If you are into horror films or independent movies, I highly suggest you watch Kyle Edward Bell’s new film, “Skinamarink”. 

I admit this film is not for everyone since it takes a unique approach to horror, to the point where it is not comparable to any movie I have ever seen. The closest comparison I can think of is the 1999 film “Blair Witch Project”. 

“Skinamarink” is a film you should see with little prior knowledge. It requires your entire focus and constant questioning of what is going on. This being said, the film is one of – if not the best – horror movies I have seen in a long time. 

Bell uses a very unorthodox cinematography style, utilizing shots of walls and inanimate objects rather than actors. When actors are in scenes, their faces are always obscured in some way and never actually shown. 

The lack of human interaction in the movie makes it interesting. Not seeing faces almost makes it easier to relate to characters. The lack of shots with actors in them also draws more attention to the fear and objects within the film.

The entire film takes place within a household, and all shots are taken within six rooms of the entire house. 

Despite the small space, there are very few reused shots or objects throughout the movie. This aspect allows you to pay closer attention to items in the rooms making you question everything.

Something I found interesting about the house was its lack of windows. It leaves an eerie aura to the place. At some moments it even seems like the house is an eternal imprisonment within the character’s minds. 

The acting in “Skinamarink” is very minimal as there are very few shots of actual humans. 

Bell uses voices and outside noises to replace this lack of acting, however, when actors are in a scene there is nothing special about them. I believe this aspect was placed into the movie to draw the sense of true terror through sound and light within scenes.

Character choice within the movie is very interesting. The main characters are four-year-old Kevin and his six-year-old sister, Kaylee. 

Their parents are in the film but never referred to as anything other than “Mommy” or “Daddy.” Kevin’s parents are also rarely mentioned in the movie, drawing an eerie or curious feeling toward the two.

I enjoyed the character choice as it truly evoked the fear a nightmare would have when you were a child. Darkness closing in on scenes, loud noises and jump scares are used to create a feeling of a scared child. 

The use of sound in this movie to invoke fear and put you into a constant state of anxiety is something I have never seen in any other film. The unpredictability of the sounds is also an added factor — Bell seems to put jumpscares in where you least expect them. 

Throughout the entire film, there is white noise in spaces otherwise filled with silence. So when moments of silence arise within the film it evokes a state of anxiety. This level of anxiety is something no other film has made me feel, it truly plays with your psyche, and I love it.

However, as I said earlier, no part of this movie is predictable. The jump scares are truly out of the blue, and loud sharp noises are implanted at random moments to invoke the worst possible shock. 

The film’s use of light was profound to me — it added yet another fear factor. 

The light is used to symbolize the being within the house. Random bundles of light appear on the screen to symbolize the entity in the house. It gives a body to an otherwise invisible being. Bell’s use of light to display fear and dread is, in my opinion, ingenious.

I won’t say much about the plot, as the movie is better going in blind, but the essential plot is two children being tortured by a supernatural entity. It is meticulous and envious of one of the children. The entity, while never given a physical form, shows many emotional similarities to a human.

These humanlike acts draw you to believe this is a never-ending entrapment of a traumatic event replaying within one of the children’s minds. Its heinous acts seemed to be fueled by something.

“Skinamarink” is a ride throughout its showtime. It leaves you thinking, what-did-I-just-watch and holy-cow-that-was-terrorizing. “Skinamarink” is groundbreaking in the horror genre, and for that reason, I cannot recommend it enough.

Voelker can be reached at [email protected].