Directed by: Dustin Mills
Starring: Brandon Salkil, Erin R. Ryan, Allison Fitzgerald, Dave Parker
(out of 5)
Let's start by saying the combination of Salkil and Mills is remarkable. Brandon really seems to know exactly what Dustin wants in his movies and for me it really came through with this film. Mr. Salkil has been very solid from film to film and the difference this time though was that the Ballad of Skinless Pete is a much darker film than any of Dustin's previous films. Night of the Tentacles had more comic relief and so did Bath Salt Zombies, Skinless Pete was just very lonely and disturbing having little comic relief and even when it did it just wasn't the same feel at all. The best part about watching a Dustin Mills Production for me is his style, always recognizable no matter if it's his story like this and Tentacles or someone else's idea like Bath Salt Zombies the man just has his way of fx, shooting, introducing characters, etc. I compare Mills mostly with Frank Henenlotter of the Basket Case series, Brain Damage, and Frankenhooker but he also reminds of one of all time favorite filmmakers, David Cronenburg. His last two movies especially screamed Cronenburg-esque writing and directing.
In Ballad of Skinless Peter we have Brandon Salkil playing Dr. Pete Peele who coupled with his assistant Dr. Alice Cross are trying to solve the world's cure for cancer. Pete himself has a mass growing on his shoulder so for Dr. Peele it's more than just a medical conquest, it's life or death. There's also another problem looming over his head, Pete and Alice are out of funding and Neil their investor is refusing to spend another dime on the project. This being the case Pete "borrows" some of the equipment and a creature known as the Phago worm from Borneo from a local university laboratory and begins research on what he believes to be the cure for cancer. A gentetic deprogramable enzyme within the worm is thought to have completely devoured any trace of the cancer within several victims killed in Borneo by the parasitic creature.
Tempers begin to flare, Pete continues down his path of hopelessness and it comes out that he's been in love with Alice or Al as he calls her since their college days. While they have always been friends and Alice has always loved Pete there just was never any attraction there for her unlike Pete who obviously has continued on with bad female relationships ever since. Dr. Peele's mind becomes overcome with his battle for survival and his obsession with Alice furthering his downward spira.l Then after a big fight with Dr. Cross Pete injects himself with the corrosive enzyme.
At first the serum seems to work and Pete thinks he's cured cancer but soon it becomes all to obvious that he was wrong. The Phago worm's enzyme eats away the cancer for sure but it also alters your body chemistry eating away at your flesh and turns you into a hideous monster straight out of some of my favorite 60s and 70s mad doctor horror films. A film named Panic comes to mind right off the bat. Dustin's special effects are always a real treat for me very artistic in a bar bones sort of way. 
I found myself very touched with this movie especially at the very end. I won't go into any spoilers in my review but Dustin really comes through the emotions of helplessness and hopelessness in this movie. As I said before I've never seen Salkil this depressed. Other films just had a jolliness to them and Ballad does not. At least for me I mean people will take what they want from the film in different ways but I was very impressed with the range of both the filmmaker and his actors. I've gone on about Brandon but there is no denying miss Ryan's abilities here as well and I'm going as far as saying she's the best actress Mills has ever worked with in any of his shorts, videos, or movies. Indie productions have one large problem in most cases and that's the acting. Well in Dustin's productions to date that has not been the case. Erin Ryan was very natural, threw out believable emotions, and wasn't at all as I call a mannequin actor...just kind of there speaking the lines. She like Brandon knew exactly what Dustin wanted from the character and came through in a big way. I definitely would not have enjoyed this film without the actors present including Allison Fitzgerald and Dave Parker who played Olivia one of Pete's fuck partners and Neil the investor. Highly recommended for those of us able to appreciate the fine art of underground filmmaking and old time mad scientist films. Dustin has said he may one day change his artistic vision and I as a fan of his work hope that this change doesn't alter his overall majesty when it comes to movie making because it would be a true shame. No independent movie maker out outdoes his artistic imagination, not one and I know my indie world of horror. Awesome movie.
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