Chad

Spiderbite

I have to say, I LOVED this movie.

I'm a fan of films that make you uncomfortable by showing the viewer situations that could very possibly happen to you. This movie is uncomfortable from the beginning (due to the awkward relationship between the husband and wife due to their child's death) and it only gets worse once the meeting between the "neighbors" starts. Me, having an only son who is also 9 years old and my wife and I being of similar age to the main characters, I couldn't help but put myself in their situation and every minute thinking what would I do?

***Heavy Spoilers Below***
There is heavy tension throughout the movie with solid performances by all the actors, even the kids. Every scene seemed possible and nothing seemed out of step. The only issue I had with the movie was a couple of chances near the end where I felt they should have taken a little more action (like blowing the bad guy's head off after he was stabbed...but you have to remember that they still didn't know if their son was safe). They really should have blown his head off once they got complete control of the situation and them waiting until he lunged mildly irritated me. Going back to the initial stabbing, the husband had to know that they were all going to eventually die once his brother was shot so waiting those couple of times to shoot the main guy just seemed a tad unrealistic, even with the son's life in jeopardy at times. But losing the other child kind of compensates for it.

Anyway...loved it, loved it, loved it. One of the better home invasion movies that I have seen!

My rating: ****1/2 out of *****

cproaps

Well, somebody liked Antichrist and The Strangers enough to blend the two together, resulting in something that gets a 5.2/10 on IMDB and a 17/100 from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. THIS is what I was fearing The Lords of Salem would be, THAT movie that usually has me freelance the challenge rather than do the subset. But, hey, it took 27 days this time.

Trevor

It looks like something I won't enjoy at all, but my OCD compels me. But where to find it?

clckworang

I thought this was pretty good. It certainly taps into some easy fears. I mean, what's really to stop something like this from happening other than societal norms? You look at the back of the house all in glass, and it just reinforces how vulnerable we are, even in the "security" of our own homes. I agree with some of Spiderbite's criticisms. I also think I would have knocked around that kid, too.

You just knew that dog was in trouble from the first moment you saw him.

I don't understand the comparison to Antichrist at all. Just because the couple was grieving and dealing with the loss of a child? I guess, but that still seems like a very superficial comparison. The two movies are *far* different as is how the relationship was handled and explored, at least in my opinion.

Care to explain anything that you didn't like about it other than telling us what it's rated on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes? I don't understand what that has to do with it or that *this* is the subset film that turned you off so much and not some of the other stinkers like Shakma, Jack Frost, Eyes of Fire and the previously mentioned Lords of Salem.

Sorry, don't mean to pick on you. I understand if you didn't like the movie, but I think it would be helpful to actually explain yourself. This is supposed to be a discussion thread after all.

Trevor

This post,

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/11886155-post619.html

contains a couple of links to streaming options.

cproaps

I was referencing the parts of the plot you mentioned about the child. They played it SO HARD like the beginning of Anitchrist, and then it just seemed to not play any role once The Strangers parts took over.

I was just glad it wasn't just me that didn't like much about it. I mean, when horror fans give a movie a SEVENTEEN percent thumbs up, there is something really rotten in the state of Denmark. There is a WEALTH of reviews on the other sites about why it didn't work, so as not to pollute DVD Talk with its stench. Haha.

BUT, since you asked, what was the whole point of the story, to just copy a family for a day or so, then have to kill them, hoping no one would notice before you move on again? PUH-LEEZE, they are obviously not going to "replace" them in their lives or something. Writers were just trying to come up with the next The Strangers. Some nice tension, but the stupid premise can't support the story at all as the movie moves along.

Yeah, Eyes of Fire was suspect, but you can't help but laugh at some of the others for being so bad sometimes. Shakma kept having his "Hulk smash" scenes with all the doors, so I can give it some slack. You can't do anything but roll you eyes at this one though. Maybe it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Thank God they didn't try to literally work the title into the movie for a Texas Chainsaw element.

clckworang

I never thought of Rotten Tomatoes as a haven for horror fans. I would think it would more likely appeal to middle of the road viewers, so I still don't put too much measure in an audience meter on that site.

Yeah, I think that was basically the whole point of the story. The lead guy obviously had done this to other people and taken little things with him as he went, like his "wife" and "son." If you think that much about plot, then most horror movies will break down in the real world. I just looked at it as he was crazy, a serial killer who had experienced a traumatic event with the death of his wife, which drove him over the edge. He wanted to try to experience a "better" life, even for a brief time. I don't know. At least this movie didn't feel as much like a tease as The Strangers.

Again, this isn't the best movie I've seen this year. It probably won't even make my standouts list at the end of the month, but I just don't think it was worth the vitriol from you, especially since you've since acknowledged some nice tension. I'd probably give it a 3 out of 5, which would still put me in the 83% of the people on RT who apparently didn't like it. So, again, I find that measure to be very suspect.

But I very much appreciate you coming back to explain your position.

cproaps

But, most of it is when people are doing STUPID stuff. The dad just heard someone shoot the dog, so he LEAVES THE SECURITY OF THE HOUSE, IN THE DARK, WITH A KNIFE to NEGOTIATE? Did he really say that? I honestly didn't feel like going back to hear the line again.

I know, I know, the parodies of horror movies exist because of all the dumb things the characters have to do so that the movie isn't over after ten minutes.

jacob_b

Glad 2 out of the 3 people who watched this and commented liked it. I really wanted people to view this as I think it was way ahead of The Strangers in terms of acting and suspense. The Strangers just had some awful acting, but more people like talking about that film and how scary it is. I really liked how things were paced and how real it could have been (crazy shit happens out there in the middle of nowhere). Let's be honest, people do stupid shit when they are scared.

Spiderbite

I thought this movie was miles ahead of The Strangers.

cproaps

So MAYBE I was a little hard on it. It WAS 2AM!

Trevor

I'm not so sure I'd call the acting 'good'. Everyone seemed a little too 'off kilter' or quirky. I found it hard to watching many ways.

First, it being difficult to track down. None of the questionable streaming sites worked in iOS, at least in my non-jumping-through-registration-and-payment hoops. Most years I plan ahead and make sure I have access to all 32 films. I'm winging it this year and it would have really bothered me if I failed to find this one. Thanks to Chad for the alternate link, I was able to get one of those to work on my PC.

Second, the acting and dialogue had me cringing and almost laughing rather than impressed.

Third, the subject matter was disturbing, and evoked some emotion in me; so I'll give it that.

cproaps

Granted. But, here is a review of the film from a site that many of you have heard of that sums it up well for me:

"Final Thoughts:
The premise of In Their Skin isn't where it falters, since the concept of an at-odds family fending off home invaders can, and has in the past, rendered compelling suspense and emotional drama. Instead, it's the disposition of the invaders and the success of their wiles that makes the gloomy, curt experience feel heavier than it already is, while the awkward banter between the two families reduces many of the scenes to shallow, unintentionally-funny stretches that grate on the nerves. And the suspense, a mix of familiar shock-value twists and an extension of those unsatisfying characterizations, continues until the end of Jeremy Regimbal's picture. I'd suggest passing this one and checking out Funny Games or Straw Dogs, better films with somewhat similar ideas and tension. Skip It."

rbrown498

I'm on the fence about this one. While I thought that it was well-made and achieved a nice tension up to and including the dinner scene, after Bobby and his "family" leave the house the film becomes predictable and cliched. I do think that Rachel Miner did an incredible job with what could have (and might have) been an underwritten part. Overall, though, I didn't find the film to be a particularly satisfying experience.

cproaps

I read that in several reviews on other sites. Great opening that just couldn't properly close.

Undeadcow

I think if they were more obvious with the existential elements (grief, longing for identity) at play it might have been more interesting. I loved how the film really worked on establishing and defining the family characters, adding little tidbits about background even if it didn't relate. Considering the limited cast and setting much of this was really smart, except for the last bit. I agree with this. The early subtlety and social tension was really great and well executed; if the first half had sustained those elements then this would have been great. The Mark character seemed to over-react and behave like a prick making me feel like I missed something then it all went downhill. It started to seem like the film depended on viewers being aware this was a home invasion movie and scared before it was even obvious there was cause for concern.
After a while it felt like the film was going nowhere with the invaders just being mean spirited for no apparent purpose but to shock viewers. If the villains wanted to steal the original family's identity they had opportunity to do so many times over before the end of the film, instead they just sort of kept hanging out without any apparent motive for doing so other than to be randomly psychotic. It felt almost like the film makers didn't know how to close the movie so kept treading water.

There was some beauty to the first half and some of the themes (while under-developed) seemed ripe but ultimately disappointing.I assumed this was intentional and found the awkward social interactions between a "broken" marriage and outsiders the best part. Everyone is "lost" or hurt in a way and unable to connect socially in interacting, which was a manifestation of the film's theme.

jacob_b

I still get chills watching Bobby get shot and then Selma Blair over his body grieving while the wannabe Selma mimics here. That's probably one of the freakiest parts of any horror film in recent years.

Undeadcow

Some of the mimicry early on was really great, with Bobby trying on Mark's glasses and even wearing his shirt.

jacob_b

That's what sold me on the movie. Just how creepy and deranged this "couple" was, even making the people in the house have sex with each other just to figure out how intimate they are. This is one f'd up "couple" and they played the parts to a perfect T.

indiephantom

This was okay, but I had just watched The Purge and the far superior Panic Button, so it didn't quite live up to those in terms of execution but I certainly didn't regret the experience. Kind of burned out on reality-based horror, though, so I'm welcoming a bit more supernatural stuff today.

ntnon

It's almost as if they didn't want to have to kill him..!

ntnon

Never seen it...

I did however also watch Funny Games for the 'home invasion' day, and felt that it too was worryingly believable. Worse, the bad guys in FG were 'just' evil, while in ITS there were clearly mental health problems involved. Not sure which is more scary or likely of those, to be honest!

I was quietly pleased that the invaded family won out in In Their Skin, though.

Spiderbite

No shit. I kinda understood that the husband was a bit wimpy and neither of them wanted to become murderers, but after all that happened to them...pull the goddamn trigger already.

DaveyJoe

I had the opposite opinion. In most of the home invasion movies I've seen recently, the victims are even more passive. Especially after watching Funny Games, I thought it was refreshing to see the couple actually take action for once and fight back.

Overall I liked this flick, at 90 minutes it didn't overstay its welcome and breezed along nicely. The movie hinges on the performances of the invading couple and they both do a fantastic job. I was on edge from the moment they came on screen, and watching things slowly escalate during the dinner scene was the highlight of the movie for me.

Earlier this year I watched Funny Games and You're Next, so as my 3rd home invasion flick it felt a little underwhelming in its lack of brutality. However I did like the fresh approach of the couple assuming the identities of their victims, that added some depth to the film.