Skinamarink Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.0

Skinamarink Blu-ray Movie Review

Good marketing is the real terror.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 8, 2023

RLJ Entertainment's worst horror release in an entire month, Kyle Edward Ball's Skinamarink is every bit as terrible as you've hopefully heard. This abysmal exercise in supernatural dread gets a half-point for its gutsy visual aesthetic and another half-point because I don't think we can hand out zeroes... but honestly, it just might be the mostly frustratingly dull movie I've reviewed in any genre during the last decade. Released alongside the standard Blu-ray, this Wal-Mart exclusive Steelbook is available for masochists who also love fancy packaging. But let's imagine voluntarily stepping foot inside a Wal-Mart just to buy this. After such an experience, who'd be scared by a horror film?

For a roast of the main feature, please see my recent review of RLJ Entertainment's standard Blu-ray.

Skinamarink Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For my thoughts on this disc's 1080p transfer, please read my review of the standard Blu-ray.

Skinamarink Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For my thoughts on the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, please read my review of the standard Blu-ray.

Skinamarink Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release (which contains a DVD copy of the movie, unlike the standard Blu-ray) is packaged in a rather attractive Steelbook. Despite the fact that it's just a slightly re-tooled version of the standard edition's front cover, the text adjustments -- as well as the back cover image of young Kevin above (the only time you see his face during the film) and spooky inner print below -- make for a much more striking packaging job overall. (Just try not to chuckle at those pull quotes on the back cover, which really are something else.) The Blu-ray's minimal extras, as expected, are identical to the linked standard edition and are re-listed below for your convenience.

• Audio Commentary - Shit, I have to sit through the movie again? Just kidding -- I skimmed this one, although in hindsight I probably should have watched it instead of the film proper since this commentary dialogue rarely overlaps. Featuring writer/director/editor Kyle Edward Ball and cinematographer Jamie McRae, it offers a decent blend of surface-level detail about the film's inception and production, though somewhat frustratingly is one of those casual and mostly light-hearted tracks where nothing went wrong, honest.

Skinamarink Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kyle Edward Ball's Skinamarink is one of the most painfully bad films in a genre known for its low standards, yet still inexplicably earned a tidy little profit in theaters thanks to excellent marketing. And while even Wal-Mart's rather nice-looking Steelbook combo pack (which is currently priced almost identically to the standard Blu-ray) can't make the film any better, it's clearly the version to get if you've already seen and somehow enjoyed it. Shudder, indeed.