Day 10
movie: Sheep Skin
starring: Michael Schantz, Laurence Mullaney
genre: Crime, Thriller
year: 2013
format: TV Edit
plot: After his sister is killed, a drug addict and his friends kidnap the ex-boyfriend, believing he's a werewolf.
Not really a horror film, not really a thriller either, but a decent drama. Except for the first five minutes, everything happens within one room, and the character's paranoia pits everyone against each other. I think that's what brilliant about this story. It plays on the claustrophobia and mistrust created by the fear and prejudice the main characters already have. You've got a great metaphor happening for 90% of this film, the other 10% is ...well a werewolf movie.
The pay off in the last 2 minutes, you can see coming a mile away, but it works. I found myself smirking and nodding to the last scene as the screen went black. It takes a long time to get to the point, but the rest of the movie is actually good. You don't mind how long it takes to get to it.
And yes, there is a werewolf transformation, even though it ends up more of a man in a gorilla suite which makes you laugh out loud. I don't know if the intention was just to straight up do a werewolf movie, or if the intention was more to explore the metaphor of fear? I felt it did one better than the other. Through most of the movie you are watching the lead character lose his mind more and more as he's trying to prove he's right and coming up empty. The fact that midway the character is caught taking a handful of pills, causing his credibility to be questioned helps to put more doubt in the viewer's mind.
As a movie about fear and paranoia, this is pretty decent.
Okay, I'm going to bury this here in the graveyard. I'll be back tomorrow with another treat for your Hallowe'en displeasure.
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