Inside new horror movie Skinamarink, which is being hailed as one of the ‘scariest films ever made’

A new experimental horror movie is sending waves of terror across the web after being branded as the ‘scariest film ever made’ – with some viewers admitting that it left them terrified for days, while reigniting their childhood fears of the dark. 

Created by Canadian director Kyle Edward Ball, Skinamarink follows two children, four-year-old Kevin and six-year-old Kaylee, who wake up in the middle of the night to discover that their parents are gone and that the windows and doors in their home have vanished.

‘To cope with the strange situation, the two bring pillows and blankets to the living room and settle into a quiet slumber party situation,’ a description reads. 

‘They play well worn videotapes of cartoons to fill the silence of the house and distract from the frightening and inexplicable situation.

‘All the while in the hopes that eventually some grown-ups will come to rescue them. However, after a while it becomes clear that something is watching over them.’

Over the course of the one-hour-40-minute horror flick, strange and terrifying things start to occur in the house – furniture disappears and reappears, toys move on their own, and the children even start to hear voices – leading to the kids, and the audience, unable to decipher what’s real and what’s not.

A eerie voice soon begins to speak to them – instructing Kevin to cut out his own eye with a knife and telling him that he took away Kaylee’s mouth because she didn’t do what she was told.

Named after the popular children’s song by Sharon, Lois, and Bram, the flick, which premiered on January 13, 2023, is currently still playing in theaters, but it can also be streamed on the website Shudder.

Independent described the flick as a ‘waking nightmare,’ explaining that it creates an ‘atmosphere of dread,’ while Inverse hailed it as the ‘scariest movie of all time,’ describing it as ‘the most sinister and downright malevolent story put to film in a long time.’

‘It will put a spell on you, paralyze you, and invade your very soul in a way no other film can or has even tried to,’ Inverse wrote in its review. ‘It is without question one of the best horror movies ever made, period.’

The outlet added that the ‘unending low-lit shots’ become ‘primal portals of terror’ and that ‘each pitch black tableau dares’ the audience to ‘try to make sense of what might be lurking in the darkness.’

‘Ball is calculated about when he actually places horrors for us to find in the shadows, but he knows when to pack on the scares and when to use restraint – so much so that the jump scares, of which there are only a few, are the most effective in recent memory,’ it continued.

‘A major tenet of the reality-defying world these children find themselves in is the bastardization of childhood innocence, and the filmmaker finds many different ways to unsettle us with items that never scared us before.

‘Some of the film’s best moments hinge on unending piles of toys and household items inexplicably floating and sticking to the ceiling. 

‘These impossibilities make us feel unsafe in a space where we used to let our guard down, and the effect these realizations have on the audience – and the children in the film – is staggering.’

The publication said the ‘very smart, inventive, and downright offensively terrifying’ ending left them questioning their own reality.

‘It’s an absolutely distressing note to leave this film on, but deeply powerful in the primal fear it insights in the viewer just as the movie is coming to a close,’ the review concluded. 

‘It asserts that no, you are not a safe and innocent bystander, you have a reason to stay scared. 

‘You will be thinking about this movie after it’s over, when you lay your head down to sleep and your brain thinks maybe there’s something in the corner of your bedroom. It might not ever fully leave you.’

Skinamarink – which has already grossed a whopping $1.5 million at the box office – stars newcomers Lucas Paul and Dali Rose Tetreault as brother and sister Kevin and Kaylee.

Prior to making Skinamarink, director Ball was a popular YouTube creator who would make short films based off of nightmares that his followers described in the comment section of his videos.

Based on a recurring dream he’s had, he filmed the movie in his childhood home in Edmonton, Canada, using vintage cameras borrowed from a local film organization – and the whole thing cost only around $15,000 and took just seven days.

According to Variety, Bell may give acclaimed horror creator Jason Blum a run for his money. 

Describing the movie as a ‘nearly plotless experimental creep-out,’ the outlet added that Skinamarink ‘certainly ‘isn’t like’ any ‘other horror films’ made. 

‘The film invites us to get back in touch with every childhood fear you ever had about some midnight monster lurking in the shadows,’ it said. 

Vulture wrote that it ‘forgoes standard storytelling to instead try to re-create the sensation of being scared.’ 

‘When Skinamarink sets out to actively scare, it’s very good at it,’ it added.

The New York Times stated: ‘With a plot so rudimentary as to be virtually nonexistent, this experimental and aggressively inscrutable horror movie is mesmerizing in its dearth of action.’ 

‘Ingeniously evoking a child’s response to the inexplicable, Skinamarink sways on the border between dreaming and wakefulness, a movie as difficult to penetrate as it is to forget.’

A writer for BloodyDigusting.com said it made them ‘afraid of the dark again,’ explaining that the ‘anticipation’ you feel while watching the film ‘sends goosebumps racing down your spine.’

‘The film sucks the air out of the room, and your muscles tighten over your armrest,’ they wrote.

‘The darkness appears suffocating, yet limitless. It consumes the senses in such a way that you believe your mind is playing tricks on you. 

‘Fear throbs through your chest, and your body reacts in every way. Your breath grows shallower, as though someone has placed a plastic bag over your head. It almost hurts to be this scared.’

The movie has become a viral social media sensation since its release last month – with many viewers taking to Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram to share their reactions, theorize about the movie’s meaning, and discuss the shock ending.

It also propelled director Bell into the spotlight practically over night, which he admitted has had its ups and downs.

‘I had to delete my Instagram because I was getting so many messages. Someone got a Skinamarink tattoo, and I was like, “Oh, my God,”‘ he told Los Angeles Times recently.

‘Then I took a step back and I remembered, this is this person’s relationship to something you did, but it’s not you. They liked the movie. They might not even know your name.

‘It feels incredibly validating and amazing … I wanted to respond to every DM, but then after a while, it became apparent that that was impossible, because there were so many. 

‘I had to do a pinned Tweet saying, “I’m so sorry guys, I can’t respond to every DM.” I’m just one person, right? That was a weird thing too. No one prepares you for stuff like that.’

In the end, Ball said he is honored by all the attention that he and his movie are getting, with him adding, ‘Everything that a filmmaker dreams that would happen to them, except for winning an Oscar, has happened to me in the span of just a couple of months.’