Knives and Skin Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Knives and Skin Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 26, 2020

While David Lynch recently organized a return trip to “Twin Peaks,” writer/director Jennifer Reeder wants to keep the celebration going with “Knives and Skin.” While not directly an ode to Lynch’s exploration of the damned, Reeder certainly pays tribute to the helmer’s ways with garmonbozia, manufacturing her own take on the twisted residents of a seemingly normal town, where the death of a young girl begins to unravel everything. Reeder likes to keep matters tangled and unreal at times, and her stab at a screen mystery is attempted with dull storytelling skills. She’s better with the weird stuff, but just barely, as “Knives and Skin” quickly loses itself to strained idiosyncrasy, often showing its work when it comes to conjuring screen oddity.

After a sexual situation with Andy (Ty Olwi) goes south in a remote location, Carolyn (Raven Whitley) is abandoned without her glasses by the teenage boy. When she doesn’t turn up at home, her mother, Lisa (Marika Engelhardt), is faced with her worst nightmare, trying to drum up support for her search, urging Sheriff Doug (James Vincent Meredith) into action, only he’s dealing with his own domestic issues, including his pregnant spouse, Renee (Kate Arrington), who’s having an affair with Dan (Tim Hopper), an aspiring party clown. At school, Andy’s sister, Joanna (Grace Smith), is trying to process the dire situation, joined by Laurel (Kayla Carter), who’s confronting her own sexuality, and Charlotte (Ireon Roach), whose artful ways beguile Jason (Jalen Gilbert). As weeks pass, hope for a safe return slowly drifts away, only to be reignited by a few strange communications, which sends Lisa to the brink of sanity and everyone else to the comfort of their personal problems.

Carolyn’s initial abandonment opens “Knives and Skin,” with the tentative young woman unsure about her time with Andy, who’s already in a hostile relationship with Laurel. Andy wants sex, but Carolyn isn’t ready to make any major moves, abruptly left alone in the middle of nowhere, with Andy stealing her glasses, preventing any return trip home. It’s incredible cruelty, and the first of many hateful acts from males in the feature, with most either a predator or useless. Reeder is much more interested in female perspectives, as Carolyn’s missing status cracks open behavioral issues for all, with Lisa rubbed raw by grief, forced to continue with her day job as a choir teacher, barely there for her students. Joanna is already aching to leave town, with the disappearance only increasing her restlessness, trying to make money for a Sarah Lawrence education by selling booze to teens and undergarments to perverts, also managing pronounced mental illness from her mother, Lynn (Audrey Francis), who sleeps on a tinfoil pillow and has conversations with her animal print t-shirt.

There’s a lot more to the interpersonal relationships in “Knives and Skin,” with Reeder delivering a cat’s cradle of a screenplay, playing up small- town antagonisms and claustrophobia. Some of it is effective, finding Lisa’s deterioration the only thing that registers as passably human in the feature, and Laurel’s journey of self-worth is engaging, watching the character respond to attentions from a female classmate and recognize the toxicity of Andy, who has his own encounters with Lisa, as the mother can “smell” Carolyn on him, advancing sexually on the teen to have any possible moment with her seemingly dead daughter. Sections exploring grief have potential, but Reeder show no real focus on any one thing, treating “Knives and Skin” as a kitchen sink professional opportunity, stuffing all kinds of cinematography fetishes into the effort, and there are musical connections peppered around the endeavor, watching characters express themselves through song, albeit mostly pop tunes from the 1980s and ‘90s.

Knives and Skin Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jennifer Reeder strives to create a very stylish world for "Knives and Skin," and the AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation protects the strange vision. Colors are emphasized throughout, leading with distinct lighting schemes that pump pinks and purples into view, while primaries are direct on clothing and school decoration. Clown make-up retains its rainbow appearance. Skintones are natural. Greenery is lush. Detail handles facial surfaces well, picking up on signs of distress and age, and makeup offerings are clearly explored. Locations retain dimension, and costuming is fibrous, examining ornate outfits and everyday wear with real texture. The feature offers very deep blacks at times, and delineation survives. Some mild banding is detected during the viewing experience.

Knives and Skin Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers a passably immersive listening event, but frontal emphasis is compelling, as dialogue exchanges are distinct, with softer emotionality and harder argumentative moments, with nothing pushing into distortion. Surrounds are strong for atmospherics, offering an enveloping sense of outdoor activity as the action visits lakes and school functions. Some mild panning effects are utilized. Scoring cues are heavy, supporting dramatic and artistic intentions with sharp instrumentation, and vocal performances are crisp. Low-end isn't challenged, but some weight is felt with periodic violence.

Knives and Skin Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "On the Set" (3:58, HD) is a bizarrely short look at the making of "Knives and Skin," spending a little time with director Jennifer Reeder and cinematographer Christopher Rejano. There are bits and piece of BTS footage to enjoy, watching the helmer put together shots and interact with the crew, but interview time dominates, with Reeder reflecting on her creative choices, her work with the cast, and the communication required for her collaboration with Rejano.

• Deleted Scenes (17:08, HD) are offered.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:10, HD) is included.

Knives and Skin Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's a shame "Knives and Skin" isn't more compelling, but Reeder isn't crafting a mystery (Carolyn's disappearance is barely tended to), she's showing off her visual and atmospherics skills, hitting viewers with random blasts of empowerment and extremity. She can't reach Lynch-ian heights, but Reeder is determined, devoting moments to sad clowns and hostile pregnant ladies, and her love for goopy, beefy textures is impressive. "Knives and Skin" is more of a technical exercise than an immersive journey into the depths of broken people, and while Reeder has something intriguing here, there's not enough of it to support a film that runs out of ideas fairly quickly, relying on eccentricity to bedazzle the lukewarm viewing experience.