Dennis Skinner (Ted Raimi) wades into town (like literally through water…ever hear of a sidewalk chum?) and takes a room in the house of Kerry and Geoff Tate (Ricki Lake and David Warshofsky respectively). Well, Geoff treats Kerry like a shit sandwich and she soon develops a crush on ol’ Skinner…even though he’s weird as balls…and lives up to his name by skinning women and wearing their hides like a Ben Cooper Halloween number, ya dig? Meanwhile, a beautiful and scarred woman named Heidi (Traci Lords) blows into town with a murderous ambition towards Skinner, and an ass-load of drugs as well. How will this sinister scenario play out, and who’ll be left alive and intact at the end of it?
Skinner is one hell of a fucked up fright flick! The entire film has an off putting and overly strange vibe (aided by a near comic book style utilization of color and an odd water motif) that is hard to pin down…and that’s in the parts where Skinner isn’t peeling off people’s flesh and making full body suits out of it…and doing horrible impressions of the victims to boot. Adding to the manic tone is a completely amazing performance from Ted Raimi in the lead role; he goes from incredibly personable…to bizarre…to chillingly cold and brutal with ease; and he totally owns this film (though I’d be remiss to mention that Lake is charming and sympathetic in her role, and Lords is infinitely watchable and strange as the femme fatale who is equal parts Film Noir and medical atrocity).
Of course special mention must be given to the completely nauseating practical effects conjured up by those wizards at KNB! This film holds nothing back when it comes to the ghoulish gore, and every nuance and stitch that goes into Skinner’s creepy creations, and it is simply awesome to behold for horror hounds that thrive on the red sauce!
On the downside, there is one moment of this film that is sure to get some sensitive souls in a tizzy. It involves Skinner’s impression of one of his victims, and to say it’s not politically correct would be a fucking understatement to say the least. But that illustrates the quality of Raimi’s performance; we are supposed to be completely turned off by Skinner and his actions…but he’s played as so quirky and likable that we forget that…until we simply can’t.
Along with the feature presentation, ol’ sinister Severin have included some choice bonus cuts on this Blu-ray release as well! Included are interviews with Director Ivan Nagy (archival), Raimi, Screenwriter Paul Hart-Wilden, and editor Jeremy Kasten that illustrate the film’s genesis as well as it’s production quite well (including how the Heidi Fleiss scandal affected the film). Also included are a series of flaying outtakes and the film’s trailer.
Sleazy, gory, and absolutely batshit insane, Skinner is a fright flick not be missed by those that have the stomach for it…just be prepared for a wild tale both in front of and behind the camera!
