EVIL UNDER THE SKIN *** USA 2019 Dir: Jeffrey Schneider. 94 mins
A mother (Helene Udy of My Bloody Valentine fame) and her daughter Roselee (Angela Banjaras) try to reconnect when they go on vacation to a desolate lakeside retreat, but this getaway is anything but idyllic as they soon discover the holiday home has dark secrets from the past they encounter strange locals who drive them into madness blurring the line between reality and fiction.
There are some great uses of colourization which gives an almost giallo quality to some of the shots and scenery.
The film does feel like an extended short film which is very surrealistic and gives a David Lynch style feel to the overall production, if anything is lacking here it’s the story as the shots are great. The acting is really good from Helene Udy and Angela Banjaras with a great supporting cast including Donna Hamblin and Pamela Sutch.
My gripe with the film is the overly extended scenery shots and montages or scenes with no dialogue which tend to drag, in that time we could have had more story and dialogue, although I see the need for these within the films context and it does add to the dream like feel, but that’s only a small niggle of a overall unique production.
Evil Under The Skin is a very bizarre film, sometimes unnerving to watch and at other times has a full on B-movie vibe to it, it’s certainly a beast of its own and ride into the unknown, perfect escapism.
Review by Tony Newton
EVIL UNDER THE SKIN IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON