Skinned Alive - Revisited

Director - Jon Killough
Starring - Mary Jackson (The Exorcist III, Big Top Pee-Wee), Scott Spiegel (The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II), and Susan Rothacker (Robot Ninja, Kingdom of the Vampire)
Release Date - 1990
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Unhinged! Insane! Totally Out Of Control!"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Several years ago I started writing reviews on my blog just for the hell of it.  As much as I love horror the goal of the blog was to dive into exploitation and action flicks that time has forgotten.  However, I took the time to review a few of my favorite horror flicks in between action adventures.  One of those films I reviewed early on in my review career was the 1990 Jon Killough horror comedy Skinned Alive.  A friend from high school introduced me to this slice of pure bliss.  Recently Tempe Digital remastered the film and released it on blu.  This was the perfect excuse to revisit it.

     The film follows Crawldaddy (Jackson), her son Phink (Spiegel), and her daughter Violet (Rothacker) who travel around in their van killing and skinning people for their leather business.  They run into van trouble in a small town and the local mechanic puts them up in his house for the night while he works on it.  They make the best of it and rack up a few extra bodies to tan but the former cop turned drunk suspects they are up to no good and soon an all out suburban war ensues between the three and the drunk divorcee.  

     I absolutely love this movie and I don't watch it nearly as much as I would like but my love for it shouldn't blind you to what it really is.  The film, as much as I hate to admit it, it painfully rough around the edges and the humor is the only thing holding it together.  I love it but I'm not surprised it's rating on imdb is around 3.  People just don't appreciate the slapstick horror flicks like I do.  The acting in this one is rough but I absolutely love the characters.  Crawldaddy, Phink, and Violet sell the film for me.  It's a real indie cinema tragedy that we never got another film with them.  I know they die in the flick but so much more could be done with them story wise.  I also enjoyed Dead Next Door's J.R. Bookwalter's cameo in the film.  The supporting cast is just as fun with many memorable characters making appearances.  The story for this one is extremely simple but fits in perfectly during the S.O.V. era of horror.  It works in the blood and gore while not making it the complete center of the story.  The character's dialogue fits in well with the story and most of the slower scenes is filled with enough humor as to not bore the viewer.  Finally, the film is overflowing with blood and gore.  The effects are hit and miss.  When they hit they look great but when they miss they offer up some unintentional laughs which, in a way, works as well.  Overall, Skinned Alive is not for everyone but if you like the funny side of horror you can truly appreciate what Skinned Alive brings to the table.  The blu looks absolutely stunning and leagues better than the DVD I previously owned which was VHS quality.  I highly suggest upgrading to the blu if you have the DVD or grabbing a copy if you have never seen this trashterpiece.  It's such a fun film and Tempe did an amazing job with this release.