Skin Collector

It's never a good sign when the very first scene of a movie is so tiresomely heavy-handed that one's immediate thought is that there will be no need to be actively engaged with the remaining ninety minutes. This will sadly prove to be the enduring impression throughout, for in every capacity there is a brusque, blunt, hollow edge that accentuates the inauthenticity. The dialogue and character writing is full of tropes and stereotypes; the scene writing is flat and lifeless; the narrative is dull and bland, copied and pasted from any number of other titles. There's no subtlety, tact, or nuance to be found in the direction, and in turn there is none to be found in the acting despite the best efforts of the cast (then again, sometimes there's no apparent effort at all). Whether a song is presented on the soundtrack within a scene, or especially when it's possibly being performed within a scene, it sounds astoundingly empty, as if it were a parody. Each passing moment and every little inclusion feels like a series of hard, blocky edges butting up against one another - false, contrived, ill-fitting, with every small facet amplifying the lowliest qualities of those around it. 'Shiver' is not good.

There are some good ideas here. I'm unsure if a lot of those ideas are best suited for an earnest horror-thriller or, like the worst ideas, for a parody. The resulting screenplay reflects poorly on screenwriter Robert D. Weinbach, but to be frank, it also reflects poorly on novelist Brian Harper, because the conglomeration is so deeply unsatisfactory and unconvincing that I find it hard to imagine that a screenwriter could mangle a good book this badly. I guess the stunts are decent enough, and the practical effects. The hair and makeup artists did good work. The filming locations are swell, and the art direction. Richard Band's music is decent, if sparing and minimal. I see the skills of the cast that would surely shine through if given an opportunity; would that Julian Richards' direction didn't reduce every every component part to a tawdry, flimsy fraction of what it's supposed to be. There are no thrills to be had, nor any basic excitement; moments that should be creepy, charged, or disturbing are instead almost laughable. In theory 'Shiver' should bear a grim, dark tone; in practice, it's light and almost farcical, if indeed there's any tone at all.

I see what this could have and should have been. It should have been grotesque, exploitative, truly vexing, brutal, and nasty. What it is, instead, is exhausting, boring, boorish, grey, and mostly very trite; it stops just a little short of being a TV movie, in the worst of ways. Nearly all the best possibilities of what this might have been are squashed and squandered, and the relative strength of the last third can't compensate for broad, overwhelming deficiency. Had more care been taken from the outset, in the script and in the direction - even just as much care as had been applied to the back end - then the whole would have come off significantly better. As it is, 'Shiver' is lucky to have risen above rock bottom. I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I did, but unless one is a major fan of someone involved; I just don't see much reason why one should spend time here in light of the countless other titles one could be watching instead.

Realistically shows the killer's psychopathic tendencies and lack of empathy very well. Danielle alone deserves 10/10 for her acting. Some bits of almost too realistic gore, apart from heads in jars (re trailer). Enjoyed the film, and the last 10 mins deserves its own movie!

It's too bad that I end up writing an overall negative review for "Shiver", as I truly and honestly wanted to like it! I saw the film at a very small-scaled but charming Festival in my home country, and both director Julian Richards and writer/producer Robert D. Weinbach were present for the screening… Yes, sadly it wasn't lead actress Danielle Harris who traveled to Belgium for a visit. Anyway, they are both very friendly gentlemen and truly proud of their accomplishment. They describe "Shiver" as the first a deeply disturbing serial killer thriller in a very long time and supposedly also one of the first to draw a profound and genuinely realistic portrait of the psychopath. Well, it's good that they're fond of their product, of course, but sadly all I watched was a dull, derivative and tremendously clichéd run-of-the-mill B-movie thriller. John Jarratt, who my girlfriend immediately recognized from his role in the sappy soap series "MacLeod's Daughters", is immediately introduced as the murderous madman Vinnie even before the opening credits appear on screen. So don't pay any attention to the other user comment around here claiming that the trailer reveals the identity of the killer… You're meant to know right away. Vinnie savagely strangles with a steel wire because he had a traumatizing childhood. This gets illustrated trough a flashback in which we witness two bullies crushing little Vinnie's glasses. Now if such a vile act doesn't turn you into a relentless and misogynous serial killer, then what does? Vinnie leaves a big trail of bloody massacres behind in Oregon's Portland, and in spite of his rather rude and careless modus operandi, the dumb police inspector Casper Van Dien doesn't have a clue how to catch him. Then one night, Vinnie breaks into the apartment of cute single lady Wendy Alden. When she narrowly survives Vinnie's assault, he becomes obsessed with her and convinced that they belong together. What ensues is an incredibly tedious and predictable cat-and-mouse game, featuring all the clichés you can think of. Our killer literally pops up everywhere around Wendy, even in places where he couldn't possibly guess she is there, and "Shiver" quickly becomes ridiculous beyond proportions. Near the climax, Vinnie goes on a sickening blood rampage that is actually laughable instead of disturbing, and the final confrontation between him and Wendy is then again quite tame. Horror princess Danielle Harris ("Halloween", "Hatchet") gives a good performance and the make-up effects are pleasingly gross, but the film is far too weak in the scripting and executing departments.

'Skin Collector' begins with a pre-credits sequence where stunning young Asian waitress Cathy politely declines the advances of a middle-aged hopeful and this results in his subsequent temper tantrum and her brutal murder in a public place, unseen by anyone. I wondered if this unassuming man was to be the film's killer, because although competently played, he doesn't possess any menace, instability or threat.

The hero of the piece Delgado (Casper Van Dien), a police inspector, is as square-jawed, designer stubbled and ruggedly handsome as you could imagine - competent but bland. With these two main players holding things together, this doesn't promise to be riveting viewing, sadly.

Wendy, a bullied (by her unspeakable mother) Portland secretary, is the most appealing character, and through her, things become ever more watchable. She is the most appealing character. Well played by Danielle Harris and constantly in jeopardy or put down by those around her, it is difficult not to empathise as her face crumples in misery as a result of her latest hardship.

Amid the nicely filmed rainy locations and John Jarratt's performance, the unterrifying Rood slowly becomes a fascinating villain because of his child-like politeness and unstoppable nature - an interesting combination. Stick with this and you'll enjoy it. My score is 7 out of 10.

Shiver is one of those straight to stream movies, that you can easily miss, but I try to catch these when I can. 9 times out of 10 they suck but when I saw Danielle Harris was one of the stars, I knew it might be good and I'm pleased to say, her performance, along side John Jarratt, who plays our resident psycho, manages to take a bland story and turn it up a few notches.

They are the strength of this movie and without their solid turns as Psycho Serial Killer vs The Final Girl, this movie would've fallen flat. When they aren't the focus (and thankfully they get most of the screen time in the second and third acts) Shiver becomes boring, with Casper Van Dien (what happened to you Casper?) as the cop on the case, and Rae Dawn Chong (the stewardess from Commando) as his partner, sleepwalking through their parts.

It's a decent horror and the blood and terror builds as the movie goes along. It won't win any awards and I don't see it ending up on any Best Of lists, but the performances of the two lead actors make for an entertaining watch.