Review of Skinner

Around the time that Ivan Nagy got in trouble along with girlfriend Heidi Fleiss, he found time to grind out this sleazy SILENCE OF THE LAMBS ripoff. Ted Raimi rents a room from frustrated housewife Ricki Lake (who's a sight to behold in tent dresses and stupid-looking ankle socks.) He sneaks out each night with his skinning knives and keeps the prostitute population down, then wears the hair and hides of his victims. Meanwhile, he's being stalked by Traci Lords as a black-clad, disfigured morphine addict. (This character, an ex-prostitute, is named Heidi.) At one point the killer changes his MO long enough to slay and flay an annoying African-American; he then runs around in the dude's skin talking with a black accent. Carrying the tasteless episode further, a watchdog devours part of the hide and becomes ill. Very little violence is shown, considering the inherently gruesome subject matter, but SKINNER has the sort of slimy, grungy "overall tone" that gives conniption-fits to the MPAA. Rent it and you'll never forget it–though Ricki Lake would appreciate it if you did.