Skinned Alive

I didn't expect to like this funny and gory horror comedy as much as I did. It's certainly not for all tastes; even though it runs only about 80 minutes (including the long closing credits), the pace is extremely slow and nothing much really happens throughout. The gore effects are cheap but effective. The villains are a really twisted gang: the foul-mouthed, abusive, wheelchair-bound matriarch, the clumsy and slightly retarded son, the sadistic hottie daughter (no nudity from her, though the opportunity does come twice - what a shame!). The "hero" is an alcoholic ex-cop who has to put a stop to their activities implied by the title. All of the acting is amateurish, but at least the actors don't take themselves too seriously and seem to be in on the joke. This film will probably be appreciated only by those viewers interested in low-budget horror film-making. (**1/2)

The title in itself is genius: "Skinned Alive." When I picked this movie up at the video store it was collecting dust in the horror section. I looked on the back of the box and immediately knew that it was a no-budget movie, and most avid horror-viewers know exactly what comes with THAT territory: Bad acting, shotty camerawork, almost inaudible dialogue, annoying keyboard music, and no plot.

This particular movie possessed an exception to almost every expectation that I first had of it. "Skinned Alive" is a movie that should be viewed by any filmmaker, young or old, that is interested in making a horror movie on an extremely low budget, because it is a prime example of how amateur directors can make the best of what they have. It was funny, gory, suspenseful, somewhat provocative, and well-edited. While frequently I find myself fast-forwarding these types of movies so as not to bore myself silly, with "Skinned Alive" I always found myself in eager anticipation of what would happen next. Who would be the next person to get insulted, or kicked in the face? Would the hero end up getting his house back? Surprisingly, not many of the great horror directors have the type of sense that Jon Killough had in his directorial debut when it comes to plot structure. He sets up his characters extremely well.

In conclusion, I was far from disappointed after viewing this random horror rent. It's an entertaining and hilarious presentation that will leave you laughing out loud, and inspired to go out and make your own movie.

This is another sick cheapie from J.R. Bookwalter's stable of enthusiast but untalented horror directors, better known as "Tempe Productions". Apart from his own outrageously gore debut film "The Dead Next Door", Bookwalter's production studio has unleashed nothing but embarrassingly bad splatter-stuff upon horror-loving audiences that have the most absurd and grotesque plots but also the most incompetent means to work with. "Skinned Alive" is entirely Jon Killough's pride and handles about a family of traveling weirdos that turn innocent people into fashionable clothing. After killing a guy near a retarded little Ohio town, their van breaks down and the family (weelchaired mother and her incestuous son and and daughter) has to stay at the garage owner's house, where they unconcernedly continue their killing spree. This movie somewhat feels like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" meets "Mother's Day" but it's neither scary nor very funny. I appreciate the goodwill of all cast-members (Scott Spiegel in particular seems to have a lot of fun) and some of the gore-effects are effectively nauseating. Killough's sense of humor is delightfully twisted and low-budget gore king J.R. Bookwalter makes a small appearance as the Jehovah's Witness (they make such easy preys). "Skinned Alive" is overall enjoyable in a brainless sort of way. Too bad about the terrible – at times downright unendurable – acting and the completely redundant divorce sub plot.

I've read a lot of other comments and I have to say that this movie does not suck and it's certainly not stupid. You just have to have an open mind and a taste for this kind of stuff. It's not a horror movie in that it will scare you but there is some gore (albeit not very authentic gore, but they were on a miniscule budget) and some seriously twisted characters in it. Admittedly, all the stuff with the former cop neighbor is very lame (I skip it usually). But, the joy of this flick is to watch Scott Spiegel and Mary Jackson together. They are an absolute riot! Spiegel really makes the film worthwhile. He pretty much did it as a favor to the director and producer and boy did he deliver! He's an innately funny man and the lines that he and Mary Jackson exchange are incredibly funny. The physical comedy is superb as well. I ordered this sucker on DVD without seeing it first and was not disappointed at all. Those of you who are familiar with the 'Fake Shemps' (Spiegel, Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert, Ted Raimi, etc) will enjoy this flick. Trust me.

I ended up with this movie through one of those cheap Brentwood Video 4 pack releases. I had a really hard time sitting through this movie the first time around but the second time around was what made it all worth while. This is an early release from some of the guys that brought you Evil Dead and other titles in the eighties. Usually, these movies are pretty bad and this one is no exception but all these movies are a lot of fun, you just have to adapt to the poor taste of this kind of film-making.

A group of 3 people are on the road killing random hitchhikers to use their skin as leather. They end up in a little town where a huge bloodbath takes place.

That's it. That's the storyline. Nothing new here but this film is still a lot of fun even if it is a badly done film. The gore effects are hilarious, especially a scene where one of the killers gets blown away with an uzzi. Scott Spiegal is about the only actor in the movie who actually places his part halfway decently. The rest of the actors are just atrocious.

All in all, I enjoyed this movie and will probably watch it several more times before I get tired of it. 7/10 stars