If a movie makes twice its budget, it’s a success. If a movie makes 60 times its budget, it’s a sensation. Skinamarink is a sensation.
Kyle Edward Ball’s directorial debut was the talk of every film festival it played, and last week, the “early contender for the scariest horror movie of 2023” was released in theaters. It made $890,000 during the long weekend, which doesn’t sound like much compared to, say, Avatar: The Way of Water approaching $2 billion. Until you remember that Skinamarink only cost $15,000 to make — if Avatar 2 made 60 times its reported $250 million budget, well, let’s just say (because I don’t want to math) that James Cameron would have a blank check to make as many as Avatar movies as he wants.
Oh wait. He already does. Here’s more on Skinamarink:
Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. To cope with the strange situation, the two bring pillows & blankets to the living room and settle into a quiet slumber party. They play well worn videotapes of cartoons to fill the silence of the house and distract from the frightening and inexplicable situation. All the while in the hopes that eventually some grown-ups will come to rescue them. However, after a while it becomes clear that something is watching over them.
If you missed Skinamarink in theaters, it’s reportedly coming to Shudder next month.