Garrett Wareing's Four Favorites...

... includes my beloved Skinamarink??? As if I wasn't already crushing! Pull my heart right out, beautiful baby. Somebody should tell Skinamarink's director Kyle Edward Ball that he's got a possible star for his next movie here. Put the Skin in Skinamarink!

Thing On The Other Side Other The On Thing

To paraphraseth the wise sage Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon,  I'm too old for this stuff -- not the movie version of Backrooms specifically, but the whole "creepypasta" phenom that birthed it. (Honestly I think that's the first time I have ever typed the word "creepypasta" in my entire life.) Not that I'm not deeply and profoundly online, as this website you're on right now is a twenty-five-plus year testament to. But I'd never even heard of the "backrooms" thing until A24 announced this movie version of it -- I just haven't gotten around to spending weeks of my life falling down Slenderman rabbit-holes on YouTube. And to be clear -- I see this as a weakness on my part! I'm aware there is this entire section of the horror-sphrere that I'm wholly ignorant of, and I don't love that -- I'm just too old to be chasing waterfalls and windmills, so I will pick up the threads when they wind their way to out my ancient decrepit person eyes and ears at this point. (I will say I read this explainer of the origin of "backrooms" this week and it was extremely helpful.)

So anyway after I heard about the idea of the "backrooms" I did go and watch a few of director Kane Parsons shorts -- only a couple though, because I wanted to have some idea of the phenomenon without going so far as to spoil the film for myself. And I found them very creepy! And Parsons does manage to translate that creepiness to big portions of Backrooms, this here Major Motion Picture out in many a theater this weekend. There are profoundly unsettling moments in here -- the section with the rope down the chute springs to mind and sends a reverberating shudder. And Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, both Oscar nominated and with good reason actors, do excellent work filling out sketchy emotional throughlines for their characters, which really comes to matter in the last act. I felt for both of them in exactly the ways the movie wanted me to, and I personally think the film's final shot lands with a shockwave of uncanniness that's still turning my stomach over here now thinking about it a couple weeks later. A fine and unnerving landing.

The issue (and yes, I have issues) is that -- despite all of my general ignorance on the subject of the internet's deep well of Liminal Horror that's defined The Young People Making The Horror Movies Now -- I have actually seen and adored Kyle Edward Ball's 2022 film Skinamarink. (Here is my review, which I'm contractually obligated to mention every time it comes up was quoted on Skinamarink's poster.) Ball also started out with YouTube shorts -- Skinamarink is basically a longer version of his 2020 film "Heck" -- but Ball managed to keep in place the extreme sense of alienation that these shorts wallow expertly in. And he kept it going for a full feature-length film in a way I prefer to Parsons' more mainstream (and certainly to be more successful financially) kind of take. 

Skinamarink is admittedly experimental -- I'm fully aware that most people who watch Skinamarink can't stand it. I just was never one of those people, and I fucking love the experience of losing myself into its static nightmare space for one hundred excrutiating minutes. When its scares do come, peeking their horrible eyes out from the blackness, they have wormed their ways deep into my subconsious, my being, in ways that, I gotta say, nothing in Backrooms manages. (Save that final shot. I really loved that final shot, which in an instant telegraphs an entire compendium upon the horrors of A.I. that I was not at all prepared for. A sneak attack!) 

The two films are two very different takes on the Liminal phenom, and it's not really fair to compare them -- I just think that the entire idea of Liminal Horror depends on a realization of stillness, of losing yourself into a netherworld that you're being presented with, and I personally find the tack that Backrooms takes to be somewhat less effective. Introducing us to characters, with back-stories and motivations and relationships -- you know, all the stuff that makes Backrooms a "movie" -- it's just inherently distancing. Parsons' short films didn't have to indulge that stuff -- they were, thanks to their brevity and form, able to just drop us in the scary place without distraction. And yeah -- "characters" and "stories" are probably a necesarry concession to making a twenty million dollar studio film. I don't hold it against Parsons', who made a solid and respectable and oft unnerving film. I'm just ultimately a Skinamarink girlie, I guess. Toss me off the deep end with no discernable markers whatsoever and I'm in heaven, inside that hell. Now one of you young people direct me to all the YouTube shorts I should be watching, please!

Let's All Go To The Land of Nod

Exciting news this morning as Kyle Edward Ball, the writer-director of Skinamarink an MNPP-approved fave, has announced his new movie! There's not a lot of specific news to share except it's going to be called The Land of Nod and -- in a huge step up from the itty bitty indie cred of Skinamarink -- it will be for A24! (And Elijah Wood as well with his production company SpectreVision.) Here is my review of Skinamarink from way back in the day -- I was one of the first critics to review it and I became somewhat obnoxiously relentless in my pushing of it even though I knew it wasn't for everybody, and uhhh a lot of people sure said so. It's not often you see something that feels so fresh though, something which taps into something so primal in you, and Skinamarink did that for me tenfold. I was lulled into a trance and found the ultimate experience deeply terrifying. Anyway no idea what Ball will go for this time out (although he has spoken about projects he was working on before, read that here) -- all we have info-wise right now is that title The Land of Nod, which is a Biblical reference; via Wiki:

"The Land of Nod is a place mentioned in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, located "on the east of Eden", where Cain was exiled by God after Cain had murdered his brother Abel. According to Genesis 4:16: 

"And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." 

... Nod is said to be outside of the presence or face of God. Origen defined Nod as the land of trembling and wrote that it symbolized the condition of all who forsake God. Early commentators treated it as the opposite of Eden (worse still than the land of exile for the rest of humanity). In the English tradition Nod was sometimes described as a desert inhabited only by ferocious beasts or monsters. Others interpreted Nod as dark or even underground—away from the face of God. Augustine described unconverted Jews as dwellers in the land of Nod, which he defined as commotion and "carnal disquietude".

A fertile reference, that! I remember the phrase from my childhood spent in Sunday School but a lot of the further inferences go beyond my kiddie-learning. You could go pretty much anywhere from there, but to be honest just some of those descriptions -- the opposite of Eden, a place with its face turned away from God -- give me goosebumps, even though I'm an long-time atheist now. Anyway one imagines this will be very different from Skinamarink -- there's not going to be a need for that film's no-budget aesthetic this time out obviously! But I have a feeling Ball will use what he learned there and maintain some of his voice, even into a bigger production. His voice felt so assured to me already -- I want more! Cannot wait! Also of import (since we're here) -- Ball is a queer filmmaker, which gives Skinamarink an even more interesting underbelly once you know that; can't wait to see how that sorts itself out in his future work. 

MNPP's 20 Favorite Films of 2023

Since I leave for Sundance in a couple of days -- have I mentioned that I'm going to Sundance enough yet? I'm going to Sundance! -- I have decided that it'll be the best for us all if I just go ahead and drop my favorite movies of 2023 list right now without a lot (or more, anyway) hemming and hawing on it. Lord knows I could put this off for a few more weeks as I try to get around to some outstanding movies, and rearrange this list every single day as my erratic mood shifts like the breeze, but I think I'll prefer to just not have this hanging over my head as I start reviewing 2024 films. 

Anyway as I've stated already I think last year was a marvel of a year for movies -- excellence abounded. And while I'm cool on several of the ones that seem to racking up a lot of the established awards out there (Barbie is fine and The Holdovers is mediocre at best) there's a lot to love even on the mainstream stages, and several movies in my Top 20 will probably have Oscar nominations come Oscar nomination time. Hell I even like the Nolan movie -- it's only a runner-up on my list and my least favorite thing about it (Robert Downey Jr.'s performance) seems to be the thing marching straight to Oscar gold, but since we're talking one of my least favorite, most overrated filmmakers, this is something!

Yadda yadda I've put off the list as long as I can with my rambling

so let's just do it. Here are my 20 favorite movies of 2023!

20. De Humani Corporis Fabrica

(dir. Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel) -- my review

19. La Chimera (dir. Alice Rohrwacher) -- my review

18. Showing Up (dir. Kelly Reichardt) -- my review

17. El Conde (dir. Pablo Larraín) -- my review

16. Passages (dir. Ira Sachs) -- my review

15. Godland (dir. Hlynur Pálmason)

14. Past Lives (dir. Celine Song) 

13. Rotting in the Sun (dir. Sebastián Silva) -- my review

12. Beau is Afraid (dir. Ari Aster) -- my review

11. Godzilla Minus One (dir. Takashi Yamazaki) -- my review

10. Killers of the Flower Moon (dir. Martin Scorsese) -- my review 

9. Asteroid City (dir. Wes Anderson) -- my review

8. May December (dir. Todd Haynes) -- my review

7. Poor Things (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos) -- my review

6. Saltburn (dir. Emerald Fennell) -- my review

5. Skinamarink (dir. Kyle Edward Ball) -- my review

4. Afire (dir. Christian Petzold) -- my review

3. The Eight Mountains

(dir. Felix van Groeningen & Charlotte Vandermeersch) -- my review

2. The Zone of Interest (dir. Jonathan Glazer) -- my review

1. All Of Us Strangers (dir. Andrew Haigh) - my review

-------------------------------

Runners-up: The Killer, Anatomy of a Fall, Oppenheimer, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Eileen, A Thousand and One, Infinity Pool, You Hurt My Feelings, Silver Dollar Road, Will-o'-the-Wisp, Fallen Leaves, Full Time, Bottoms, Priscilla, Return To Seoul, Robot Dreams

Home Alone In Hell Comes Home

Excellent news for you, for me, for everybody this morning, in that we've got blu-ray news on the nightmare-inducing no-budget-sensation horror flick Skinamarink which stirred some pots earlier this year -- Shudder is dropping it onto physical media on June 20th! Right in the thick of Pride Month - like The Babadook before it we've got a brand new inexplicable gay horror icon, the Skinamarink! I mean (unlike The Babadook) Skinamarink was made by a gay director, Kyle Edward Ball, at least. But there's nothing super specifically queer about the story, unless you wanna go full Cinema Studies Major on the symbolism of a family broken apart by a little boy's "fall"... okay I think I'm reaching.

Anyway I'm spouting more nonsense than usual right now because I'm giddy about the blu-ray itself, as seen above -- it features my very first blu-ray cover blurb! Taken from my Pajiba review (which you can read here) that's my name and my quote featured! All of that was also on the poster and the trailer (both seen here) but I'm feeling extra-special today because the three quotes from the poster got winnowed down to me and me alone! My ego, y'all -- I'm about to be unbearable. (Cut to ten people I know side-eyeing that "about to be.") Anyway I absolutely love this movie and am more than happy to be as big a cheerleader for it as I can. In all seriousness I really figured they'd upgrade to one of the good reviews the film got from the New York Times or something -- David Erlich's "Home Alone in Hell" at IndieWire was really fuckin' choice. So I'm humbled and honored and now going to stop making this about me right this second -- go pre-order Skinamarink right here. I don't know if you've heard but it will let loose absolute terror!

Experience The Skinamarink Experience

After all my relentless pushing of director Kyle Edward Ball's ace experimental horror film Skinamarink for months now -- I was one of the lucky people who saw it during the Fantasia Film Festival last August, and my review at Pajiba was one of the first ones (which is how a quote of mine made it onto the poster and into the trailer...

... as opposed to all of the fancier folks like the New York Times who hopped onboard later) -- you'd think I'd have done up a post yesterday when the movie dropped onto Shudder! I did tweet but then I got caught up in working on a piece that was due elsewhere. Anyway we're here today and that's what counts. Especially since there's something even more worth sharing -- speaking of The New York Times there is an interview with Ball in there today!

Well technically it's a chat between Ball and director Robbie Banfitch, whose found-footage horror film The Outwaters (more on that one soon) is coming out next week. That's the two of them glimpsed shooting their respective movies above (that's Ball on the left making the infamous chair magic happen in Skinamarink)   -- I feel as if it's important to note here, since this is MNPP after all, that these are two gay men who directed these movies. We love to see it! Anyway go read that, go watch and support these movies, and here's the latest trailer for Skinamarink below (yes this is the one with my quote, because why not make it about me in the end):

Happy Skinamarink Day!

With theatrical releases being one thing and streaming being another there will surely be several Skinamarink days, but for today the little horror movie that could is hitting a few hundred theaters around the country -- check the film's website for locations (although I heard a rumor that it's playing even more than you'll see there so just check your local theaters). I reviewed this movie, which is about a little brother and sister left alone one night with something lurking in the dark, several ages ago when it screened at the Fantasia Film Festival in August -- read that here. I watched the movie on a semi-lark and one hundred minutes later knew I had to write about it immediately. 

And even though I have no ownership of the movie (that honor belongs to writer-director Kyle Edward Ball, whose name you should remember and who you can follow on Twitter right here) I admit this week I have felt a little proud parentage  (I am on the poster -- see the bottom of this post -- after all!), having been one of the first reviewers to say, "Hey everybody! Stop what you're doing and look at this!" Now the movie's the Critic's Pick at the New York Times! And listen, as I said in my review this movie will be divisive. It's not an easy sit. It weaponizes boredom and a lot of people don't vibe on that. It's fine. It wasn't made for everybody. The fact that something this challenging and odd is getting this much buzz makes me ecstatic on its own.

But if it does work on you, as it did for me like gangbusters, then hold onto your butts y'all. Anyway I wrote some more about the film today at Mashable, trying to get you in the right head-space for the film -- click on over to read it. There are some spoilers in the piece, so beware. Most importantly -- give this movie a shot! We need to at least try to embrace it when somebody tries something new. And having watched the film repeatedly now lemme tell you -- if it works on you once it works on repeat viewings. I wasn't sure it would, but it totally does. The vagueness of it, the atmosphere -- it keeps on keepin' on.

Just found out (thx to my buddy @jshawhan for the pic) that I got blurbed on the SKINAMARINK poster! Couldn’t be happier to proselytize paper-wise for this specific movie - so freaking scary! Out in theaters in January and @Shudder after that https://t.co/6Y0XBk5lB6 pic.twitter.com/tuddQN6dsJ

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) December 25, 2022

You Put It On a Slow Bake

The great Skinamarink isn't the only Shudder horror news of note today -- they also snatched up one that I haven't yet seen but am very much looking forward to seeing. It's called Perpetrator and it's from director Jennifer Reeder, whose previous film Knives and Skin was a real Lynchian eye-grabber that I reviewed right here. Perpetrator is premiering at Berlinale in February and here's how it's described:

"On her 18th birthday, tough-girl Jonny eats a cake baked by her aunt according to a magical family recipe and goes through a radical metamorphosis. As several classmates go missing, a bloody coming-of-age story takes its course."

I just read the phrase "magical family recipe" and I went through my own "radical metamorphosis," one unto utter delight. All I ask is that the B-52s song "Cake" is involved in some manner, and I will immediately pack my things and not pass go, head straight to heaven. Anyway no word on when we'll see this if we're not in Berlin but my oh-so-educated guess is Shudder will have it up some time in 2023. Maybe it can play at Tribeca before that so I can see it sooner? Just saying!

Back on the Skinamarink Beat

I have talked about the upcoming horror flick Skinamarink several times now here at MNPP and also elsewhere, like on the corner with a sandwich board and a large clanging bell, and also popping my head into people's kitchen windows alongside their cooling blueberry pies. It's that good -- so good that I have willed myself into becoming an especially obnoxious character from The Andy Griffith Show! But mostly I have talked about it here, including sharing the trailer at this link and sharing one of director Kyle Edward Ball's short films right here and, most importantly, here is my review of the movie when I saw it at Fantasia Fest this summer and it scared me so bad I was leaking liquids every place.

That said I apparently haven't mentioned that the film has a release date now, at least here in NYC -- the Alamo has it slotted in for the weekend of January 13th, as does IFC Center. I very much want to experience this movie inside of a movie theater (I saw it at home on my TV) because it's very much all about lulling you into a hypnotic trance and I imagine the theatrical experience will be of assistance. If you do watch it at home when it hits Shudder later on please, I beg of you, do it proper and turn off all the lights and ignore your phone and don't take bathroom breaks and just give the movie your full attention. It will 100% reward the effort!

Anyway I missed one other thing I wanna share, which is this chat with Ball that popped up in Variety earlier this month -- the whole thing's worth a read but I'm most excited to hear what the director is working on next and they have a preview of intriguing possibilities contained therein:

"Next up for Ball? He’s currently kicking around two ideas that both sound like a logical extension of “Skinamarink”: One is a take on the Pied Piper legend, the other about three strangers who all see the same house in a dream. He plans to write this winter and maybe even start shooting by summer 2023, and is excited to explore more dark corners in a genre that allowed him to have a voice even without a massive budget."

Go To Heck

Back in July at the Fantasia Film Festival I saw one of the scariest movies I've seen in ages with Kyle Edward ball's Skinamarink, a lo-fi affair that obliquely tells the story of two children waking up in the middle of the night seemingly alone in their house... then not. I reviewed the movie at Pajiba right here, saying, "Skinamarink, if you’ll allow it, will lull you into some kind of suspended animation trance-state, and Skinamarink will let loose absolute terror." It's been several months since I saw the movie and images and sounds from it still crawl into my brain every few days, unnerving me, and the movie's been making the festival rounds while it prepares for some kind of release next year. But until then, something I didn't know (thx via) and something to tide us all over -- Skinamarink was based on a short film that Ball made that's called "Heck" and he's got the short streaming for free on his YouTube channel right this very minute! I'm going to wait until tonight to watch this, once it's dark and I can turn all the lights off and properly immerse myself in its atmosphere, and I recommend y'all do the same. But do watch it and prep yourself for frights beyond imagination!

Skinamarink is Here to Murder Your Mind

It's too infrequent that movies come along that I feel the need to grab people by the lapels and shake them and thrust them in the general direction of, but today we have just such a movie with newcomer director Kyle Ball's experimental horror film Skinamarink, which just premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival this week, and which I have just reviewed today for Pajiba. There are some caveats, as Skinamarink takes that experimental label fairly seriously, and is not an easy sit. It's abstract and often patience-testing and opaque to the point of absolute confusion. It's also, as I say in that review, the scariest fucking movie I have sat through in ages -- it's the sort of thing that makes every other horror movie seem inadequate in its wake. Yes it is a movie that takes some effort on the viewer's part. But when it starts landing, baby, your brain is gonna break. I am still shook a week on. If y'all like getting scared find this movie as soon as you can and surrender yourself to it.

Just watched a @FantasiaFest horror screener that legit felt like I was trapped inside a waking nightmare. In the meaningful purposeful sense. Haven't been that challenged & terrified by a horror movie in ages - made all else pale. Will not sleep well tonight. (More to come obvs)

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) July 21, 2022

ETA oh and here is the movie's trailer, in case you need more of an idea of what you're in for with the film. I personally have started loathing trailers, especially for horror movies, and I recommend not watching it and just seeing the movie clean like I did. (I mean, what, you don't believe my recommendation??? How dare you.) But here it is in case you are that person: