Why Does SKINAMARINK Upset You?

[@RyanHollinger]

*Have a request? ... Leave it in the comments below!!* Click vessi.com/RYANHOLLINGER and use my RYANHOLLINGER for 15% off your entire order! Free shipping to CA, US, AU,JP, TW, KR, SG.

[@axelcordova8262]

How about a review of Nope?

[@boobootittleman7299]

I’d love a video on Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass & Stephen King’s Storm of the Century. Keep up the good work!

[@cheyenneblack817]

Storm of the century

[@gearjacky]

Respectfully request the French Netflix series Marianne! I know it's longer than a film, and it's not perfect, but it has some terror and atmosphere to it that still gets under my skin years later. The lady who plays the spooky older lady is an absolute gem. Also, watching it in native French with subtitles is an absolute must! In any case, great work as always Ryan! Cheers EDIT: Also, Wendigoon and Ryan crossover please!

[@jordanloux3883]

The Hellstrom Chronicles (1971) is a fun documentary about insects, exploring how they would rule the world after the end of humanity.

[@thehitherto5348]

Insanely polarizing film. I cannot remember a horror movie causing such a massive split between those who got completely unnerved and those who got totally bored.

[@xylin3683]

Blair Witch

[@HeatherHolt]

@@xylin3683 yeah I really liked Blair witch, but a lot of people I knew hated it. Mostly bc it made them nauseous with all the handheld running. I thought the ad campaign for BW was amazing for back then; some people really thought they were actual missing people. The sequel is hot garbage but I at least got a good laugh at it, tho.

[@CorbCorbin]

It Comes At Night is the movie that so many find it boring, even if they agree that it’s filmed very well, and built dread. They still were left bored, with it feeling like a pointless endurance watch. I got what it was doing, and enjoyed some of it, but ultimately just wasn’t moved the way others were. I have a similar issue with the recent movie Decision to Leave. I get all the symbolism, in the colors, space, symmetry in shots, dialogue moments, etc., yet felt it was just style over substance, by the end. This is a director I love, but just wasn’t as impressed, as those declaring it a classic already.

[@CorbCorbin]

@@HeatherHolt It was really dumb, or more folks who were ignorant of how marketing in a magazine or television worked. Let alone when I’d mention why would it be being advertised in a theater, as coming soon, if it’s basically footage of missing people with supernatural things in it. Some just didn’t know that one doesn’t advertise about missing people, with a movie, that is tape they recorded. I mean, it would be evidence, for starters, snd even when I had to go online to show someone how ridiculous it was, to think they were witnessing anything real, some got angry. When it came out, with the faux documentary by Sci Fi channel, it made it easier to know it was a promo campaign. It worked very well, if nothing else, to get people to a theater to see what the hype is. It was all hype.

[@kristennelson3190]

"The Blair Witch Project". One of those "you had to be there (then!)...) movies.😉

[@boobootittleman7299]

This movie feels like a feature length version of Video from The Ring. The whole damn film felt cursed.

[@TheMellowMutantShow]

😳

[@finpin2622]

I was thinking about that too. Like if this film got distributed solely on VHS tapes you could easily convince me that it was cursed in some way, it just has that feeling like watching it will do something bad to you.

[@LeonardoDiCapri-Sun]

Cursed is exactly the word that came to mind when I watched it

[@saga2964]

PERFECT way to describe it!

[@g_tterspace]

Yeah but I felt that the video from the Ring had like... actual technical skills. Like it wasn't a door knob or a ceiling for 140 minutes.

[@PinkBarbarianBucket]

For me, this movie feels as if you were watching someone’s nightmare. Weird angles, disappearing details, non-consistent “narrative” . Things that, for those stuck in the nightmare, is so logical and linear, but the second you wake up, you can’t possibly understand how your brain connected all those pieces together. I’m someone that dreams a LOT, almost every night, and I’ve never seen such an accurate…translation of what it looks like to have a nightmare, to a point that this movie did reminded me of some nightmares I had as a young child.

[@Tina_95]

Fun fact the creator of the movie has a KZbin channel actually where he would take nightmares people described and would turn them into little horror shorts!

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

I have only seen three of his youtube nightmares so far but nightmare one was especially freaky. I gotta lot more to watch but i need to time them right to maximize my fear

[@rabbo2624]

@@Tina_95 whats the name of the channel? would love to check out those shorts

[@Tina_95]

@@rabbo2624 BitesizedNightmares! The video Heck mentioned in this video is on that channel as well!

[@lainiwakura1776]

Everyone dreams, some just remember them.

[@adrianl9737]

Think it could've been about 25 minutes shorter, but those last 60 minutes really got me in a way I cannot describe, just a constant feeling of being horribly upset. That being said, even if I hated it completely, the fact an experimental, non-linear horror movie has done so well commercially, critically and in terms of word of mouth recognition, is an amazing feat and I hope it's a marker we can get more.

[@princeapoopoo5787]

I'd rather have interesting but polarizing movies do well than run of the mill, predictable movies, for sure.

[@TheBretchenShow]

You know, everyone keeps saying it could have been shorter, and I agree in theory, but I can't decide what would need to be cut out. Perhaps it could have gotten to the kid falling down the stairs at the start quicker but thats all that comes to mind.

[@adrianl9737]

@@TheBretchenShow That's a great point actually! I've only seen the film once so I'd have to rewatch it I think to get an idea but my instinct is that's less about particular scenes being cut and more shaving off the odd 2 minutes on a number of scenes. But there is something to be said about the slow start sort of lulling you into a false sense of security and haziness that is then very aggressively disrupted.

[@mlemaire109]

​@@TheBretchenShowyeah like another commenter said I would shave off a minute or two from those scenes where you're looking at the blurry corner of a couch with nothing happening. After a certain point, the tension is lost for me

[@whitedragoness23]

A lot of the scenes could of been shorter, there were just 5 minutes of the same image then another 5 minutes for noise for to something to move

[@TheOverachiever7]

Faceless Kaylee got me. It’s that uncanniness of almost human that gets me. That goddamn phone too. I felt terrible about Kevin, he’s just so lost in this hellscape nightmare.

[@zleep9182]

the idea of a kid being forced to endure that hell-blind and voiceless while being endlessly tortured-is so upsetting I know the entity is meant to evoke a larger symbolic meaning, but it really is one of the most despicable villains l I can think of

[@nathanielholzgrafe5274]

Faceless Kaylee was great but the phone was a cheap shot jump scare.

[@WheresTheLake1]

@@nathanielholzgrafe5274I think it was earned. It had me on the edge of my seat seeing what looked like a demon staring at you only for relief to wash over when you found out it was just a phone and at that vulnerable point of letting my guard down the jump scare “attacked” my senses and made me literally jump out of my chair. The whole movie just has a way of drawing you in with the atmosphere and mood that makes those jump spooks all the more impactful as they are not over done and spaced out pretty well in my opinion.

[@aligmal5031]

@@nathanielholzgrafe5274 you probably never had a phone with face when you were a kid these things were creepy so the jump scare was not cheap if you know the true horror of face phones 😔

[@williamerickson520]

@@aligmal5031 I'm pretty sure I or someone I knew had that exact toy phone.

[@PantsaBear]

A Jacob Geller reference in a Ryan Hollinger video is incredible. I recommend Jacob's channel to anyone, not just Ryan. He's a very very talented essayist and brings up a lot of enlightening points in nearly all his videos. For you horror fans, specifically start with his video on Haunted Houses being born out of neglect, rather than becoming haunted via supernatural means. The Returnal video is also amazing, but then again Returnal itself is amazing and one of the best games of the past decade so I recommend playing it if you feel up to it before watching

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

I used to get them mixed up for real lol. Jacobs the one that lives in the same state as me tho. Prob why hes super good at pinpointing my nostalgia

[@blackosprey2219]

Yeh, I was super happy when I heard the reference. I really wouldn't mind if Ryan took a few cues from Jacob Geller's overall approach and dig harder into the vibes of a movie, while contrasting it with other media and works or even history. I adore that type of content.

[@PantsaBear]

@@blackosprey2219 Jacob has a more academic style to his videos (nowadays) where his videos are more about a theme and he uses pieces of media or art to reinforce it. Almost like a highschool English essay Ryan is more into explaining the appeal of the movie in a given video, which is almost like a celebration of the Horror genre even if the given movie isn't very good overall. He'll pull in another movie reference if he wants to provide important context or comparisons, but in general some movies don't really have an interesting theme/ideas to dissect to a deeper analysis or to get the appeal Either way, I don't think either style of video is inherently better than the other. Jacob's stick with you longer and are very interesting lectures to the viewer. Ryan's vids aren't usually as profound (because not every horror movie is) however it's almost like having a conversation with a friend who's really observational and able to educate you in a more casual way. Both creators have me learning a lot of things I didn't know before lol

[@BEEEELEEEE]

I was thinking about that video at work today, I’d already planning on rewatching it after finishing this one

[@carmina-solis]

Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House is undeniably my favorite video essay of all time. seconded only by An Uncanny Reality (also by Jacob Geller)

[@zedwerdgorey]

The section where you connect the "listening thru the walls" sound design to the way you felt hearing your parents argue was very touching. This movie has such an unnatural ability to unearth things from viewers' childhoods. I was remembering nightmares I hadn't thought about it ages.

[@R.444-]

Yeah, I was aware that the film was open to interpretation by design, and that we as the viewers were meant to project our own childhood experiences to color our engagement with the movie, but nevertheless that first half definitely dredged up some oldest sibling in a house where the parents our going through separation and divorce proceedings very strongly

[@Mr_Case_Time]

Rumor has it that the children in Skinamarink would have gotten away from the monster had they been wearing Vessi Footwear.

[@henrye3935]

I'm not really sure why people feel they need an explanation. I have feelings all the time that I can't explain the reasons for - anxiety, depression, calm, even excitement. Skinamarink made me feel something and that's a great achievement. Abstract art has done this for years

[@nathanslay6342]

I completely agree with you. The no explanation for me is what makes it all the more creepy for me.

[@ImBobbyRicigliano]

Some people need an explanation because it’s easier to digest and makes people who don’t care about aBsTrAcT aRt actually want to watch it since it won’t seem as boring for many. Abstract art, much like your comment about how you’re “not really sure why” can be really pretentious. You do know why. You’re just sniffing your own farts. Good movie though, and I usually hate horror. It’s different and creepy as hell.

[@fpscrafts]

@@ImBobbyRicigliano why being so aggressive ? people do feel different about art in many different ways, it's not "sniffing your own farts" to let yourself go to a feeling. People can not feel the same thing about some abstract pieces and it's okay too but don't take it as pretentious when someone's experience doesn't need an explanation or even might feel diminishes by such an explanation.

[@troin3925]

@@ImBobbyRicigliano You sound pretty pretentious yourself, you know that?

[@possessorofgreatness7620]

We needed an explanation because we were bored out of our head and our eyes were hurting so at least if it all meant something then we can be like ok it wasn't as pathetic as it was feeling watching it.

[@andrewk2678]

Wow, that part about the kid apologizing for having cancer after seeing the amount of stress it was putting on his parents was probably the saddest thing I have ever heard. Related with that whole segment about your parents fighting way more than I should probably admit online as well. Great video as always.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

:(

[@SamuelBlack84]

Imagine a child being convinced it was its own fault it had cancer because it had been naughty 😢

[@Blazenix1]

Skinkamrink brought myself back to my five year old self, terrified of the dark, trying to peer to see what was lurking within it and looking for my parents for comfort. The worst bit, not being the darkness itself but travelling in it to my parents room down the hallway that seems longer in the dark. And the nightmare that they weren't there or worse.

[@HoneyBeeFlanzman]

Wendigoon starts his video with a similar memory - he fell asleep on the couch and his parents went outside for some reason, so he woke up to a dark and completely empty house. He was young enough that he had never been completely alone before, and it was absolutely terrifying.

[@XombieLejon66]

unfortunately, i couldnt relate cause if it was 5 year old me in that situation, i'd be crying and shidding myself 10 minutes in this state. Not quietly whispering and calming carrying on

[@tylerwalters8354]

Yeah, I really think whether this movie clicks or not for people depends on whether they had some kind of formative memory of dark “safe” environments feeling foreign and scary for skinamarink to evoke within them

[@starcrash-ash6061]

@@XombieLejon66 I know I probably would’ve lost it too as a 5 year old but it was still relatable to me because I felt like even though they were seemingly calm their fear was palpable. It felt like they were so unnaturally calm and quiet because they were too terrified to freak out, just so paralyzed with fear all they could do was whisper and stay as still and quiet as possible and hope the monster goes away. It reminded me of when I was a kid and would wake up from a nightmare and just lie in my bed completely still for what felt like hours, when all I wanted was to just run to my parents room, but I was too scared of that long dark empty hallway or whatever might be lurking under the bed in the dark of my room to even move.

[@princeapoopoo5787]

the shout out to wendigoon at the beginning made me giddy. you and he are absolutely my top two people that i hoped to cover skinamarink and now my wish has been fulfilled.

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

I was gonna say creepy content extended universe but that’s kinda just real life. Talk about brain rot

[@itsmesnacks]

check out may (nyx fears)'s video on it too!

[@princeapoopoo5787]

@@itsmesnacks will do! thanks for the rec!

[@Kaixero]

The one thing I want to add is that I don't feel it's just as simple as "childhood fears"... This movie brought back feelings to me that I have long since buried. I don't remember them, I don't have names for them, and I didn't even hold brainspace for trying to categorize or understand them. I just wiped them out of my memory. This movie brought them back. 3/4 of the way through the movie, I think I was able to articulate and describe them, but they've passed from my memory again, and to get them back I feel I'd have to watch the movie again, which I will not do, as I do not want to feel those goddamn emotions and...impressions?... _ever_ again.

[@cassualtea2040]

Oh tru! I have thought about it a lot though and I chalked it up to thevery specific kind of fear and anxiety you feel as a child when you well and truly dont understand anything, you have no ability to rationalize whats happening so all you can do is go through the motions. As you get older, this feeling is something you experience less and less because you gain wisdom and understanding, you have more things to think about. But theres just something special about that feeling of anxiety you have when you're a small young child who woke up in the middle of the night for the first time. Your house is suddenly different. You dont know whats in the dark. You cant even turn on the lights because you cant reach. You dont know when things will get bright again. All you can do is wait, in fear of stuff you dont understand, hoping for things but you arent sure what.

[@hubbahubbawow]

I have a son and a daughter, so I just know this movie would send me into a tizzy of needless worry! Fun stuff!

[@poozwonger]

Totally! As a parent, the most horrific part of this film was projecting your own kids into this awful situation. But I loved that these kids loved eachother, even though it made their fate so heartbreaking.

[@occamsbutterknife9186]

Skinamarink is my ideal horror movie. It's surreal, confusing, dreamlike, and left me wondering what it all meant. The seemingly nonsensical camera angles are what I see complained about the most, but not being able to directly see what was going on unironically added a lot to my experience. This movie will definitely appeal to a small crowed, but I'm glad it was made.

[@octabodemes]

For me, this movie was basically what my mind made me think my childhood was. My mom has always been a severely depressed person and she would sometimes say things that as a kid I would be scared but confused about because I didn't a 100% understand what she meant but I would always find comfort in just playing with my older brother, watching movies, playing videogames and playing with toys. But there were other days of slightly hearing my parents fight because of my mom's depression and my big brother isolating himself away from me because of that which just started making me feel afraid of the dark because it was mostly at night when I would hear those angry voices. So, when I saw the last frame of the movie with the faceless figure it made me feel disturbed because that's how I remember my mom when I try to look back to my childhood. I was shy and kind of scared of her in a way so I never looked directly at adults or at her face making me, as a kid, imagine that she didn't have one.

[@fridakahlo4225]

I was raised in a house which my father was engaged in domestic violence while my mother was depressed all the time. I was often emotionally neglected by both of them. And my sister being a bipolar didn't help eighter. While I was listening them arguening through out the walls of our house, I remember catching the first glimse of what anxiety feels like. And the strange thing is, in such moment, I'd feel like we as a family are all cursed. I'd feel like just because I was also a member of my family, I was cursed too. It felt like an unending cycle of a looooong nightmare. They fight and it's all dark. Then they make up and the house is a little bit lighter. Then the tension builts and it's all dark and cursed again.

[@heather-ze7mf]

I'm so sorry you went through that...

[@jeremybrown3544]

I felt physically ill after this movie. Just the CONSTANT sense of dread for the entire runtime for me was very effective. However, my friend that went with me was bored out of his mind the whole time. YMMV.

[@XXLSSBBW]

The part where Kevin calls 911 was disturbing. The operator is doing everything he can to help the poor child.

[@minecraftsteve2504]

Flaw Peacock made an extremely well thought out video on skinamarink, and how skinamarink is very much a story about a demonic entity messing with two kids I'd suggest giving it a watch, as, besides the other theories which are about themes of child neglect and divorce, this theory takes in practically every detail of the movie into account, and connects them in a way that makes you have a lightbulb moment once he finishes the video.

[@laceybabay1013]

Thanks for the new channel to binge watch!

[@SeaFR]

Yeah, I like the theory, but I don't want the movie to be another "Oh, it's a metaphor for divorce and the mom's a monster in the kids' eyes" like so many others. Prefer it to be just a demon messing with the innocent for the sake of being evil.

[@jaesynn2015]

Agreed. Flaw peacock's video essay is my favorite so far analyzing the movie.

[@jacobchapman1563]

​@@SeaFR can you give me a movie that is a metephore for divorce? Genuine question as I cannot think of any off the top of my head.

[@XombieLejon66]

@@SeaFR fr, sometimes you get tired of hearing the *"BUT WHAT IF "* crap, sometimes it just aint that deep.

[@thatonechick1318]

I took it as kids dealing with a divorce and the mom struggles with depression after the fact which makes her "a monster". And it shows how scary it is in the eyes of the kids. So glad you made a video on this! 💚

[@HeatherHolt]

I like your idea better than the “there’s a demon/monster/scarything” since the imagination can conjure up things much scarier than anything in a movie. Except the recent trailer for silent hill f… it got me 😮

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

I half joke the the entity is new step parent or whatever.

[@sonchik6324]

Oh shit, your comment hit me so hard. This is so accurate to my own experiences except I was 12 when my parents divorced so I was more conscious about things and it nearly drove me to suicide. I can’t imagine how terrifying it would be to through the same suffering as a little kid.

[@HeatherHolt]

@@sonchik6324 oh my gosh. Such a hard thing to deal with as a kid. Glad you’re still with us 💕

[@sonchik6324]

@@HeatherHolt thank you, kind soul! Therapy does wonders. Both me and my mom are in much better places now. As painful as it was, in the end this divorce was probably necessary for her to grow as a person and this growth directly affected me.

[@woblewoble]

I really appreciate your channel because it lets me experience horror stuff without having to sit my weenie-ass down and watch them myself, as much as I wish I had the courage to do so. I must say, though, even just watching videos about this movie, the clips fill me with such a sense of dread and stomach-churning anxiety that I don't think I could survive a full watch through without occasional breaks. Despite that (or maybe because of it) I adore the whole aesthetic, and I find it more fun to view this sort of thing as it is - less metaphor, more imagining what it would be like in that literal situation. It gives me major #House of Leaves vibes, just this primal anxiety about the space you're occupying, the complacency/comfort of consistency slowly and antagonistically being undermined by the space itself. The metaphors/"what it's about" stuff is fine, but I enjoy engaging with the visceral now. I think that's part of why I don't engage with much horror because so much of it falls back into "it's about trauma/abuse/abandonment/the generational versions of those things!" when often times the concept itself is scary/horrific enough. Also I fucking hate that shot with the toy phone in darkness. Those goddamn eyes just freak me out.

[@woblewoble]

For some reason, I'm reminded of the short horror film "Curve" (kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJWnZHmXrNBnr5I), it evokes a similar feeling to me where just imagining the idea that this is a real thing, the dozens/hundreds of other curved surfaces implying others have fallen to the same fate. Maybe it's an entity that draws in doomed people, maybe the government throws people in there as corporal punishment, all cool ideas. But in the end just the idea of being in that situation, so precariously close to death, desperate to survive, and then nature itself just slaps you back down.

[@AurorasAura4417]

Even the trailers for this movie unsettle me and make my heart feel like its going to explode, I appreciate how open ended it is and I think that adds to the horror *significantly*

[@Zarathinius]

The trailer for this movie made tears come out of my eyes. Not like, sobbing crying, just started tearing up with an emotion I couldn’t quite name.

[@zuttoaragi8349]

The open endedness just frustrated me. I kinda hate this tendency for movies not to explain themselves.

[@horrificbuu4446]

I watched this last night after my friend told me about it. It reminded me of a nightmare I would have had as a child. I kept feeling something was moving in the dark spaces of the shot, but never was really sure. I wasn't left scared or uncomfortable, but I do understand why many others would be left uncomfortable. The sound design is great with so many sounds that send an uneasy feeling through your body. And the framing of every shot being done with corners of the tv or dark spaces with minimum lighting or just pitch black shots. It's a movie I really like because of how different it is from what I normally watch.

[@sunshine_tidings6983]

So glad you’re covering this. Maybe after watching this video I’ll actually understand it

[@Oxcymoron]

I’ve been wondering when/ if this video was coming because this kind of film is definitely right up Ryan’s alley

[@SeanHiruki]

If not you can always watch Wendigoon’s video on it.

[@Oxcymoron]

@@SeanHiruki wendigoons intro sent me to see heck and then skinamarink right after.

[@ParamoretheMachine]

I went to the movies by myself to watch it because the trailer freaked me out and I considered it a challenge lol I honestly felt so depressed and tired when I left…I usually don’t get very emotionally affected when watching horror movies but some scenes in it, specifically that scene where Kevin cries and his blood spills across the floor over and over, made my stomach drop

[@WheresTheLake1]

I almost shut the movie off at this point because it had me just so emotionally disturbed and uncomfortable. The only reason I finished it was because it had 6 minutes left and I had to know how it all ended.

[@gossameryouth]

I think overall you’re right about skinamarink, it reminded me a lot of a book called “house of leaves” that when I finished I wasn’t sure I understood completely but it’s almost like the book is an art display. Skinamarink has a lot of the same vibes to me, I don’t think you’re supposed to know what’s going on really, and I think some people really struggle with allowing mystery to exist in their lives. It does at times get boring, but the overall mood of the film was so oppressive and hopeless that I think that’s what truly made it scary to me.

[@bmav007]

Watched this movie with a couple friends and it DEEPLY disturbed all of us. The awkward camera angles and relentless tension made it absolutely EXHAUSTING to watch. (Seriously, this movie doesn’t give you any breaks at all) It was like diving into a nightmare you can’t wake up from. I honestly love horror films but this one was too much for me, especially as a parent.

[@benjamina6618]

The general feeling I got from the movie was similar to all the stories I've heard of abusive parents and children who cannot escape them. I saw others talking about this and wanted to say that I think that's what the movie is going for.

[@marvellousm]

I saw this on the big screen and I was with it until about 60 minutes. It was legitimately disturbing for a while until I started getting bored. The "look under the bed" moment was utterly terrifying but then it just kept going and going and going. It had more fake endings than Return of the King. But I'm seeing people talk about how this is some sort of revelation for horror, someone called it "a nexus point for the future of filmmaking" and I balk at that notion. The movie has a lot of hyperbole around it now which has made the discourse about it tiring. Good job on your video though, as always Ryan, I appreciate your interpretation and I wish the movie hadn't beaten all of the interest out of me by the end.

[@YoungIroh]

I felt true genuine terror. Like being 5 again and waking up in the middle of the night. Its dark. Quiet. Till you hear your window being forced open and see someone crawl in

[@TempehLiberation]

I was skeptical going into this film, but I actually liked it. It also reminded me of my parents fighting, the tension that was in the air, my sister and I trying to distract ourselves with TV or playing a game with each other to drown out the screaming and shouting. The missing parents made me think of emotional distance, parents who were so caught up in their own conflict that they might as well not be there. The doors and windows being missing added to that dark, tense atmosphere and the feeling that you can't escape the situation. Great analysis Ryan!

[@0_dearghealach_083]

It's as if someone took a VHS recorder, and managed to put a child's nightmare into a film... I swear, it just really gets under my skin. Very well made, Kyle Ball. But DAMN, if you just didn't make us all afraid of the dark again. I watched Skinamarink last year, and so far I've been having nightmares about it, rarely, but they're there. The first one, I was in my house, and I felt that *something* was lurking around, and it was so damned dark- I could barely see my hand in front of my face. The second one, I was looking at my computer in the dark, and there was a hideous face staring at me from a dark hallway, barely lit by the light of the computer.

[@dyladino]

In my opinion this movie is a nightmare, trying to understand it beyond that again, in my opinion, is moot

[@florealecat]

maybe it's cuz i'm a 90s kid, but i find analog horror (at least aesthetically) comforting. the muted color palette, everyone speaking in hushed tones with underlying static and limited camera movement all lull me into a false sense of security. i love to use the mandela catalogue to fall asleep great video as always! even with such an abstract concept

[@mikkoleinonen9846]

I got upset. Upset that there isn't any more of whatever this is. I loved the movie. This is one of the movies that aren't really scary, but still cause me so much discomfort that I really have trouble falling asleep. Another slow burn that has caused me some restless sleep is "Caveat" from 2020. You should totally do a video about it. I think it shares some same ideas with this movie in a way. Great video like always. They are the high point of my week.

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

Look up kyle edward ball on you tube. This man got shorts of other peoples nightmares. Ive seen a few, nightmare 1 was especially freaky

[@mikkoleinonen9846]

@@banquetoftheleviathan1404 thanks for the tip! I will investigate!

[@boomerangsniper1682]

Hey Ryan if you want a good start to Analog Horror, I recommend Local 58 or Gemini home entertainment. Those are pretty good Starter ones for me. But you could Go for something more Fanfic/ARG's Like The Walten Files or That one Fnaf based Analog horror, surprisingly not made from Scott Cawthon.

[@pimscrypt]

I often times find "this piece of media is whatever it means to you" to be sort of a cop-out answer when discussing media (even if there's always a hint of truth in it). However, with Skinamarink I really find it to be the definitive take. Not just because the director himself has said that it was his intention, but because the dreamlike nature of it all makes the film more of a *vibe* than a concrete text. Personally I can't help but compare the film to the game Anatomy, where the house itself is the creator of the horrors lurking around. It mostly has to do with how the film uses shots of architecture rather than characters. Like you refer to, you often hear conversations happening in different rooms than where the camera is placed. As if the individual rooms of the house is curiously listening. For a child, a home only becomes something dangerous once their parents are not around. I think this film perfectly captures that!

[@RallyTheTally]

It bothers me you said you where late to the part, man is just came out, I hate how people force things to move fast

[@RyanHollinger]

OMG THANK YOU! I’m not the only one who thinks things move way too fast these days!

[@nobody2021]

This movie upset me because it's barely a movie. It's a slideshow with a soundtrack that is a lot longer than it needs to be. I watched the KZbin concept version of this from the creators channel that was only 30 minutes long and that was good

[@SquareNevada1]

I pictured it like the episode of Breaking Bad, "peakaboo" Where Jesse encounters a small child living in a neglected home, with drug addicted parents. From the Pov of the toddler, we see him barely interpret these very scary adult things, like relationships and lives being torn apart. Maybe the sister is a bit older and understands what's going on more, asks more questions, and grows distant from the brother as well. I think neglect and parents going through divorce/drugs make the most sense.

[@H4FF]

I love that you mentioned Jacob Geller, his video essays are incredible.

[@aastrica]

i was sweating, pure anxiety. i couldnt wait for it to be over. this movie immersed me so hard, i was terrified

[@lozzimusprime]

Wow. You got me when you mentioned your parents fighting and you felt like it was your fault. That was me as a kid and sadly they divorced. But yeah, I completely get this. This video was fascinating bc horror films don't make you think of your past experiences. They're always happening to someone else, it's a situation you'd probably never find yourself in. So I've added them both to my watchlist.

[@daddymothmaster2920]

Very rarely does a horror film leave me feeling genuinely unnerved. But this one made me feel the way I did as a child, afraid of the darkness at the bottom of the stairs.

[@tonyawwwno3364]

I feel like I might be in the minority who actually isn't a fan of a mundane explanation like it being a coma dream. I feel like a good portion of the creepiness and horror is in the bizarre and out there feeling of all the events. the idea of kids being stuck in some fucked up and incomprehensible sort of hell scape is infinitely more horrifying than him simply being in a coma and losing grip over time. ... Not that a kid being in a coma and losing grip over time isn't horrifying, but coma/dying dreams as the reality behind seemingly inexplicable and otherworldly events are so overdone in theories of media

[@drpibisback7680]

I haven't seen all of Skinamarink - I watched it at a friend's house one night and had to leave before it was over. It's still one of the scariest fucking films I've ever seen. There's a moment, right after when the kids talk to "mom," that's just a slow zoom on a door open into darkness. It's terrifying, even while being a solid minute of nothing happening. Because you know that the film is willing to get you, is willing to suddenly get loud. Director Kyle Edward Ball has a youtube channel, called Bitesized Nightmares, where he's been honing his ultra-minimalist lo-fi art horror for years. I hope he continues to bring this work to the screen. James and Chelsea from Dead Meat, talking about Skinamarink on their podcast, said that they would love to get KEB to do part of an anthology film adaptation of _House of Leaves_ if they get further into film production. I fully believe he could do _The Navidson Record_ justice and I would love to see that film. Edit: I finally saw the whole thing. Yeah, it's such an engrossing watch. Absolutely dread-soaked.

[@ThePonderer]

It mainly upset me by being painfully, dreadfully, interminably boring.

[@TehHamburglar365]

Lmao, I felt the same. I was literally nodding off while watching it. I wanted to see it through to the end, but I had to make a coffee just to get through the first half.

[@rpNerd]

Growing up in a cold, neglectful home where my parents fought all the time. Im glad Ryan spoke about his own experiences and how this film evoked some of those feelings.

[@tophertarantula7875]

I'm actually writing a final thesis essay about this film through a phenomenological lense so I'm SO thrilled to hear your thoughts about this film! Amazing as always!

[@Jaspertine]

It doesn't upset me. I love it. I love it in the morning, and in the afternoon. I love it in the evening, underneath the moon.

[@erinmccutcheon3751]

I think what upsets people about Skinamarink is that it's children being terrorised by some unknown evil thing. You wish to help them but you can't.

[@NunchuckPup]

Another great video, Ryan! I love that you discovered Jacob Geller - both of you are two of my favorite video essayists.

[@nickschmitt9936]

Maybe I’m just growing up, but Skinamarink is one of the first horror movies where I think it’s genuinely overhyped, and it’s hard to not think the people who are in love with are pulling some “emperor’s new clothes” stuff. All respects to people who like it!!! It’s definitely scary, but it’s definitely an art house movie 😅

[@TCRP117]

While watching Skinamarink I could see what the authorial intent behidn it was, the methods they were employing to achieve those goals, but I found it an interminable experience. There's a fine line between tension and boredom and at over an hour and a half this fell squarely on the latter at nearly every opportunity for me. It felt like it would have made for a solid 30-40 minute short but bloated to its detriment at its final runtime. I watched 'Broadcast Signal Intrusion' around about the same time, a pseudo-psychological thriller, serial killer, modern take on a noir detective story that might be worth a watch from yourself if you haven't seen it already. Great video!

[@csubi907]

It's upsetting me because I was really disappointed in this movie. I wish I could have enjoyed it more but I felt I was literally watching paint dry. And the conversations being intentionally silent so you increase volume so that the (cheap) jump scares scare you more is really dumb. This movie is an hour too long, the creator's KZbin movie "Heck" was the perfect length for this. I'm glad for people who liked it, I really did not.

[@chaoticfirearm]

The personal anecdote you included was really touching. I think this video is one of your best analyses yet.

[@FloodclawKupo]

Absolutely wonderful video. I can agree broadly with what you're saying, and that it really is ultimately down to the individual on how the movie is taken. For some, the unfocused, indirect shot style could be incredibly boring,. For some, it can pull intense feelings of unease, looking in the corners for what might be there. Perhaps reminding them of staring at the other side of the room at night, squinting, almost seeing something but you're not quite sure what it is. It definitely could have benefited from being shorter, and personally, the audio mixing on the prominent jumpscares was WAY too loud. Seeing it in cinemas genuinely hurt my ears whenever they happened. This was also on a rewatch at home with headphones, too, so it wasn't just the cinema. A shame, because otherwise the audio is amazing, and I want to turn it up to listen closely.

[@adrianabbott7282]

It upsets me because it was a boring as fuck film lol

[@g_tterspace]

i watched the short film and was terrified, so going into the cinema to see the feature I was full of beans and expectation. I fell asleep 20 minutes in. The only other time that ever happened to me was when I saw Green Zone with Matt Damon. I saw Stalker the other day and it's 3 men walking around arguing about religion in Russian for 3 hours and I was entranced, so it's definitely not my personal issue with slow cinema... I've been trying to analyse my own personal response to it just simply because so many people around me were so affected by it, yet I was so underwhelmed... Though, for all indie filmmakers out there, know that you can point your camera at the ceiling for 140 minutes and be considered an arthouse genius so, hold on to hope guys.

[@wrenpeach6707]

Ryan, thank you so much for this. I can definitely understand where it would be boring for some people, but it uniquely upset me in a way that was hard for me to articulate even to myself. Your video has helped me put it into perspective and deal with my reaction. I have been a fan of horror movies since I was 4 or 5 and am pretty desensitized, so I'm always looking for something that will make me feel scared again like when I was a kid. Skinamarink.did that too well lol When I was a kid I was terrified of the song the title comes from, it just sounded scary and ominous. I also used to watch a tape of old cartoons that scared me. My tape included at least 2 of the cartoons used in the movie (the one with the spider, and the one with the Pincushion man, who I had nightmares about). I had a much older sibling who was mentally ill and often crossed from sibling teasing and rough housing into actual abuse. My parents didn't know how to deal with him and were dealing with their failing marriage, so I felt neglected. I already had anxiety issues, a vivid imagination, and very poor vision that my parents had not yet discovered or corrected, so the blurry "what is that?" look of the movie also felt uncomfortably reminiscent of my childhood. Due to some of the treatment from my older brother, I have cptsd that is triggered by feeling like I have no escape route (I get distracted and twitchy if someone is standing blocking a door even if I'm otherwise comfortable and have no desire to leave). As a child I sleepwalking and had night terrors, and as an adult I now occasionally get sleep paralysis hallucinations. This movie was like a perfect storm of things to linger in my mind making me feel sick. There were times I wanted to turn it off but felt frozen in place. I have had trouble sleeping after watching that movie, and I feel so embarrassed about that lol. Your video has made me think about why I felt so affected and makes me feel much better about it. I think I'll sleep better tonight.

[@SleepZedd]

No yeah, I get it. Like you said earlier, "Horror is in the eye of the beholder." To me, it's the feeling of vulnerability that scared me and how I put myself in the shoes of Kevin. For when I was a kid, I used to have these weird dreams where it felt real and yet I'd wake up and still be in my dream. Too there were these entities that I encountered a lot and would follow me seamlessly into my teenage years. I never knew the difference between reality and dreams as a kid, so this movie really captured the feeling of a child losing grip with realty while also dealing with a very violent form of sleep paralysis.

[@themoviereviewernextdoor5327]

I know its just my opinion, but the film came off like someone desperately making a film that was catering to the artsy crowd so that if you werent scared by it, people will say shit like "you watched it wrong."

[@jdw72090]

Always nice to see Jacob Geller get a shout out...also as victim of neglect this movie and its trailers gave me out right panic attacks.

[@6canadian6winter6]

The song gos “ skinamarink a dinky dink , skinamarink a do , I love you “ my mom used to sing it to us when we were little kids so it kind of hit home for me

[@TyroneBruinsmaFilms]

I've not seen it (I'll be waiting for the DVD) but the film's visuals remind me of Lake Mungo

[@ColorHeartCarlie42]

It begs the question, did we ever overcome our fear of the dark, or did we just suppress it?

[@Lady_Chalk]

17:26 "There's no such thing as a negative emotion." I really can't wrap my head around that. I just can't understand that.

[@poozwonger]

Bloody well upset me! Another recent Shudder addition - could you do a Near Dark vid? Please and thank you!

[@munchcat]

It didn't really upset me. It just isn't my cup of tea. Too abstract and too much of a slow burn for my tastes, even knowing the possible stories behind it.

[@jonathanmulondo9206]

Kinda of reminds of the Marble Hornets series. I definitely do enjoy these low budget horror films because they seem particularly inspired by Phantasm and The Evil Dead

[@RaeMelantha]

I struggle with these kind of movies so much because as much as I think metaphors and the like can be neat… I’m a very literal person. Please. I just want to know lol I need explanations

[@Faben32]

Forgive me for repeating myself. I said in other comment sections in other videos that I saw this in theaters with friends. Yes, I had trouble staying awake. And my analogy was that it's like watching a 2 hour version of Samara's tape from The Ring. When we left, we discussed what the hell we just saw and this was my interpretation: that blood splat was shown 3 times so I believe the father killed the wife and the kids and possibly himself and now the family is in purgatory. But that's just speculation. Hoyever, my friends agreed saying that made sense.

[@anomieanomalie]

the random shots of the tv light's on the ceilings and such hit me in some weird nostalgic way, i can't precisely put my finger on it, but there is definitely something about the way parts of your own house look in dim lighting that are unnerving, especially back in childhood, it's like a familiar place is transformed into something strange

[@cupofcait]

This is one of those movies that genuinely scared me. I felt like my childhood nightmares were being projected on my TV (because I watched on shudder. May have actually lost my mind in a theater.) But it's also one of those movies I can't tell other people to watch because I know it won't impact them the way it hit me. So as much as I rave about it to my friends I have to say...you would hate it lol

[@Disig]

Nothing shameful about Vessi's lol. I live in the Pacific Northwest, NA where it rains all the time and damn I love this brand.

[@jenniferasta7462]

Thank you so much for helping to somewhat satisfy my curiosity about this movie. I’d also like to thank you for managing to keep some humour, because just the imagery here brought back such intense memories of my childhood fear of the dark that I was affected physically. The occasional “ light touch” got me through this.☺️

[@jloh3256]

Wish i could see the movie masterpiece as everyone else seems to rave about this. was bored and checked my watch at least five times, hoping it was nearing the end. Have no issue with experimental, nonlinear, or even artsy touches, but it didn't even commit to using a film camera and used a cheap filter and found the public domain cartoon the most engaging part of the movie.

[@FTZPLTC]

Not gonna lie... I kinda instinctively hate the coma theory. It's not that I can't see why people might like it, because it "explains away" the film very neatly, and that's what some people need. But I don't think this movie presented itself as something that should be neatly explained away, and likewise, I don't get why anyone looks at this movie and thinks "This definitely needs a non-supernatural explanation". I almost want to call it a cop-out, but it actually takes more effort to interpret the movie that way... but that effort doesn't lead to a more interesting movie. The more interesting reading is the completely literal one - where everything we see does happen how we see it happening, and whatever it takes to make that happen is the truth. I dunno, it just seems weird to be given a movie with such a sparse and fascinating breadcrumb trail, and to immediately dismiss the breadcrumbs.

[@blackosprey2219]

It's also contradicted by how the movie clearly has 2 pov characters in the 2 children. It can't be only 1 child's coma when the narrative clearly deviates from his sole perspective.

[@FTZPLTC]

@@blackosprey2219 True, but if the movie were a lot more interesting as a coma-nightmare, I'd be willing to overlook that. For me, the fact that the movie just doesn't gain anything from being read that way is reason enough not to do so. Like, I saw a movie theory that claimed that all of Fight Club takes place in Ed Norton's character's mind. And it just added nothing. I remember MatPat saying that dream theories are "OP" - that they explain too much - but in this case, I think the problem is that it doesn't explain enough. It might tell you why you're seeing weird things, but it doesn't tell you why you're seeing *these* weird things. And with a movie that shows you so little, I would think that the things it *does* show are too important to dismiss.

[@blackosprey2219]

@Steve Cheney @Steve Cheney oh, for sure. Dream theories in general tend to be really infuriating because the ONLY thing they "explain" is "why is the weird stuff happening" by saying "dream logic lol." It's cheap, cliched, and a waste of interesting potential.

[@kingsleycy3450]

I personally love it. If we measure everything by the same mainstream sensibilities, we are going to miss out on a lot of great art. The first Paranormal Activities wasn't strictly a great film, but I loved how its barebone presentation conveyed a sense of authenticity- you just can't get that with a more conventional narrative.

[@anxioussamurai9017]

Skinamarink upset me because it's an hour and 40 minutes that I'll never get back.

[@FieryRedmond]

I know most people likely would hate this movie but I loved it, absolutely terrifying

[@mindypatterson7302]

I didn't come to either of the conclusions. Watch "The Cruelty of Skinamarink" by Flaw Peacock, he explains some of the conclusions that I came to. If you're familiar with SCPs, the movie very strongly feels like one of those. But he puts together the links between cartoons the children are watching to the monsters possible abilities really well. I took the movie for what it was, a time and dimension altering monster with a penchant for cruelty and shapeshifting abilities. That despite how smart the children are, how much they try and do right, ultimately there is nothing they can do against it. It really brought the horror to me that there are things out in the world we cannot explain nor fight, that doesn't discriminate in picking it's victims.

[@wolfearsceej]

I saw this in an empty theater with no heat (in the dead of winter) and it cemented it's place on my best of the year list.

[@daniellong7917]

great video, the She-Hulk ad was way scarier than the film itself though,

[@SakuraAsranArt]

Skinamarink is scary and all, but the paralysis demon in the shape of a doll that Ryan pulled out of his walls was downright horrifying!

[@jamesgoodman9314]

When I realised that the entity was enjoying tormenting the children I said oh fuck you

[@dantevalehuntik28]

I'm so glad you found Jacob, his essays have been a huge source of poetic inspiration for me for years now

[@CityOTroy]

I really didn't like this movie at all but I do respect the effort and thought process they tried to accomplish

[@crysispersists9972]

This film was the most upsetting watch I've had in while. I kept being pulled back into the nightmares I had as a child, of my parents crumbling away at the foot of my bed. I think we feel our memories, rather than just think them. This film seems to capture that feeling of a memory. That bruise on your heart that you might touch and still feel tender. Anyway, charming film!

[@runningcommentary2125]

It sounds like a great idea for a film, but when it comes down to it, what actually happens? It's basically just a kid getting tortured without any actual plot to it. You could end it at any point over the halfway mark and it would have the exact same effect.

[@logan735]

yea its severely overrated by kids who never really got over their childhood fears

[@finpin2622]

Man, you shouted out like 3 of my favorite KZbinrs in this video, including Jacob Geller, about a film I really found interesting. This hit all of my niche interests! I actually watched this movie with my sister which kind of gave it a very.... Nostalgic feeling I guess, the both of us having gone through our parents fairly rough divorce at a young age, the movie definitely felt incredibly relatable and childhood-like to me. Especially the way the two kids kind of depended on each other for comfort since I, again, literally enlisted my sister to watch it with me because I didn't want to be scared alone 😅 To me I definitely interpreted the movie as more of the kids possibly going through their parents divorce and one of the parents becoming abusive (or a parents new partner) and this kind of being the fever-dream version of it, but the coma theory also makes a lot of sense given the boy's fall at the beginning of the movie. But like you said, part of the horror of the movie is the way it brings forth any old childhood fear you have stored away in the back of your brain in little tidbits and nightmares, so thats probably why I fixated on the parent separation aspect of it all (I found the parents sitting on the bed, facing away, with starting the whole 'your father and I love you very much' thing insanely heart wrenching in particular). It was all just very overwhelming, and I definitely had to turn my lights back on halfway through the film. For me I was okay with the length because I've watched some long, meandering art films in my past, and although the ending was unsatisfying in a way because I wanted to be able to click some pieces together, it didn't feel like it was supposed to be satisfying. Also I look forward to analog horror content, it's been one of those emerging genres I've really enjoyed keeping an eye on. I almost think KZbin is a better place for that particular style of horror because of how organic it can feel but it's also cool to see it moving into the actual movie space.

[@bodaciousbabe9691]

I can't get through aftersun without bawling my eyes out. Nostalgia is a thing so many films try to capture but I've never had a film feel so personally targeting, to the point that I can't view under pressure as a light fun song anymore because of that one scene. Desperately trying to hold onto someone because you can feel them slipping but you don't understand why and realising you'll never truly know your parents as people first and who they are once you've left the room. It's a very quick add to the favourite movies club but i think I'll be processing it for a very long time. While aftersun was more rawly emotional, shinamarink gave me a similar feeling so the parallels were very welcome.

[@mattwstewart205]

Wanted to love it but I just couldn’t! And I love mood pieces. Felt far too long

[@InuvationStudio]

Never had I seen a movie that near perfectly encapsulates the chronic night terrors I dealt with as a child in the 90’s, and for that I absolutely love Skinamarink. So many scenes were like scenarios straight out of my nightmares and late night walks around the house due to being more afraid of sleep than the dark most nights. Especially that ending. Absolutely terrifying, even before you get into the more gut wrenching implications of the film.

[@midwestchaos5679]

I think I respect this film more than I like it. Very interested in what the director does next.

[@SafieLiverpool]

I REALLY appreciate this coverage of Skinamarink. In the days and weeks after seeing it, I’ve sought out others’ thoughts on it and I’ve mostly seen the same sort of theories about what’s happening in it, but that is just not what I find fascinating about it. It’s not about what’s possibly happened to Kevin or what monster is hiding in the shadows, but the emotions and the feelings the whole piece evokes. When I woke up the next morning after watching Skinamarink, I walked to my windows and checked to make sure they were still there cause the idea of existing forever in the dark and comfort of my own home, where I should feel safe, was the worst possible fate I could imagine at the moment.

[@turnmeondeadman4221]

Wow imagine being you 😂

[@HeatherHolt]

I found it pretty boring but my friend thought it was terrifying. But I’m sadly jaded on horror movies and even some psychological horror is pretty bland and predictable. It’s fine and I’m very happy for the creators success but it’s just not for me. I did think the kids weren’t awful for kid actors tho. Which is refreshing.

[@MrBooone]

I honestly just thought this movie was really boring, it was cool for 30 minutes, but then it got REALLY dry. I think PapaMeat said it best, this movie eggs you on to think there's gonna be something interesting that happens every 30 minutes...But then they just loop the footage at the end, and we get nothing. Interesting film, but man do I hate that people are praising it as something special. Blaire Witch had hardly anything going on, and even that was far more interesting and better done