Skinamarink is a Canadian experimental and psychological horror film originally released July 25, 2022 at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal. It was officially released in theaters on Jan. 13, 2023, in the United States and Canada. The film had a budget of only $15,000, yet the creators of Skinamarink made one of the most horrifying movies to come out in recent years. 

The film follows two children who wake up in the middle of the night to find their parents gone as well as all of the windows, doors, and lights. The only source of light is from their CRT TV. However, as the film progresses, they find that they aren’t alone.

I will say, this movie is definitely not for everyone. The cinematography relies on taking away everything the viewer would think a horror movie needs to work visually, especially a clear, visible villain. Throughout the entire film, every shot is either an incredibly slow still or panning shot. This movie is slow, but this fact alone makes 100x more terrifying.

Seeing this in theaters was absolute torture — by the end of the film I was twisted like a pretzel, sweating, and incredibly distraught. The film deprives you of all visual and sonic stimulus to the point where a human face can, and will, make you scream. This movie thrives off of the unknown, constantly using the dark nothingness in a way that freaks the viewer out.

The best way I can describe this movie is it’s like a fever dream: things feel entirely nonsensical, everything feels out of your control, and you’re definitely going to wake up from it in a panicked sweat.

Overall, I’d give Skinamarink an 8/10.