I am not a cynic, but every once in a while I go to the movies with the expectation that I'll be disappointed. On that account, Gabriel Bartalos' Skinned Deep (2004) certainly does not disappoint. The film has been described as "the most original and surreal horror film you'll ever see." I have just one question for that critic was he on drugs at the hospital when he wrote that review? A schlock-ish rehash of everything you've seen before in a slasher movie only not necessarily in this order - the experience of watching lead, Forrest J. Ackerman (whose name is never given) and his motley crew of co-stars, (Eric Bennett, Karoline Brandt, Linda Weinrib) have their intestines turned into coleslaw by the demonic local yokel who, no kidding, just happens to be a serial killer - treads familiar territory in very familiar ways. What is particularly impressive about this film if the word impressive should at all be used is its special effects. Not surprising, since Bartalos was an effects man before turning director, everything in his film from severed limbs to exploding heads get the A-list treatment.
Nothing in the vein of mass murder ever looks fake or contrived, though both words amply describe everything else in the film, from its utterly painful acting to the narrative thread of circumstances that John Q. Public and sons into a raw sushi patter at Denys. Note to Bartalos; grotesqueness alone does not a horror film make
oh, and don't quit your day job.
Hart Sharp Video, who I must confess, I've never heard of before, have done an uncharacteristically bad job of transferring Skinned Deep to DVD. Colors are muddy and bleed into one another. Fine detail is completely lost. Pixelization breaks up background information throughout, and there's more than a subtle hint of edge enhancement. Contrast levels seem much too pasty for day scene, and incredibly too pale for night. Blacks are more tonal gray, with a disturbing line of video noise that will easily be detected on larger monitors, about two thirds of the way down the screen. Overall, the image quality has the consistency of a television broadcast during a wind storm.
The audio is stereo, but it's not anything to write home about more like something you'd rather cover your ears to. This is a bare bones DVD release, and if I'm any judge of film art, you won't be seeing a deluxe four disc special edition any time soon.
