After a dazzling debut at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival that put the film on the map, Skinamarink has found a home with the horror streaming service Shudder. Variety reports that starting next year, the chilling microbudget indie film will be available to stream exclusively on the service, and it’s now also set for a theatrical run through IFC Midnight starting on January 13.
Skinamarink is the feature directorial debut of Kyle Edward Ball and follows two children as they wake up in the middle of the night to find their father missing. They also notice their house has completely changed with all the windows and doors removed. To calm themselves in the eerie situation, they bring pillows and blankets into the living room for a slumber party of sorts and load up their videotapes of old cartoons to pierce the quiet of the house. They lie in wait hoping that any adults will save them, but it soon becomes apparent they aren’t alone in the house.
“I’m thrilled that after months of keeping it secret, I can finally tell everyone that my weird movie is going to be in theaters and on Shudder,” Ball said in a statement. He got some help on the project from executive producers Edmon Rotea, Ava Karvonen, Bonnie Lewis, Alan Lewis, Josh Doke, and Jonathan Barkan. Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul, and Jaime Hill make up the cast of Skinamarink.
More Background on Skinamarink and Its Viral Success
Ball not only directed but also wrote and produced the film. His only previous experience in filmmaking came from writing and directing a music video for Craig Moreau and helming a short horror film titled Heck, but his experimental first feature proved a hit among fans and critics alike, earning a 100% critic score across eight reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
What really drove Skinamarink‘s success, however, was the internet. Following its debut at Fantasia, the internet was abuzz with the film’s childhood-inspired horror that played on the fear creaks and bumps heard throughout our houses at night inspired in us as kids. TikTok users, in particular, latched onto the film for its slow-burn, atmospheric style of horror that was unlike other traditional horror flicks and for its classic found footage feel with a lo-fi veneer. It’s part of a wave of indie films and up-and-coming artists that has taken the horror genre by storm this year including Smile from newcomer Parker Finn and Terrifier 2 from Damien Leone among others.
Skinamarink will make its way to theaters on January 13 and will stream on Shudder sometime next year. Check out the chilling trailer below.
