It’s a success story that even the Hollywood dream factory couldn’t think of better: the creation of “Skinamarink” cost a whopping $15,000. Director Kyle Edward Ball was filming at his Canadian parents’ house, it didn’t even look like the movie was going to hit theaters — but then a leak from “Skinamarink” sparked the internet’s viral hype. Suddenly everyone was talking about the low-budget horror movie, which dominated social platforms like TikTok and Co.
A small sensation followed: at the worldwide box office “Skinamarink” grossed $2.12 million. That is, of course, an amount that Marvel and Co. just to laugh about – but it’s almost 150 times (!) the budget. You should let that melt in your mouth. The horror sensation of the year is completed by the fact that “Skinamarink” is also really good: Kamil Moll got 4 out of 5 stars in the FILMSTARTS review.
Now the hype is finally coming to German cinemas: Skinamarink hits the big screen on September 7, 2023. But nationally there are not many cinemas that show the film, a look at our cinema program will tell you whether there is a house near you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch the “nightmare that went viral,” as our review puts it, as it won’t be hitting home theaters until about a month later.
Pre-order “Skinamarink” for home theater
Skinamarink will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 13, 2023 and can now be pre-ordered.
In many TikTok videos and US reviews (for example, in the ) “Skinamarink” was even called the “most disturbing movie of the year”. Many viewers wrote on social media that they couldn’t sleep after the movie. FILMSTARTS author Kamil Moll appoints director Kyle Edward Ball “a promising hope for current genre cinema”.
“Skinamarink” in the canvas love podcast
In the FILMSTARTS podcast about Screen Love, this horror sensation was of course worth its own episode. Sebastian Gerdshikow and Hardy Zaubitzer take a closer look at “Skinamarink”. Her conclusion: “tiring, scary and dark without end”.
But what is “Skinamarink” actually about? The story fits on a beer mat: two small children wake up at night in their darkened house and discover that their father has disappeared. The situation becomes increasingly threatening for the siblings as objects begin to disappear and distorted voices ring out. It all depends on the mood here: In his experimental film, Kyle Edward Ball plays with primal fears – and does so very effectively.