Skinamarink

one of the most bold things this decade.
maybe not in its subtext even when thats really good but in its form.

im someone who loves experimental film making but i also have the knowledge to know most people, even in cinephile circles, DON'T and that kinda shows in this films reception. i will say that obviously there many, MANY reasons why somebody wouldn't like this but i also qeustion the concentration but also apreciation for films like this. films like hotel montery, these films don't tell you what to think, they do have a goal made by the film maker but realistically, experimental films including this is a formal exercise in bending films to yourself and the text underneath the surface and personally i think thats a challenge for most people.

most people including cinephiles in nature mostly need a clear goal and theme in sight for them to connect which, fair enough but it cripples them in multiple corners of cinema.
and skinamarink is kinda the ultimate mainstream evolution to feature film of experiment film as it slowly moves allong as for its visuals, it places emphasis on low angles which conveys the perspective of a child and that emphization on being a child shapes the film.
i have memories of having sleepovers when i was a kid, at one of my friends who lived in a big house, roaming the dark and scary halls at night to take a piss. but the film also wears a coat of nostalgia but the film weaponizes that as it doesn't glorify childhood as the best time ever. while you can say its a nightmare...is it really?
as the film comes closer and closer to the end it becomes a lot more aware of its surroundings as a scene of repeating blood splats into frame which ultimately, for me, represents the abuse, neglect and hatefull moments that can abrupt in ones childhood, a childhood, a world where tv is the one bright light in an otherwise dark world.

i think the jumpscares can be a bit forced perhaps but the sudden appearance of them adds to how those moments can appear out of the blue. one thing i also discovered love for within my favorite genre, the horror genre, is liminal spaces and how they are everywhere.
exit 8 is my favorite film of this year, im also am excited for the backrooms film but mostly its the terrifying presence of them.
they don't feel real yet they have a basis in reality but they appear and remain mostly empty. liminal spaces also have a nostalgic feeling to them even when someone hasn't ever been there.
liminal spaces work beyond our reality but the reason why they are affected is because they are reality but empty and without life. nostalgia is exactly that, its a feeling i don't neccesarily like but do feel but once you feel that sadness, trauma, anger or wanting to feel something at a specific time again, you're left empty without nothing.
it also helps that we never see any faces in hard light so that its that visible, we can fill ourselves into this.

the film also reminds me of my own body of work and how my films are shaped by a lot of similaire aspects. the empty feelings, the quiet sound of home but also the story, the form in which my, and this film operates. im basically saying this is one of the most perfect films for me.

(watch my feature film kodak: https://boxd.it/dNvKo1 )