Skinned Alive

Director - Jon Killough
Starring - Mary Jackson (The Exorcist III), Scott Spiegel (2001 Maniacs, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money), and Susan Rothacker (Kingdom of the Vampire)
Release Date - 1990
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Unhinged! Insane! Totally Out Of Control"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Skinned Alive 4 Film Set)

 Rating (out of 5):

     There is one thing I wish independent horror directors working with a low budget would learn and that is to not take yourself too seriously.  Most independent films just don't have the budget, nor the direction, to make a serious film that is worth watching.  Adding the slightest bit of comedy at the right time can lighten the mood and help wash down the film.  That brings me to this film here.  When I was in high school I had two very close friends that had the same obsession with horror flicks.  One of those friends was obsessed with special effects and some how found this flick online while browsing different special effects websites.  He ordered the special edition and we watched it a few times that week.  Over time we all drifted apart and moved away and I forgot all about this little flick.  That was until one night I was preparing an order for amazon.com and I came across a four film set containing this film for less that one dollar.  I grabbed that shit.

     The film follows a family of deranged killers led by their sexually confused mother, Crawldaddy.  Crawldaddy and her two children, son and daughter, travel the country in their van killing those unfortunate enough to cross their path.  They use their victim's skins to make leather for various products.  One day Crawldaddy and her family's luck changes and their van breaks down.  The town mechanic takes the family in to stay in his spare bedroom until their van can be fixed.  The mechanic just happens to live next to a washed up cop that is drinking himself to death because his wife is divorcing him.  The family start to slaughter the townsfolk and taking them in to the spare bedroom to skin.  When the cop, who lost his home in the divorce, goes in to the mechanic's spare bedroom to gather boxes to pack he comes across the remains of their victims...unleashing hell upon himself and the mechanic's family.

     This is where I am going to go more in depth with what I said in my intro paragraph.  When I said indie directors should not take themselves seriously I do not mean all indie horror flicks require humor to be watchable.  I can name numerous flicks that do not.  However, the flicks that do add humor would not be the same if it was removed. A little chuckle just improves the mood of the film and takes your mind off the budget.  That is why I like this movie so damn much.  The budget is extremely small, however, the addition of slap stick makes it so entertaining.  If the humor was removed this movie would fail miserably and, in all honesty, would probably be the biggest ball of shit ever filmed.  So kudos to you Killough and company for adding that to this one.  The acting is not the best but the cast hide the fact by being extremely over-dramatic in a Three Stooges sort of fashion.  That is one of the many highlights of the film.  Scott Spiegel did an amazing in his role and adds a lot of entertainment to the film.  He honestly steals the show.  The story reminds me a lot of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre II with the chili bit switched with leather instead.  Though it is not that original it does unfold well on screen creating a solid horror outing...smeared with cheese.  Finally, the special effects are not the best in the world but they are halfway decent.  The film has a lot of great deaths scenes that are filled with blood and gore.  Overall, if you like your horror with cheese and filled with laughs then you will enjoy this low budget outing.  I highly recommend this one.