101 Films, out now

 

Dennis Skinner looks like any other tenant, but by night he skins unsuspecting victims, and now his past is catching up with him.

I like to think I know a thing or two about 90s horror movies, but Ivan Nagy’s 1993 effort is a new one on me. I wish I could say it was a lost gem, but it’s another slasher movie following a predicable path, but with Ted Raimi (Spider-Man) and Ricki Lake (chat show host) thrown in.

Director Nagy’s background was TV movies and episodes of popular network shows and would degenerate into helming such fare as All Nude Nikki and Trailer Trash Teri! Sadly, Skinner falls more into that latter camp, with this trashy 90-odd minutes (with the emphasis on odd) only worth watching to see some familiar faces in a poor movie. Former adult movie star Traci Lords (Blade), David Warshofsky (There Will Be Blood) and Richard Schiff (The Lost World: Jurassic Park) will all probably want to scrub this from their respective CVs.

It’s sleazy and offensive, but not in an inventive way. In one of the most distasteful scenes, Skinner dresses up in his black co-worker’s skin and talks in street patois, and that’s before I mention the flaying of a victim’s head. Worst of all, it’s sluggishly paced and just wonders from one poorly directed scene to the next.

This is the first ever release in the UK on any format, derived from a 4K scan. The limited edition booklet includes writing by screenwriter Paul Hart-Wilden on the search for the movie’s master print, as well as interviews with director Ivan, lead Ted Raimi, Hart-Wilden and editor Jeremy Kasten. There’s also the delight of outtakes from the flaying sequence if that’s your thing.

Verdict: One for slasher movie completists and Ted Raimi fans, this has little else to recommend it. The extras are admirable, but the feature they’re supporting is just poor. 3/10

Nick Joy