Skinned Alive (1990)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Fresh and Exciting

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I didn't expect to like this funny and gory horror comedy as much as I did. It's certainly not for all tastes; even though it runs only about 80 minutes (including the long closing credits), the pace is extremely slow and nothing much really happens throughout. The gore effects are cheap but effective. The villains are a really twisted gang: the foul-mouthed, abusive, wheelchair-bound matriarch, the clumsy and slightly retarded son, the sadistic hottie daughter (no nudity from her, though the opportunity does come twice - what a shame!). The "hero" is an alcoholic ex-cop who has to put a stop to their activities implied by the title. All of the acting is amateurish, but at least the actors don't take themselves too seriously and seem to be in on the joke. This film will probably be appreciated only by those viewers interested in low-budget horror film-making. (**1/2)

I've read a lot of other comments and I have to say that this movie does not suck and it's certainly not stupid. You just have to have an open mind and a taste for this kind of stuff. It's not a horror movie in that it will scare you but there is some gore (albeit not very authentic gore, but they were on a miniscule budget) and some seriously twisted characters in it. Admittedly, all the stuff with the former cop neighbor is very lame (I skip it usually). But, the joy of this flick is to watch Scott Spiegel and Mary Jackson together. They are an absolute riot! Spiegel really makes the film worthwhile. He pretty much did it as a favor to the director and producer and boy did he deliver! He's an innately funny man and the lines that he and Mary Jackson exchange are incredibly funny. The physical comedy is superb as well. I ordered this sucker on DVD without seeing it first and was not disappointed at all. Those of you who are familiar with the 'Fake Shemps' (Spiegel, Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert, Ted Raimi, etc) will enjoy this flick. Trust me.

I rented 'Skinned Alive' under the impression that the movie was made fairly recently. Well, the joke was on me as 'Skinned Alive' is a cheap crap independent movie made in 1989. Apparently, fans were just begging for this movie to be re-mastered and re-released on a digital format, so the director complied. Well, for everyone's sake, he should have just burned the master instead. The collective cast is perhaps the ugliest, most unappealing troupe ever assembled reciting possibly the stupidest lines committed to paper. I love bad B horror movies as much as the next guy. This crap should have been left buried though. There's DVD extras, but I'm not sure why the hell anyone would want "extras" on a movie that appears to be created with the talent of a bowling team who got bored during the off-season. I'm not going to bother to give a plot synopsis, since it would be a waste of time. You could give a monkey a pencil and paper, sit him down in a room for an hour, and he could come up with a better script than this. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Filmed on location in scenic Ohio.

To try to pass this off as a horror movie is a joke. I rented this piece of sh*t on DVD, falling prey to the cover, expecting to settle down and watch a horror, but what I actually got was a dose of pure and absolute garbage. The acting was dreadful, the plot, well, on a budget of $10, what do you expect. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, horror film fanatic or not. Pass on this one.