Replicas

The only difference between this movie and Funny Games is in this movie it is a psycho family, some nudity and sex scenes and a few more gunshots. Other than that I couldn't believe this movie script didn't get thrown out as a complete knock off of Funny Games.

Now if you have not seen Funny Games, then I suggest you pick your villain. If you want to see two psycho young men torture a normal wealthy family, go see Funny Games. If you want to see a psycho lower class family torture a normal wealthy family, see this movie.

Both movies have great casts and great acting but I would have to give this film a slight edge in that category. However, when it comes to the disturbingly psychopathic factor in the villains, I give that edge to Funny Games.

All in all, don't waste your time like I did with this movie if you have seen Funny Games. Definitely a good experience I imagine for those who haven't.

In Their Skin (formerly "Replicas") is Regimbal's directorial debut, but armed with a strong cast and a solid screenplay, he creates a web of worthwhile scenes that will stick with the viewer. Perhaps misguidedly toying with the horror genre early in the film, he chooses the focus on the drama, the characters and story and let you decide if you are endeared, amused, scared, uneasy, entertained or otherwise.

Regimbal stays with this beautiful ambiguity for most of the feature and gets fine-tuned performances from his story and character-driven cast that allows for the "replicas" to reveal themselves slowly, but surely. The suspense is high and the dark humour as well. A beautiful piece with a slow burn pace. We left the Montreal FantAsia screening and director Q&A with more questions than answers, but with deep satisfaction of exploring a compelling concept with complexity, dexterity and depth.

It definitely stands out in home invasion subgenre. Creepy atmosphere from beginning to the end, unsettling for the viewer.

Lead actors played their characters very well and were convincing in their portrayal of a grieving family. I like the grayish tone present in the entire movie, it is almost black and white. The only thing that I don't find very convincing is how our main characters weren't more careful from the beginning. I mean, those intruders who presented themselves as a family were very awkward from the beginning, I wouldn't let them in in the first place... Overall, very nice movie that is sadly underrated and not very known, but it is definitely worth a watch. Don't expect a lot of blood, the atmosphere is really scary itself and also the constant suspense, you won't be able to take your eyes of the screen.

"In Their Skin" follows a fairly common premise among post-millennial horror films: a family vacationing in a remote summer home find themselves trapped and preyed upon by a group of killers. Here, the family is an unsuspecting wealthy couple who has just lost one of their two children; playing counterpart is another family who yearns to live as them.

While the central premise of the film is certainly straightforward and unoriginal (comparisons to "Funny Games" and "The Strangers" are inevitable), the spin here with the antagonists attempting to simulate lives of opulence and wealth is certainly different; the problem is that this central difference does not necessarily elevate the film's other shortcomings.

Things start out fairly standard, and suspense is built tenaciously over the first forty-five minutes to an hour quite impressively. The problem? It disappears once the antagonists take full hold. This could partly be a scripting issue that leaves the film feeling uneven, but it's also an issue of performances— as good as James D'Arcy is, I had trouble believing him in this role, especially as the film progressed; Joshua Close's performance was slightly more believable, but even still, both of the male leads seemed miscast. Selma Blair and Rachel Miner however both work really well in the film; Miner is especially phenomenal here. The film ends with the suggestion of a family restored, but the details of the horrendous events that precede it seem undercooked by the end.

Overall, "In Their Skin" is an unusual mashup of home invasion thriller conventions with vague social commentary and a problematic chemistry among the cast. The first half of the film is remarkable in building a sense of realistic suspense, but the film dovetails into mediocrity once the villains take charge. While not a bad film by any means, it still leaves a great deal to be desired in terms of scripting and casting. Worth a watch for the moody cinematography and applause-worthy buildup of tension no less. 5/10.

(2012) In Their Skin PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

Starring Joshua Close who was also credited for writing the story along with the director Jeremy Power Regimbal. He plays Mark along with his wife (Selma Blair) and son settling down into a remote home somewhere along the highway. And suddenly get imposed upon by another family unexpectedly named Bobby (James D'Arcy) and his wife and kid, and then the next thing you know this dysfunctional family started terrorizing them for no apparent reason. Low budget and has been done before from such movies as "The Strangers", "The Last House On The Left" to "Funny Games". Do we really need to see a much lower budget variation of those movies.