I did not post anything on this site for a bit.. It has been a trying time.. But there is a really true and sincere reason for the absence.. It should be noted that we are fully aware of the news. The Turkey earthquakes and the long odyssey of the China ‘spy’ balloon slowly flying across America. We had you covered on our Facebook page on this.
But other issues have cropped up in a dramatic enough way that it forced us off our normal, and ritualistic path.
My father has become ill. While I will not divulge many details on this event, I will reveal simply that is traumatic in nature and reality altering for my family. We pray for his health..but we are realistic in what will occur next.
And it got me to thinking.. it is a personal SKINAMARINK.
So hear my out before you click off.. this comes with a spoiler warning, if you care by this point, about the horror flick SKINAMARINK. First of all, the movie has been successful in theaters–just $15,000 to make but millions earned, not too shabby.. the film is now on SHUDDER and you can watch it in the comfort, and darkness, of your own home.
I have always loved horror when done right. It can be a representation of the time and place of our reality–it can showcase the pop culture of the time, the scares we have at a certain moment, and societal and cultural commentary. (Professional wrestling does the same, when it is done right.)
Until … a re-watching at home.
I watched SKINAMARINK was some family last weekend on SHUDDER, lights turned dim and doors locked. Keep in mind, this is juxtaposed to the same time that my father was in a hospital in a slow-motion medical crisis..
So SKINAMARINK, for those who have not seen it, is a minimalistic horror film with this basic premise: In the year 1995, two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.
The movie has a truly visceral feeling–some who enjoy the whole ASMR path may think it quells them to sleep.
Some have opined that the movie is about abuse–that the father and mother in the movie do little to help their children, if not harm them. Others have said the movie forces them to recall those moments of their childhood when they have fever dreams, or moments of panic when they felt alone in what should have been the safety of their own homes.
WE have all had those moments.. I recall my own–my mom was gone on a trip to New York and my dad was sleeping in his room.. I was sleepless and watching, of all things, UNSOLVED MYSTERIES.. I became convinced that aliens were landing on the mountain near my house. The lights in the house were blueish from the television set.. the feeling was sleepless and chaotic.. It was dreamlike but yet long, arduous, and real. Just like SKINAMARINK….
So maybe this movie really hit the mark after all.
But what made the movie viewing in my own home even more personal was that I was alone, again. My mom passed away in 2021. My dad is in the hospital… That lonely blue light of the TV was shining in the room.. The same room I felt alone as a child when my mom was away and my dad was asleep…
SKINAMARINK suddenly feels personal. And I hate it for that reason.. It went deeper than expected.
In SKINAMARINK the kids are alone, and in danger. Their night becomes more terrifying as it develops..
And that is where I feel my own personal SKINAMARINK is occurring.. a disaster in the making. A moment in time beginning where the kids, in this house, are alone.. For good.
Nothing is more terrifying than that.
