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I can see the merits of this film. It is a breakout original in a new era when films will be made and be judged through the same lens that shows us, on a daily basis, the more cartoonish and characterized short-form videos such as TikTok, reels, Youtube short films, etc (colorful, flashy, frenetic, a little insane). Not my taste personally, as a fan of more stoic & creepy films, think The Conjuring, Insidious, The Shining. Also, over-the-top gore, ie. Spraying blood, and countless extreme closeups of needles piercing skin.

Based on cinematography, casting, acting, editing, this film is actually pretty good, but this is only for fans of extreme gore and picarism. That's not me & I spent about a quarter of the movie looking away & wondering why it had to be over two hours long.

As the headline states, I expected more from this film since it's basically a one-man-show starring the extremely charismatic and talented Willem Dafoe. Based on the premise of the man trapped on the inside, I made the assumption that we would spend 90 minutes on the edge of my seat. With such a great setup and potential for suspense, this film's low energy, and plodding pace were a huge letdown. There were an excess of long, low key, environmental shots, which may have been intended to be "artistic", but had little artistic impact, and only contributed to the movie's slow pacing and rhythm. Personally, this is a movie I MIGHT watch at home, but definitely not worth a watch in the theater.

This is a great concept for a short. The atmospheric quality gives it a fresh feel, but that's not nearly enough to carry it through the full 100 minutes. A plot fully comes into focus after the first hour. Before then, I was left wondering why I even drove 60 miles and sat in the theater hall watching blank screens, waiting for something (anything) to happen. I'm 48 y/o, and this was the only time I ever actually considered walking out on a movie.

This was especially disappointing because I've been so looking forward to seeing this film on the big screen. The trailer was so effective in its atmospheric creepiness and glimpse of an innovative new style; a style marked with long stares down partially darkened hallways, grainy footage ala 1970's camcorders, negative space (both visual and aural), disjointed context, and disorienting content

It was obvious that Skinamarink was going to be different. And, handled properly, it could've been something special. With a young director, shoestring budget, and new style, I was hoping for this to be the best Cinderella story since the Blair Witch.