Skin Crawl (2007)

Overrated

Let's be realistic.

Boring

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"Skin Crawl" is barely passable as a horror movie with a few decent moments.**SPOILERS**Tired of trying to make her marriage work, Margaret, (Debbie Rochon) decides the time is right to divorce inattentive husband Howard, (Kevin G. Shinnick) and move on with her life. When his mistress Sadie, (Julian Wells) suggests an even more extreme answer to their problems, he doesn't know how to agree to the plan but eventually relents, letting her go about her plan. When she succeeds and has her killed, she lets him in on the plan, which was to blackmail him out of her money and use it to live with her boyfriend Colin, (Armand Anthony) but when everyone involved in the ordeal begins to die off, they realize that she's the descendant of a long line of witches that had placed a curse on the family to rise from the grave when threatened and seek out their revenge, putting them all at great risk and forcing them to find a way of surviving her blood-thirsty reign of vengeance.The Good News: There was some good stuff here, though there wasn't a whole lot of it. The fact that there's a lot of nudity on display might be the best thing about the film. There's a lot of it in the film, most of it from the one who tends to engage in a slew of erotic moments in here, ranging from a spanking session with her in a school-girl outfit to several full-on sex scenes that, while not explicit compared to the performer's other work, still manages to satisfy the nudity quotient. It even manages to throw in a rather risqué sequence where, pulling the pants down to reveal no underwear and a sly come-on, it uses that to it's advantage and creates a rather erotic scene that creates even more nudity in here. The fact that the film also has a rather strong and original story is nice, since it manages to create something of interest every now and then when there's no zombie action, which is quite small anyway. From the double-crosses and different web of deception going on between all involved, there's a deeper story here than at first glance, and while it's not the most useful in moving the film forward with anything resembling energy, it's still a lot of fun and sticks out against similar-sounding films. The only other part here that works is, predictably, the zombie rampage at the end, which is short but really fun. There's a cool-looking zombie, complete with the usual dirt-encrusted appearance that always looks great, a bunch of wounds to indicate what happened in life, and a great feel that really works well. There's a tense stalking scene, several gory pay-offs and more to be had during this part, and it really satisfies at every turn, with the gore, tension, payback and revenge, making this one's good moments all exclusive to there.The Bad News: There's a couple flaws to this one that hold it down. One of the biggest is the fact that the pacing to this one is way off. There's a lot of time in here that doesn't evoke much interest or excitement, and most of that is due to the film's rather less-than-stellar way of handling everything. The film has a lot of scenes that are just plain dull and leave a lot to be desired. By switching around with the plot and offering up some different takes on the whole situation, it makes for a series of scenes that are just plain hard to get into, and in the end, it allows for sequences that are just boring. While the scenes of the double-crossing mistress, the family drama and the killers being given personalities make for a compelling drama, none of them are generating much excitement with the horror elements, and it can, at times, be mistaken for not having much at all to do with the genre. These scenes are not interesting or exciting, and because of that, the film is just so slow-moving and boring that it's hard to get into. Even worse still, the film makes it an hour in before the zombie is even resurrected because of all these boring moments, and they're much longer than they should be. The only other flaw to this one is the film's overlong and incredibly confusing opening. It's fun, but frankly, it goes on too long and could've been told in a much shorter amount of time than what it offers. These here are the film's big problems.The Final Verdict: While it's not all that great, it's pretty much ruined by the single flaw rather than any series of instances. If you're able to overlook the flaw and can get into it based on the story-aspects, then this one shouldn't be too bad, though if it doesn't appeal to you, then seek caution.Rated R: Graphic Language, Full Nudity, several Sex Scenes and Graphic Violence

Let's just make one thing perfectly clear. When Howie (Kevin G. Shinnick) turns over and passes on his wife (Debbie Rochon), you know that things are screwy. Give me a break! Passing on Debbie for Julian Wells. I mean, she is nice, and she did spend most of the film showing her nice boobies and generous booty, but hey dude, nobody passes on Debbie.This was, as far a I know the first time that Rochon played a real zombie, as she came back from her death to take revenge. It wasn't as bloody as I would have liked in this type of film, but it was good.Misty Mundae also appeared briefly as a hooker, but we mostly just got to see her head bobbing up and down before it was cruelly jerked too far to the right. Poor Misty was just with the wrong people.This was a first film for writer/director Justin Wingenfeld, and he has talent. It is hoped that he continues to improve.

Oh my, I would really recommend giving this film a miss if you're craving for a canonic cinematic experience with good acting, effects and production values. Don't watch it if so because you simply won't like it, it has none of it. Now, If you're aware that you're about watching a cheaply produced movie, with acting that could range from annoying to hard-tried and a simple story, you'll find Skin Crawl is quite enjoyable, its simple story is actually driven through a fun and twisty storytelling, towards the bloody satisfying ending the cover promises. This movie simply delivers what it promises, so if you'll give it a go, do it with the right expectations and you'll have a nice time.

I am not be the usual viewer of a low budget film, but this movie left me laughing more so than reaching for a blanket to hide under. This movie was absolutely terrible. From the onset I thought that the cheesy acting may have been some joke type introduction that would lead into a plot full of suspense and bloodshed, but my hopes were left unfulfilled.I couldn't even finish this movie. I made it 1 hour and 3 minutes in before shutting it off, regretting wasting my time watching a movie that I could have made with my friends and a home video camera. There was more sex than violence, including the 3 basic types; vaginal, oral and anal, in quite specific detail. There was nothing to be scared about in this movie. Furthermore, it seemed to me that they spent more time on the DVD menu than they did anything else within the storyline. You see the same girl get stabbed 3 different times with the same footage and I was bored after the second time. The idea of leaving plot holes and filling them in later with another characters view is sound, but I felt that this movie was just stretching for length, not substance.If you enjoy laughing at your horrors and have a couple of hours to waste (and I mean WASTE) than this might be just for you, but I would rather have stuck needles into my eyes.