Skinamarink

Submission 4,176

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About

Skinamarink is a 2023 Canadian horror film directed by Kyle Edward Ball that gained significant buzz for its unique, minimalistic use of Analog Horror techniques when it was shown at horror film festivals in 2022. The film generated significant interest on social media, where viewers were warned that it was an artistic but terrifying experience. Prior to the film's rise in popularity, Ball recreated viewer-submitted nightmares in short films on his YouTube channel.

History

Skinamarink follows two children who wake up in their home to find that their parents are missing and they are unable to leave their house.^[2] The film is an expansion of Ball's short film Heck, which he released on his YouTube channel Bitesized Nightmares on July 8th, 2020.^[1] Notably, the film is said to not follow a traditional narrative and instead crafts horror through shot choices, editing, sound design and color grading. Viewers have pointed out that there is little dialogue and the two children in the film are almost never seen head-on.

The film was created for $15,000 generated largely through crowdfunding. It debuted at the Canadian Fantasia Festival on July 25th, 2022.^[3] After premiering at other festivals through the second half of 2022, the film leaked online, causing it to be pirated and gain a cult following on social media.^[4] The buzz helped facilitate a theatrical release on January 13th, 2022 and a release to the horror streaming platform Shudder.^[5]

Online Presence

Due to the film being leaked, it began generating significant buzz on social media in the second half of 2022. For example, on November 14th, TikTok^[6] user @JackHarbonBooks posted a TikTok praising it as the "scariest film" they'd "never finished" and wrote it was more an experience than a traditional film. Their TikTok gained over 90,000 likes in six weeks (shown below, left). On November 27th, TikTok^[7] user @grandpayummytoes posted similar praise of the film, calling it unlike anything they'd ever seen, gaining over 60,000 likes in one month (shown below, right).

@jackharbonbooks Skinamarink (2022) isn't a movie, it's an experience. #horror #filmtok #skinamarink ♬ Scary music horror mystery(1040775) – parts di manta

@grandpasyummytoes If you’ve seen it tell me what you thought #skinamarink #horrortok #horrormovie #greenscreen ♬ original sound – grandpa yummytoes

On December 21st, Super Eyepatch Wolf named it his favorite thing in recent months, noting that as a horror buff, he's become desensitized to most modern horror, but Skinamarink blew him away (shown below).