Skinless

Independent micro-budget director Dustin Mills rips off David Cronenberg's The Fly something rotten for Skinless, chucking in a smidge of The Incredible Melting Man for good measure. Working with what must be a fraction of The Fly's catering budget, Mills delivers a cheap and cheerful concoction of bargain basement gore effects and gratuitous nudity that should prove moderately entertaining if you're not averse to no-frills homemade horror.

Brandon Salkil plays the Seth Brundle character, geneticist Peter Peele, who tests his experimental cancer treatment on himself; initially successful, the treatment ultimately has unexpected side effects, Peele's flesh liquifying, the scientist turning into a hideous deranged monster. This is not good news for Dr. Alice Cross (Erin R. Ryan), the woman Peele is obsessed with...

The majority of Mills' $2,000 budget appears to have been spent on fake blood, KY jelly, and latex - the film is very goopy. I can't imagine much was left in the coffers to pay the performers, so one assumes that the cast are all friends of Mills happy to muck in for free, which would explain the less than stellar acting. Not that great performances are necessary for this type of thing: Mills aim is to deliver plenty of splattery effects and to get the women in the film to strip off, and he succeeds in both.

In the grand scheme of things, Skinless is not great -- extremely derivative (Salkil even twitches like Goldblum) and technically crude -- but considering the amount of money that the film was made for, it's a marvel that it is as entertaining as it is. A movie to crack open a few beers to...

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Low budget which isn't a bad thing but this was just plain boring, horrible acting and bad special effects. Don't waste your time.

The Ballad of Skinless Pete (aka Skinless Pete) by Dustin Wayde Mills is ridiculously, jaw droppingly good..better than you'd expect any indie feature with a low budget to be. With lens flare that would make JJ Abrams weep with jealousy and solid performances from all the cast, this is stylish stuff, with every penny of the production on display.

If The Fly and The Incredible Melting Man had a son, Skinless Pete may well be him. Darkly humorous, graphic and moving in equal measure, this movie had me gripped from start to glorious finish. The effects work is some of the best I've seen in an indie production and there's genuine suspense contained in the frames.

Mills' regular actor, Brandon Salkil, is on top form here as the principal character. He's a wonderfully talented screen presence, a physical actor who delivers horror and comedy in equal measure.

Erin R. Ryan is excellent, too, as Dr. Alice Cross, and Allison (Easter Casket) Fitzgerald delivers a strong performance as Olivia. Ryan's always screen gold and her performance in the next Mills directed movie, Kill That Bitch, is unmissable.

Topped off with one of the catchiest and fun theme songs I've heard in a long while, this is the Nekromantik for the twenty-tens! The Ballad of Skinless Pete will find a place in any horror lover's heart. Simply brilliant.

For an estimated budget of only 2,000 dollars, it has some pretty good practical effects. There are many scenes that are downright nasty and visually impressive, but there are a few scenes that look like they used walmart masks for gore effects. The acting is very spotty as you would expect with a low budget movie with many scenes being incredibly awkward, but there are a few great moments - especially some of Erin R. Ryans scenes as she shines in some moments throughout this movie. I think my biggest complaint for this movie and many movies in this low budget category is the camera work, with some scenes and design choices making the movie ugly to look at and very unprofessional at times - especially with some frames cutting back and forth near the end. Despite many flaws, the overall story is pretty good and it never made me lose my interest during the 1 hour 20 minute run time, and it also had some funny moments. This movie has many flaws, but these flaws don't necessarily ruin the movie as a whole. If you enjoy body horror movies like the fly and you accept the flaws associated with low budget horror movies, you will really enjoy this movie.

For the amount of money Dustin put into making this movie, I have seen nothing comparable! It was easily the best low/no budget movie I have ever seen! I'm honestly not trying to hype this movie for Dustin, I'm trying to tell people that this is seriously worth your time. If you are into low budget horror at all, you will LOVE this film. If you aren't, this film may just be what gets you started on it. If you like blood, nudity, gore, nudity, blood, or nudity, then you will definitely not be disappointed. The acting is stellar for local actors as well. Erin R. Ryan and Brandon Salkil put forth more effort than a lot of people I've seen in huge Hollywood films. I'm not saying they should win an Academy Award, but they put forth a lot of effort.

Please do yourself a favor and at least rent this movie. If not, buy it digitally or physically. I've seen it 4x since its release not even 2 weeks ago and it is still awesome! :)