I didn't hate "Skinamarink" 2022

I'll try to keep this as succinct and concise as I can.

I'm not trying to convince anyone that they're wrong about this film (especially not Jay) or that it's a 10/10 or anything, I just want to highlight that there's intent and merit in the film.

**Spoilers for "Skinamarink" 2022!**

I don't fault anyone for hating this film. I can see how one could watch it, get it, and still walk out unsatisfied. One of the major criticisms I agree with is the length. While it does play into the narrative in the end, I do feel like it would've been just as effective at 90 minutes, or even 80 minutes.

I think I may also have a happenstance bias towards this film. The director is also Canadian and is around my age and seems to have been exposed to a lot of similar material growing up.

I can also relate to being a kid with my sibling in a house without parental supervision and not much else other than a CRT , a VCR, and whatever VHS's you had to pass the time.

Anyway, with that onto the actual film!

The film is intentionally slow cinema with images in static, odd angles that not only contribute to keeping the audience off balance, but are also a visual representation of how these kids are viewing their environment throughout the events of the film.

I can recall watching TV, or doing other things in the house in all sorts of bizarre angles as a kid and these shots really evoke the sensation and perspective of a kid doing so.

This is then doubled up on the lingering shots of dark areas where a kids imagination will run wild. The film then triples down on this by then forcing the viewer to stare at that void until they start questioning whether something is actually there or not.

I think I may be weird, but I kind of enjoyed how the film made me ruminate on those shots and really consider those things. I felt a similar way with "Under the Skin" (2013) where it would just hold and linger on these uncomfortable shots and force you to really digest the scene in the moment.

The other thing I haven't seen other people mention, and I'm going to put on my jack bald cap for my "artsy fartsy bullshit" interpretation, but the entity that is torturing the kids in this film is also a child, relative to whatever it is.

The way the entity can manipulate the environment of that house remind me of building a house out of LEGO's as a kid. If I want to remove the doors, windows, or toilets in it because I want to trap the LEGO people inside I just do it They're just toys, what does it matter to them?

I also got this impression when it "punished" the sister character for not playing the way it wanted her to. I feel like it was supposed to be like how kids will crazy over react to minor incidents, sometimes with violence, but ramped up to 11. Oh, you don't to play by *my* rules? Well, I'm taking away your *fucking* face!

So not only is this film exploring childhood fears, but it's also exploring childhood cruelty and neglect.

I honestly think that this film built a level of dread that I don't believe I felt before in a film. You know those kids are helpless from the start, and they suffer so hard while you can do nothing about it with the end reveal driving a nail directly into your heart.