Skinless

Released by: MVD Visual/Whacked Movies
Released on: November 18th, 2014.
Director: Dustin Wayde Mills
Cast: Brandon Salkil, Erin Ryan, Allison Egan, Dave Parker
Year: 2013
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The Movie:

Written and directed by Dustin Wayde Mills, Skinless begins in a basement, the same basement where much of this low budget horror movie will play out. Here we meet a lovely and very naked young lady named Olivia (Allison Egan) who is getting dressed after just finishing a romantic encounter with a scientist named Pete Peel (Brandon Salkil). She leaves just as his research partner, Alice (Erin R. Ryan), arrives to see him standing there with his dong hanging out. After a brief and amusing discussion about how frequently she sees his dong, we learn that he's recently made some progress with a project wherein he'll extract some secretions from a strange worm that he hopes will cure cancer.

They go to their benefactor, a ponytailed guy named Neil (Dave Parker) but he tells them he's already fronted them enough money and while he'd happily invest if he knew more, they just don't have the results to convince him. At least, not yet. See, what we quickly learn is that the big ugly growth on Pete's back is cancerous so he's got every reason to use himself as a human guinea pig. Alice tries to talk him out of this, they do have a past together after all, but he's not having any of it. The next morning Pete's cancerous growth is gone, but soon enough so are large portions of his skin. It would seem his formula has some side effects that he didn't count on and as time goes on, Pete becomes increasingly unhinged and dangerous…

Equal parts indie gore film, mad scientist tale and yes, romantic drama, Skinless is a pretty fun way to kill eighty minutes in front of your TV. The film was made for peanuts, the limited locations and minimalist sets being the most obvious indicator here, but the gore effects (which are both frequent and ambitious) in the last half of the film are really well done and appropriately over the top. This movie really goes for it in that regard, and without wanting to head into spoiler territory there's a whole lot of gooey, gory goodness to appreciate here.

To Mills' credit, he lets the lack of flash in the backgrounds and locations work in his favor by focusing on the relationship that exists between Pete and Alice and in turn how it evolves as Pete's skin starts to come off and his mind starts to snap. This is a dicey approach in indie horror, where performances aren't always as strong as they need to be, but Both Salkil and Ryan hold their own here. Ryan has been showing up in a lot of low budget horror pictures coming out of the Ohio scene lately and she's proving to be pretty versatile and an actress of very good range. She's also pretty fearless and would seem to be up for anything that the movie calls for. Salkil's performance starts off as charmingly goofy but as the story gets darker he reels that in and plays things more seriously - much of the humor in the movie stems from his work but he can and does play things straight as required. Allison Egan isn't give as much to do here but she does play a central role in one of the movie's most memorable set pieces and she looks good with no clothes on while Dave Parker is fine in his supporting role as well.

Ultimately this is a fine example of how creativity and dedication can trump big budgets and huge productions every time. Clever camera work and nice cinematography help a lot here but what you'll take away from this the most is the solid acting and strong, over the top makeup and effects work.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Skinless arrives on DVD in an anamorphic widescreen presentation that looks considerably better than you'd expect your average micro-budgeted horror picture to look. The camerawork here is quite good and the transfer offers up the digitally shot movie in very nice condition with good color reproduction and solid black levels. Detail is about as strong as you can hope for on DVD and there aren't any major problems with compression artifacts to note.

The only audio option for the feature is an English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track, there are no alternate language options or subtitles provided. There are a few spots where the dialogue is a tiny bit low in the mix but otherwise the audio here sounds just fine. The music and effects work are nicely balanced and for the most part the performers are easy enough to understand and to follow.

Extras start off with a genuinely interesting commentary track from Mills in which he takes us scene by scene through the making of the movie. He starts off by explaining where the idea for the picture came, some of the concepts he explored but didn't wind up using in the final version of the movie and the influence of the Universal Monster movies (once he points it out it's hard not to see it). He also shares some insight into how he created the effects seen in the movie on a very low budget, locations that were used and how he basically put his actors through the ringer in a few of the movie's more intense scenes. It's a good commentary that will, like a good commentary should, further your appreciation of the movie.

Additionally we get some video diary entries made by Mills with the participation of a few of his cast members explaining various topics ranging from the best way to make fake blood for a movie to the right way to ask an actress to get naked for you on camera. Some neat animated menus and chapter selection are also included.

The Final Word:

Skinless is a slick and sick little movie that offers up the right mix of humor, gore and even some honestly touching bits of human drama. It's a tightly paced picture that doesn't overstep its mark but instead uses its minimalist settings to accentuate some solid camerawork, effects and performances. The DVD looks and sounds good and the commentary is one well worth listening to.