It is a “hybrid feature dancing between fiction and non-fiction norms that plays like a punk rock cover of Gaspar Noé’s ‘Climax.'”
Cheung commented: “Rather than representing women as sexualized victims through the traditional lens of male fantasies, I’m exploring the real horror behind the anxiety of being a female artist, which is often mixed in with pleasure, delirium and joy.”
Cheung was the editor and one of the producers of “Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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