Despite comparisons to Blair Witch and Eraserhead, and a scary premise, this atmospheric debut feature runs out of steam

This experimental lo-fi horror debut became a mini viral sensation last year after accidentally being leaked online. Terrorised TikTok users called it “the scariest film ever made”; critics reached for comparisons with The Blair Witch Project and David Lynch’s Eraserhead. I have to admit to being underwowed, finding Skinamarink a little undeserving of its newly acquired cult status.

That said, there is without a doubt something uncanny, almost seance-like, in the way Canadian film-maker Kyle Edward Ball evokes childhood fear of the dark. That primal terror of being little and waking up in the middle of the night, your imagination playing tricks on you, turning the hallway to mum and dad’s room into a scary no man’s land where monsters lurk.