Skinner feels like someone put a Hitchcockian thriller, a trashy Euro giallo, an 80's slasher movie, and a John Waters movie into a blender and served it up. There are inspired moments and Ted Raimi's performance is interesting and committed, but the film as a whole feels a little wonky like a woman trying to walk with only one stiletto on a rainy evening. One thing is for sure - a scene where Raimi murders a black man and wears his face while taunting another victim with a Fat Albert-esque voice is genuinely unforgettable.
33 Reviews
A lost slice of 90's magic
BandSAboutMovies5 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Dennis Skinner (Ted Raimi) has moved into the Tate household, helping them with their financial situation while widening the gap between husband and wife. He seems nice enough, but a disturbing childhood - he only ripped his mother's face off after his father forced her to watch him conduct her autopsy before punching him in the face - has led to him becoming a skid row slasher. However, Dennis' past sins have come back to haunt him in the form of Heidi (an insanely perfect Traci Lords), a bad girl with a secret - horrible scars as she's survived being flayed alive thanks to the power of her will and no small amount of narcotics - who won't stop until he gets her horrible revenge.
Skinner was the kind of movie that haunted the video stores in my early 20's. It almost made it into theaters, as well, because a newly reformed Cannon Pictures almost gave it a limited theatrical run. However, this new Cannon fell into bankruptcy before Skinner made it to screens.
It's just as well - this is a movie made for home video. It's gloriously scummy, revelling in darkness, grue and gore courtesy of Pittsburgh hometown heroes KNB. Where films like Silence of the Lambs only hint at the skin suits that their killers are making, Dennis Skinner creates muliple flesh fashions that he walks around in.
Former Hairspray lead and daytime talk show host Ricki Lake plays the lonely Kerry Tate, who lives a near-seperate life from her husband Geoff (certainly named for the former Queensryche frontman). As mentioned before, Traci Lords grabs every scene she's in by the literal balls and leaves the viewer begging for more.
This whole paen to slicing up hookers was brought to us by Ivan Nagy, who may know a thing or two about the world's oldest profession, as he was the ex-boyfriend of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. In addition to directing episodes of CHIPs and HBO's The Hitchhiker, Nagy also cooked the books for the mob. His work on Skinner would pair nicely with a film like Fulci's The New York Ripper, providing a west coast glimpse of neon-hued squalor.
Skinner was the kind of movie that haunted the video stores in my early 20's. It almost made it into theaters, as well, because a newly reformed Cannon Pictures almost gave it a limited theatrical run. However, this new Cannon fell into bankruptcy before Skinner made it to screens.
It's just as well - this is a movie made for home video. It's gloriously scummy, revelling in darkness, grue and gore courtesy of Pittsburgh hometown heroes KNB. Where films like Silence of the Lambs only hint at the skin suits that their killers are making, Dennis Skinner creates muliple flesh fashions that he walks around in.
Former Hairspray lead and daytime talk show host Ricki Lake plays the lonely Kerry Tate, who lives a near-seperate life from her husband Geoff (certainly named for the former Queensryche frontman). As mentioned before, Traci Lords grabs every scene she's in by the literal balls and leaves the viewer begging for more.
This whole paen to slicing up hookers was brought to us by Ivan Nagy, who may know a thing or two about the world's oldest profession, as he was the ex-boyfriend of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. In addition to directing episodes of CHIPs and HBO's The Hitchhiker, Nagy also cooked the books for the mob. His work on Skinner would pair nicely with a film like Fulci's The New York Ripper, providing a west coast glimpse of neon-hued squalor.
Dennis the Skinning-menace
Coventry23 June 2007
"Skinner", directed by the fairly unknown soft-core porn director Ivan Nagy, is one strange
STRANGE film, to say the least. I honestly can't quite label what it is exactly, but it's some sort of odd mixture between horror, revenge-exploitation and an unusual serial-killer portrait. Even stranger than the mix of themes is the choice of cast members. Ted Raimi, who usually only just makes cameo appearances in films produced and/or directed by his more successful brother Sam, takes on the lead role of the introvert psychopath Dennis Skinner, talk show hostess Ricky Lake (also known from John Waters' movies) plays his landlady and former porn star Traci Lords stars as one of Raimi's previous victims out for vengeance. The plot remains vague and unclear regarding Dennis' awkward personality and motivations, but I can only presume he's another fictional character inspired by real-life killer Ed Gein, who also formed the base for successful genre milestones like "Psycho" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Raimi's character slowly but surely develops into a tormented persona haunted by traumas from his childhood, yet a proper explanation is never given. Another truly peculiar aspect of "Skinner" is the dosing of the blood and gore. The film is overall tame, with a strict emphasis on atmosphere and character drawing, yet suddenly comes a sequence that is almost indescribably gross and sick-spirited. It's like the scene was added after filming all the rest, following negative screening results, or something, yet I didn't notice any differences or interruptions in the editing. Maybe Ivan Nagy preferred spending his entire make-up effects budget on one ultra-sadistic moment? "Skinner" is an obscure and atypical piece of 90's horror, but it's definitely worth a peep if you like cinematic oddities that can't possibly be categorized.
Traci Lords and Ricki Lake? - Pinch me I'm dreaming
Dr. Gore20 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*
I bought this video. Ricki Lake rents out a room to a maniac. He's Skinner. Dennis Skinner. Skinner likes to wander from town to town, flaying whomever he can find. He likes to hang out in a heavily vandalized part of town where the hookers hang out. If a hooker meets Skinner, it's flaying time. One of his old victims, (Traci Lords), is hunting him down. She wants revenge for the partial skinning from Skinner. Get the knives ready.
"Skinner" made me think about the Superintendent yelling at Principal Skinner on "The Simpsons". SKINNNNNERRR!!!! I couldn't help but laugh every time they said his name. "Where's Skinner?" SKINNNNERRR!!! Get down here!
Traci Lords shows up as an obsessive, would-be victim of SKINNNNERRR! Unfortunately, she does not get naked. However, I still like to see porno stars in regular flicks. It amuses me. I especially liked the scene where Lords shows Lake's husband her serial killer war wound. That was a serious scalping job.
"Skinner" has the right psychotic mind-set for a maniac with big knives movie. Skinner is a first class psycho who likes to skin his female victims. There's one scene in the middle which has an extensive, gory lesson in the art of flaying. Overall, "Skinner" is worth a look for horror fans.
I bought this video. Ricki Lake rents out a room to a maniac. He's Skinner. Dennis Skinner. Skinner likes to wander from town to town, flaying whomever he can find. He likes to hang out in a heavily vandalized part of town where the hookers hang out. If a hooker meets Skinner, it's flaying time. One of his old victims, (Traci Lords), is hunting him down. She wants revenge for the partial skinning from Skinner. Get the knives ready.
"Skinner" made me think about the Superintendent yelling at Principal Skinner on "The Simpsons". SKINNNNNERRR!!!! I couldn't help but laugh every time they said his name. "Where's Skinner?" SKINNNNERRR!!! Get down here!
Traci Lords shows up as an obsessive, would-be victim of SKINNNNERRR! Unfortunately, she does not get naked. However, I still like to see porno stars in regular flicks. It amuses me. I especially liked the scene where Lords shows Lake's husband her serial killer war wound. That was a serious scalping job.
"Skinner" has the right psychotic mind-set for a maniac with big knives movie. Skinner is a first class psycho who likes to skin his female victims. There's one scene in the middle which has an extensive, gory lesson in the art of flaying. Overall, "Skinner" is worth a look for horror fans.
Hmmm...
polysicsarebest3 October 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Skinner is a film wherein Ted Raimi goes around, cutting off skin of girls and then wearing the skin. This has SOMETHING to do with Traci Lords, who spends most of the film lying in her bed, half-naked, rolling around, and masturbating to Ted Raimi's picture. This involves Ricki Lake, as well, who is dating this abusive guy. He's abusive, I guess, since he wants a clean house. And he is suspicious of Ted Raimi. Ted Raimi just moved in with Ricki, you see. And he got blood on his shirt once, and that's suspicious. Meanwhile, Ted lives a double life as a factory worker. Who kills people. And wears skin. And then has a friendly relationship with Ricki. Before going out. And killing again. And as he kills again, he explains that his dad is the reason he skins people alive. This has SOMETHING to do with Traci Lords being in some water. And as Traci Lords masturbates in the bed, her landlord watches her.
Along the way, some black guy gets his skin completely cut off, and Ted Raimi wears it and walks down the street, talking jive, as he stalks another victim. Also, a dog dies from eating skin. And.. uhh... this all turns into an unfun climax that leaves the viewer very unsatisfied.
Pretty confusing for only really having 3 characters that do anything. The director made the mistake of muddling up a cool concept with dream sequences, flashbacks, and hiding Traci Lords's face behind her hair. The picture quality is terrible, and the sound quality is worse. There is some decent gore here, but it's not really worth seeking out just for that. Cool concept, not a very cool film.
Along the way, some black guy gets his skin completely cut off, and Ted Raimi wears it and walks down the street, talking jive, as he stalks another victim. Also, a dog dies from eating skin. And.. uhh... this all turns into an unfun climax that leaves the viewer very unsatisfied.
Pretty confusing for only really having 3 characters that do anything. The director made the mistake of muddling up a cool concept with dream sequences, flashbacks, and hiding Traci Lords's face behind her hair. The picture quality is terrible, and the sound quality is worse. There is some decent gore here, but it's not really worth seeking out just for that. Cool concept, not a very cool film.
a bit too arty
christopher-underwood18 October 2022
I have received a lovely Blu-ray, sleeve and booklet with good artwork. Even as the film starts, it seems a bit too arty but it is nice to see Ricki Lake and Ted Raimi, at first. The short but rather splendid first slashing scene but unfortunately it is repeated all the time. It is really nice to see Traci Lords and really as the Raimi scenes go on and on we might have rather watched Lords. Although we finally get to watch a skinner scene but it is rather poor and we probably realise why we haven't seen so many. There are still some arty bits and some nasty bits but it is really so silly that this sadly just gets too unbelievable. It is a shame because they clearly had a good idea but not enough money for his vision.
Worst movie ever..?
plaznihqyllnikaaf27 November 2001
No, not really! But it's up there. Everything about this movie is bad. The "plot" makes no sense at all, it leads nowhere and the effects are there, but are nothing special. Ted Raimi and Lakes performances are almost acceptable, but Lords "performance" is the worst ever. I have seen vaccum cleaners with more talent! I can not warn you enough about this crap. And DO NOT buy the DVD from Simitar! There is only one thing worse than the picture quality and the sound, and that's the cover illustration. Holy s... it's ugly. Only 81 min. and NOT 90 min. as it should have been.
I have only seen one movie worse than this: Jesus Franco's Oasis of the Zombies... So stay away from both...
I have only seen one movie worse than this: Jesus Franco's Oasis of the Zombies... So stay away from both...
Not perfect, but definitely has its moments.
capkronos15 March 2003
Ted Raimi is Dennis Skinner, a friendly, grinning wacko who kills women, skins them and wears a suit made of their stitched-together flesh. He rents a room from lonely housewife Kerry (Ricki Lake), who's glad to have some company since her moody trucker husband (David Warshofsky) is always gone. Meanwhile, Heidi (Traci Lords), a depressed, soft-spoken, scarred, limping morphine addict who managed to survive an attack years earlier, balances her time in a grimy hotel room shooting up, crying and plotting revenge.
This is a dark, dreary, depressing and often awkward film and I hated it when I first saw it. However, I gave it another chance and am glad I did. Aside from the top-notch KNB FX work, it takes place in a unique, graffiti-tinged decaying urban hell landscape, has a great score from Contagion and plenty of clever movie references if you're looking for them. There's one odd and powerful moment in this film, where Dennis is talking to the shell of a victim he's just killed and skinned about his traumatic childhood and rubbing the hands of the deceased along his face for comfort. Moments like these, done with some thought and care, lift a film like this right up out of the gutter.
I completely disagree with the potshots made at Traci Lords. Many people just cannot put their perceptions of her behind them long enough to even consider the fact she's capable of giving a competent performance. I found Lords to be more than just a little competent in this particular role. It is by no means an easy or flattering part to have to play, but I thought she played it very, very well.
Speaking of unflattering portraits, you can learn more about director Ivan Nagy by viewing HEIDI FLEISS: Hollywood MADAM.
Score: 7 out of 10.
This is a dark, dreary, depressing and often awkward film and I hated it when I first saw it. However, I gave it another chance and am glad I did. Aside from the top-notch KNB FX work, it takes place in a unique, graffiti-tinged decaying urban hell landscape, has a great score from Contagion and plenty of clever movie references if you're looking for them. There's one odd and powerful moment in this film, where Dennis is talking to the shell of a victim he's just killed and skinned about his traumatic childhood and rubbing the hands of the deceased along his face for comfort. Moments like these, done with some thought and care, lift a film like this right up out of the gutter.
I completely disagree with the potshots made at Traci Lords. Many people just cannot put their perceptions of her behind them long enough to even consider the fact she's capable of giving a competent performance. I found Lords to be more than just a little competent in this particular role. It is by no means an easy or flattering part to have to play, but I thought she played it very, very well.
Speaking of unflattering portraits, you can learn more about director Ivan Nagy by viewing HEIDI FLEISS: Hollywood MADAM.
Score: 7 out of 10.
Bizarre But Entertaining
ericritter-0176510 October 2020
A serial killer rents a room with a nice young couple and continues his killing spree as one of his surviving victims tracks him down to kill him once and for all.
Skinner has enough style to pull you through some rough patches, but with a cast as game and diverse as Ted Raimi, Ricki Lake, and Traci Lords, it's hard to not have a good time with it. I'd expected it to be gorier than it actually was, but the sheer bizarre quality of the story and some of the performances were enough to keep my interest.
Skinner has enough style to pull you through some rough patches, but with a cast as game and diverse as Ted Raimi, Ricki Lake, and Traci Lords, it's hard to not have a good time with it. I'd expected it to be gorier than it actually was, but the sheer bizarre quality of the story and some of the performances were enough to keep my interest.
Skinner by name, skinner by nature.
BA_Harrison10 September 2015
If there's one thing I've learnt from Skinner, it's not to accept a dinner invitation from Ricki Lake: 20 minutes to prepare and cook an entire chicken?!?! That sounds like a recipe for some serious E.coli to me. And while we're at it, Ted Raimi isn't so hot on kitchen hygiene either: he fails to wash his hands after manhandling the chicken and proceeds to spread bacteria all over the place.
Of course, a bout of serious food poisoning is still preferable to being killed and flayed, which is what Raimi's character, Dennis Skinner, likes to to do hookers, using their skin to create a suit in which he can prance around in the moonlight (a man's got to have a hobby). When Skinner's landlady, Kerry Tate (Lake), becomes close to her loony lodger, the psycho decides that the time is right to reveal his secret to the lucky lass, much to her horror. Meanwhile, Heidi (Traci Lords), morphine-addicted survivor of one of Skinner's earlier attacks, hunts the psycho looking for revenge.
Skinner is by no means a great movie, suffering from an erratic narrative and plot details that are left frustratingly unexplained (what is up with Dennis's fascination with water?); it is, however, an entertainingly piece of trash, a sick little psycho flick with a wonderfully over-the-top performance from Ted Raimi, and solid support from Lake and Lords, the latter channelling Meiko Kaji and Christina Lindberg for her role as a vengeful junkie on a mission.
The film also features an impressive moment of graphic flaying (courtesy of KNB effects group) that is guaranteed to please gore fans: Skinner slices open his victim's back, works the skin loose, rolls the body over and yanks the skin down off the face (be sure to watch the uncut version of the film: there's an iffy copy on YouTube that is missing this splattery scene).
6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the delectable Ms. Lords, who doesn't get nekkid (for a change), but is still very hot (it takes more than a few scars and a lack of hair to stop her from being sexy).
Of course, a bout of serious food poisoning is still preferable to being killed and flayed, which is what Raimi's character, Dennis Skinner, likes to to do hookers, using their skin to create a suit in which he can prance around in the moonlight (a man's got to have a hobby). When Skinner's landlady, Kerry Tate (Lake), becomes close to her loony lodger, the psycho decides that the time is right to reveal his secret to the lucky lass, much to her horror. Meanwhile, Heidi (Traci Lords), morphine-addicted survivor of one of Skinner's earlier attacks, hunts the psycho looking for revenge.
Skinner is by no means a great movie, suffering from an erratic narrative and plot details that are left frustratingly unexplained (what is up with Dennis's fascination with water?); it is, however, an entertainingly piece of trash, a sick little psycho flick with a wonderfully over-the-top performance from Ted Raimi, and solid support from Lake and Lords, the latter channelling Meiko Kaji and Christina Lindberg for her role as a vengeful junkie on a mission.
The film also features an impressive moment of graphic flaying (courtesy of KNB effects group) that is guaranteed to please gore fans: Skinner slices open his victim's back, works the skin loose, rolls the body over and yanks the skin down off the face (be sure to watch the uncut version of the film: there's an iffy copy on YouTube that is missing this splattery scene).
6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the delectable Ms. Lords, who doesn't get nekkid (for a change), but is still very hot (it takes more than a few scars and a lack of hair to stop her from being sexy).
Violent, mindfully paced horror fun; blessed be Ted Raimi
I_Ailurophile22 September 2022
I feel like this sits at a slight tipping point. It would have been very easy for it to have been shaped into a morbid horror comedy; alternatively, it would have taken little for it to become an erotic horror-thriller, or a more pointedly grotesque gorefest. I like that as we see it the feature strikes a bit of a balance: touches of cheeky levity without being ham-handed, flashes of imagery and suggested brutality without being utterly viscerally repulsive. That's not to say that 'Skinner' isn't plentifully nasty, and in fact this rather has "video nasty" written all over it. Yet director Ivan Nagy demonstrates just enough restraint to keep from going overboard in any direction, and the different aspects somewhat keep one another in check. For all that, this is a whole lot of grisly fun, with bizarre, grim imagination tempering the utmost violence.
Not to sell anyone or anything else short, but I don't think it's unreasonable to say that Ted Raimi is the chief selling point here. I don't think I've ever seen him in a role that's at once so stunningly dark, but also peculiarly over the top. From Skinner's neighborly candor, to his more out of control moments, to the outrageous "personas" he adopts at select points, Raimi embodies the killer with fantastic, dexterous range, and it's a joy to watch him here. For that matter, though, the rest of the cast is swell, even those in smaller roles (like Time Winters as watchman Bob), and it's an unexpected delight to see Ricki Lake in such a picture that seems so uncharacteristic for her.
It's not all fun and games, though, and 'Skinner' surprises in some other ways. The production design and art direction are genuinely terrific; the setting of every scene feels so real, like one could reach out and touch it (though in most cases we probably wouldn't want to). Nagy demonstrates an unlikely sense of artistry with some shots and scenes, and this includes primo use of lighting. Though plainly overdone the blood and gore are suitably delicious within the limits of suspension of disbelief, and this dovetails with fine costume design, makeup, and hair styling, not least for Traci Lords as she capably portrays hard-bitten Heidi with downcast determination. And while all this is going on, the ambient original score of Contagion adds some definite pensive atmosphere to the proceedings.
This isn't the most immediately grabbing horror flick; for all the instances of heightened vibrancy of one flavor or another, the pace is very deliberate. The most gnarly scenes are measured out so they never overwhelm, or lose their punch. With a little bit of patience, however, the movie is wonderfully enjoyable and satisfying for those who appreciate the genre. It's solidly made in every regard, with tight writing and direction that carefully spotlights every best detail in the narrative and scene writing. If you have the chance to watch 'Skinner,' this is worth checking out.
Not to sell anyone or anything else short, but I don't think it's unreasonable to say that Ted Raimi is the chief selling point here. I don't think I've ever seen him in a role that's at once so stunningly dark, but also peculiarly over the top. From Skinner's neighborly candor, to his more out of control moments, to the outrageous "personas" he adopts at select points, Raimi embodies the killer with fantastic, dexterous range, and it's a joy to watch him here. For that matter, though, the rest of the cast is swell, even those in smaller roles (like Time Winters as watchman Bob), and it's an unexpected delight to see Ricki Lake in such a picture that seems so uncharacteristic for her.
It's not all fun and games, though, and 'Skinner' surprises in some other ways. The production design and art direction are genuinely terrific; the setting of every scene feels so real, like one could reach out and touch it (though in most cases we probably wouldn't want to). Nagy demonstrates an unlikely sense of artistry with some shots and scenes, and this includes primo use of lighting. Though plainly overdone the blood and gore are suitably delicious within the limits of suspension of disbelief, and this dovetails with fine costume design, makeup, and hair styling, not least for Traci Lords as she capably portrays hard-bitten Heidi with downcast determination. And while all this is going on, the ambient original score of Contagion adds some definite pensive atmosphere to the proceedings.
This isn't the most immediately grabbing horror flick; for all the instances of heightened vibrancy of one flavor or another, the pace is very deliberate. The most gnarly scenes are measured out so they never overwhelm, or lose their punch. With a little bit of patience, however, the movie is wonderfully enjoyable and satisfying for those who appreciate the genre. It's solidly made in every regard, with tight writing and direction that carefully spotlights every best detail in the narrative and scene writing. If you have the chance to watch 'Skinner,' this is worth checking out.
a.k.a. Ted Raimi: Prostitute Killer
darko_devotchka20 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
*spoiler alert*
The basic plot of this low-budget horror flick is that a nerdy, Converse-and-khaki wearing guy Dennis Skinner (Ted Raimi) rents a room from Ricki Lake's character, and spends his days as a janitor, or sometimes killing prostitutes. Meanwhile, one of his victims, played by Traci Lords, is busy stalking Skinner and trying to kill him.
The redeeming factor in this whole movie is Ted Raimi. He plays Skinner brilliantly. His performance is comparable to that of Anthony Perkins' in Psycho. Raimi is so believable as the nice, adorable guy who ends up being a quite creepy serial killer. Also, being a Ted Raimi fan-girl, his being shirtless for 75% of the movie helped the movie a lot as well, finally having some male eye-candy in a horror movie was awesome to me.
Ricki Lake did a good job as the nice, slightly naive landlady, and I thought the relationship between her and Skinner was cute...until the end of the film, of course. Traci Lords was great as well, she was downright creepy as the vengeful (prostitute? i guess? it never says) woman who has been mutilated by Skinner.
The special effects are creepily realistic, when Skinner wears his victims' skins I was genuinely freaked out, because they looked so real. It is pretty gory, not much actual killing, just lots of grossness and blood.
If you are a big Ted Raimi fan, you will definitely like this film. Seeing him play someone totally opposite of Joxer, Pavel, Hoffmann, etc. etc. is really refreshing and shows his versatility as an actor - he can pull off creepy and sexy as well as nerdy.
Skinner is definitely worth a look.
The basic plot of this low-budget horror flick is that a nerdy, Converse-and-khaki wearing guy Dennis Skinner (Ted Raimi) rents a room from Ricki Lake's character, and spends his days as a janitor, or sometimes killing prostitutes. Meanwhile, one of his victims, played by Traci Lords, is busy stalking Skinner and trying to kill him.
The redeeming factor in this whole movie is Ted Raimi. He plays Skinner brilliantly. His performance is comparable to that of Anthony Perkins' in Psycho. Raimi is so believable as the nice, adorable guy who ends up being a quite creepy serial killer. Also, being a Ted Raimi fan-girl, his being shirtless for 75% of the movie helped the movie a lot as well, finally having some male eye-candy in a horror movie was awesome to me.
Ricki Lake did a good job as the nice, slightly naive landlady, and I thought the relationship between her and Skinner was cute...until the end of the film, of course. Traci Lords was great as well, she was downright creepy as the vengeful (prostitute? i guess? it never says) woman who has been mutilated by Skinner.
The special effects are creepily realistic, when Skinner wears his victims' skins I was genuinely freaked out, because they looked so real. It is pretty gory, not much actual killing, just lots of grossness and blood.
If you are a big Ted Raimi fan, you will definitely like this film. Seeing him play someone totally opposite of Joxer, Pavel, Hoffmann, etc. etc. is really refreshing and shows his versatility as an actor - he can pull off creepy and sexy as well as nerdy.
Skinner is definitely worth a look.
Talk About A Skin-Flick....
Flixer195730 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Around the time that Ivan Nagy got in trouble along with girlfriend Heidi Fleiss, he found time to grind out this sleazy SILENCE OF THE LAMBS ripoff. Ted Raimi rents a room from frustrated housewife Ricki Lake (who's a sight to behold in tent dresses and stupid-looking ankle socks.) He sneaks out each night with his skinning knives and keeps the prostitute population down, then wears the hair and hides of his victims. Meanwhile, he's being stalked by Traci Lords as a black-clad, disfigured morphine addict. (This character, an ex-prostitute, is named Heidi.) At one point the killer changes his MO long enough to slay and flay an annoying African-American; he then runs around in the dude's skin talking with a black accent. Carrying the tasteless episode further, a watchdog devours part of the hide and becomes ill. Very little violence is shown, considering the inherently gruesome subject matter, but SKINNER has the sort of slimy, grungy "overall tone" that gives conniption-fits to the MPAA. Rent it and you'll never forget itthough Ricki Lake would appreciate it if you did.
Uhhh...
dbkimbro5 May 2004
Now...I am a HUGE Ted Raimi fan, and I bought this movie under the assumption that this highly underrated actor would be in a starring role and make a worthwhile movie. However, this is not the case. Although this movie had promise, the script needed work (to say the least), the audio track was terrible, and I sense that there was a lot of poor editing done, because it was full of plot holes. The only thing I really learned was that the skin of the bully that the dog ate must have been poisonous, because I can think of NO OTHER REASON why the dog died. Its really a shame, too, since poor Ted has not been offered more leading roles because he is immensely talented. I'm just sorry that his brother's perpetual habit of putting him in the background drove Ted to this during his early career. Tracy Lords mumbled her way through, and I wondered how in the hell a DVD has a video roll in it. I guess I'll just swallow my $9.00 loss (at least the shipping was free), and be glad that there is better Ted Raimi fare out there.
RARELY SEEN GRUESOME GORE FEST
kirbylee70-599-52617927 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I'd never heard of the movie SKINNER before watching this release. That should mean something since in the late 80s and into the early 90s I owned a video store. There were a ton of made for straight to video titles on those shelves too. And even though the store closed before this was released I still would have noticed it had it been around the shelves of other stores that were still there. So when I heard it starred Ted Raimi and featured effects by KNB Effects I was intrigued.
Raimi stars as Dennis Skinner, a drifter being tracked down by a mysterious woman dressed in black with a large black hat covering most of her face (Traci Lords). Just why she's tracking him and how the two connect we have no clue. As he enters a new town Skinner finds a home with a room for rent. Owned by a young couple only Kerry (Ricki Lake) is there when he stops in to enquire about the room. Her husband Geoff (David Warshofsky) is a truck driver out on the road at the moment. Skinner takes the room and settles in.
At night Skinner prowls the streets nearby, tending to wander the seedier areas of town where the local hookers walk looking for customers. Unfortunately for them they have no idea what kind of man Skinner is and see him as an easy payday. What they don't know is that in the bad he carries with him everywhere he carries the tools of his trade, that of serial killer.
While all of this is going on we get to learn more about the mystery woman. She books a room in a seedy hotel run by Eddie (Richard Schiff). Going to her room he watches from a hole in the wall to find out something about her. As she gets settled in she shoots up some drug (heroin?) and takes off something on her leg revealing it as badly scarred, the same with her arm. Could it be that she was once a victim of Skinner and this is why she is tracking him? Well...yeah!
The gore end of the film comes when we get to see what it is Skinner does with his victims. Particularly gruesome is the body of a co-worker who threatened him who Skinner killed and then flayed, walking around in a suit made of the man's skin. It is some effective effects work on the part of KNB.
But how does the movie hold up on its own? Well that kind of depends on what kind of movies you enjoy. If you like those low budget/no budget films that went straight to video back in the 90s then you'll love this movie. If you're a bit pickier the odds are good you won't. And if you are somewhere in between then you'll enjoy at least one viewing of the movie but doubtfully enjoy repeated viewings. Horror fans are a forgiving group though and the odds are good they will flock to this one.
Raimi is a much better actor than is seen here. Normally filling out supporting roles and especially comedic ones, he fares better in those films. Lords is the same. Even though it's been years she's still more known for her infamous history of being in pornography at an early age than her regular features which is sad. She truly has talent when it comes to acting, but that's not seen much here in this cardboard cutout of a character. Lake is surprisingly bad here. I've seen her in many other roles and this one appears to have been done with little to no direction. The big surprise is to see Schiff in the film as he's gone on to so many more respectable roles.
In spite of all of this Severin is releasing this in a spectacular version with a restored 4k scan from the original camera negative making it perhaps the best looking the film as ever been. They're also packing on some interesting extras as well including "A Touch of Scandal" an interview with director Ivan Nagy, "Under His Skin" an interview with Ted Raimi, "Bargain Bin VHS for a Buck" and interview with screenwriter Paul Hart-Wilden, "Cutting Skinner" an interview with Editor Jeremy Kasten, the flaying sequence out takes and extended takes and the film's trailer.
Horror fans looking for something new to watch will be glad to have this one in their collection. It's not quite up to the best from the time period but so much better than much of what is coming out and considered low budget gore films being made today. And congrats to Severin for giving the film a new life.
Raimi stars as Dennis Skinner, a drifter being tracked down by a mysterious woman dressed in black with a large black hat covering most of her face (Traci Lords). Just why she's tracking him and how the two connect we have no clue. As he enters a new town Skinner finds a home with a room for rent. Owned by a young couple only Kerry (Ricki Lake) is there when he stops in to enquire about the room. Her husband Geoff (David Warshofsky) is a truck driver out on the road at the moment. Skinner takes the room and settles in.
At night Skinner prowls the streets nearby, tending to wander the seedier areas of town where the local hookers walk looking for customers. Unfortunately for them they have no idea what kind of man Skinner is and see him as an easy payday. What they don't know is that in the bad he carries with him everywhere he carries the tools of his trade, that of serial killer.
While all of this is going on we get to learn more about the mystery woman. She books a room in a seedy hotel run by Eddie (Richard Schiff). Going to her room he watches from a hole in the wall to find out something about her. As she gets settled in she shoots up some drug (heroin?) and takes off something on her leg revealing it as badly scarred, the same with her arm. Could it be that she was once a victim of Skinner and this is why she is tracking him? Well...yeah!
The gore end of the film comes when we get to see what it is Skinner does with his victims. Particularly gruesome is the body of a co-worker who threatened him who Skinner killed and then flayed, walking around in a suit made of the man's skin. It is some effective effects work on the part of KNB.
But how does the movie hold up on its own? Well that kind of depends on what kind of movies you enjoy. If you like those low budget/no budget films that went straight to video back in the 90s then you'll love this movie. If you're a bit pickier the odds are good you won't. And if you are somewhere in between then you'll enjoy at least one viewing of the movie but doubtfully enjoy repeated viewings. Horror fans are a forgiving group though and the odds are good they will flock to this one.
Raimi is a much better actor than is seen here. Normally filling out supporting roles and especially comedic ones, he fares better in those films. Lords is the same. Even though it's been years she's still more known for her infamous history of being in pornography at an early age than her regular features which is sad. She truly has talent when it comes to acting, but that's not seen much here in this cardboard cutout of a character. Lake is surprisingly bad here. I've seen her in many other roles and this one appears to have been done with little to no direction. The big surprise is to see Schiff in the film as he's gone on to so many more respectable roles.
In spite of all of this Severin is releasing this in a spectacular version with a restored 4k scan from the original camera negative making it perhaps the best looking the film as ever been. They're also packing on some interesting extras as well including "A Touch of Scandal" an interview with director Ivan Nagy, "Under His Skin" an interview with Ted Raimi, "Bargain Bin VHS for a Buck" and interview with screenwriter Paul Hart-Wilden, "Cutting Skinner" an interview with Editor Jeremy Kasten, the flaying sequence out takes and extended takes and the film's trailer.
Horror fans looking for something new to watch will be glad to have this one in their collection. It's not quite up to the best from the time period but so much better than much of what is coming out and considered low budget gore films being made today. And congrats to Severin for giving the film a new life.
Serial Killer/Mutilator Pursued By Hooker Victim/Survivor & Husband Of Future Victim!
bipvg7112 November 2005
Skinner is a Horror & Suspense Classic that uses the killer's fantasies as flashback scenes. Dennis Skinner (Ted Raimi)a soft-spoken normal-looking drifter(with obsessive compulsions for water & blood) rents an room from Kerry Tate (Ricki Lake) and Geoff Tate-Long-haul Truck Driver (David Warshofsky) while he's out on the road. Geoff leaves Kerry alone all the time due to work, ignores her when he's home, and she appreciates the new stranger's company and attention even though her husband hates him. Dennis finds a job at a local factory and is physically and verbally harassed by a black co-worker who he also skins. At night Dennis roams the streets with a gym bag filled with knifes looking for hookers or women victims to skin, constantly followed by the deformed junkie/hooker Heidi (Traci Lords) who was mutilated by him and is now hunting him for revenge. Dennis is attracted to Kerry and wants to show her the real him so he seduces her then kidnaps and takes her to his playpen to be the next victim/art piece. Heidi tipped-off by her landlord's forced confession find's their house and she and Geoff soon follow to try to save Kerry, but Heidi drugs Geoff as they close in after crashing the factory gates with his Semi-Truck and alerting the night watchman. Will Heidi get her revenge and will Kerry die? Also Stars:Richard Schiff Eddie; Blaire Baron Gloria; Roberta Eaton Sandy;Christina Englehardt Rachel; Dewayne Williams - Earl ;Time Winters - Night watchman; Frederika Kesten Suzanne;Sara Lee Froton -Young woman. Ivan Nagy - Directed (former boyfriend of Heidi Fleiss-The Hollywood Madam). music by Contagion, Special Make-Up Effects by KNB EFX Group.
Great idea good effects, but....
jamie_likeskylie16 December 2003
This film suffers from chronic sound problems. There is an echo on half of it. Now you may be thinking it's just my video, well I got the DVD as well and it's the movie! Really shoddy, but anyway. The film has a great premise and Ricki Lake and Ted Raimi are okay in it. Poor Traci Lords takes it a little over the top and it comes off as a bit amaturish. There is one disturbing seen involving Traci's character, Heidi, that freaks me out. It's when she stabs the needle in her and lets out this scream. It's pretty effective so she deserves some credit for that scene at least. The skinning scenes don't get good for a while but bear with the film for them because they are really sick. Also watch out for Skinner running around in a black guy! Literally! It's truly gross!
Excellent
zmoviefan9 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This Horror film really surprised me, it was so much better than I had expected. It had nudity, bloody special effects, a pretty good storyline and the is some character development. It wasn't scary at all, just well made.
Ricky Lake and Traci Lords were great,but the movie is all about Ted Raimi as the crazy guy who enjoys wearing the skins of his victims. Mostly he kills prostitutes.
Ms. Lake plays a married woman who rents a room out to psychotic Raimi.
Ms. Lords plays a previous (disfigured)victim looking for Raimi to avenge herself.
Ricky Lake and Traci Lords were great,but the movie is all about Ted Raimi as the crazy guy who enjoys wearing the skins of his victims. Mostly he kills prostitutes.
Ms. Lake plays a married woman who rents a room out to psychotic Raimi.
Ms. Lords plays a previous (disfigured)victim looking for Raimi to avenge herself.
Not great, but not at all bad.
Hey_Sweden10 December 2022
Filmmaker Sam Raimi's actor brother Ted makes the most of a rare lead role here, playing Dennis Skinner. Dennis is an amiable drifter who actually spends a lot of his time skinning prostitutes alive, and THEN wearing their skin and hair as "suits". He rents a room from a couple, Kerry and Geoff Tate (Ricki Lake and David Warshofsky), and gets a job as a custodian at a factory, while morphine-addicted Heidi (Traci Lords), who survived Skinner's murder spree, turns up in town and is determinedly seeking revenge.
Written by Paul Hart-Wilden, and directed by the notorious character Ivan Nagy (who also directed an excellent 70s film called "Deadly Hero"), "Skinner" gets by on genuinely seedy doom-and-gloom atmosphere, a good music score by the band Contagion, twisted gore by those reliable guys at KNB, and a jovial lead performance by Raimi. He's fun to watch, Lake is reasonably appealing as the oblivious landlord, Warshofsky is decent as her moody husband, and the movie has a co-starring role for the great future 'The West Wing' cast member Richard Schiff (who plays Heidi's sleazy landlord). Lords, unfortunately, is just too monotonous to register well as the would-be avenger.
Production design is also a real asset: a fair amount of scenes take place in an urban wasteland, just the right environment for a character like Skinner and his activities. And the movie is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, in a true politically incorrect fashion. The big effects showcase involves the flaying of a hooker while Skinner talks to the body and gives us a little insight into his character.
"Skinner" is not completely satisfying, especially the ending, but in general it's a fairly amusing combination of sadism and a truly mean spirit. Obviously, it's not very well known in terms of 90s shockers, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's picked up a bit of a following along the way.
Seven out of 10.
Written by Paul Hart-Wilden, and directed by the notorious character Ivan Nagy (who also directed an excellent 70s film called "Deadly Hero"), "Skinner" gets by on genuinely seedy doom-and-gloom atmosphere, a good music score by the band Contagion, twisted gore by those reliable guys at KNB, and a jovial lead performance by Raimi. He's fun to watch, Lake is reasonably appealing as the oblivious landlord, Warshofsky is decent as her moody husband, and the movie has a co-starring role for the great future 'The West Wing' cast member Richard Schiff (who plays Heidi's sleazy landlord). Lords, unfortunately, is just too monotonous to register well as the would-be avenger.
Production design is also a real asset: a fair amount of scenes take place in an urban wasteland, just the right environment for a character like Skinner and his activities. And the movie is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, in a true politically incorrect fashion. The big effects showcase involves the flaying of a hooker while Skinner talks to the body and gives us a little insight into his character.
"Skinner" is not completely satisfying, especially the ending, but in general it's a fairly amusing combination of sadism and a truly mean spirit. Obviously, it's not very well known in terms of 90s shockers, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's picked up a bit of a following along the way.
Seven out of 10.
Insanity is only skin deep
razorea12 April 2006
This movie is completely out of this world. Raimi's character is the perfect bad guy. It's almost as if he has two totally different personalities. During the day, he's Dennis, the lovable, nerdy guy who lives at the end of the hall and works as a janitor. At night, he's Skinner, the deranged madman who kills people, skins them, and then wears the skin of his victims. This was the first major movie role I had ever seen Ted Raimi in. I was used to seeing him as the bumbling hero wannabe, Joxer, from the "Xena" and "Hercules" television shows and bit parts in other movies. It was interesting to see him pull off a role that was the complete opposite of what I was used to. The scene in the warehouse is very creepy. When you see all of Skinner's "tools" hanging from the racks, there's just something about that scene that is mildly terrifying. Almost as creepy as the scene with him walking down the street wearing the skin suit of one of his victims and imitating said victim's voice. Very disturbing. Fans of low-budget, B-movies will enjoy this film. Fans of special effects and and tons of blood and gore won't, as there isn't really any blood and gore shown until the last part of the movie. All in all, not a bad movie.
Dark and unsettling portrait of a psycho
Woodyanders27 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Outwardly charming and mild-mannered nebbish Dennis Skinner (a creepy and convincing performance by Ted Raimi) rents a room from a young couple. At night Dennis goes out to pick up hookers so he can kill and skin them. Meanwhile, vengeful and unhinged smack addict near-victim Heidi (a surprisingly intense and effective portrayal by Traci Lords) tracks Dennis down.
Director Ivan Nagy, working from a harsh script by Paul Hart-Wilden, ably crafts an unsparingly grim and sordid tone, grounds the bleak premise in a seedy and believable workaday reality, relates the compellingly seamy story at a constant pace, and makes nice use of grimy urban hellhole locations. Raimi has a field day with a rare juicy lead role that allows him to be both affable and unnerving in equal measure. Moreover, there are sturdy supporting contributions from Ricki Lake as the sweet Kerry Tate, David Warshofsky as irascible truck driver Geoff, Richard Schiff as sleazy hotel manager Eddie, and Dewayne Williams as the belligerent Earl. Kudos are also in order for Greg Littlewood's shadowy noirish cinematography, the brooding score by Keith Arem and Contagion, and the typically excellent gore f/x by KNB. An unjustly neglected sickie sleeper.
Director Ivan Nagy, working from a harsh script by Paul Hart-Wilden, ably crafts an unsparingly grim and sordid tone, grounds the bleak premise in a seedy and believable workaday reality, relates the compellingly seamy story at a constant pace, and makes nice use of grimy urban hellhole locations. Raimi has a field day with a rare juicy lead role that allows him to be both affable and unnerving in equal measure. Moreover, there are sturdy supporting contributions from Ricki Lake as the sweet Kerry Tate, David Warshofsky as irascible truck driver Geoff, Richard Schiff as sleazy hotel manager Eddie, and Dewayne Williams as the belligerent Earl. Kudos are also in order for Greg Littlewood's shadowy noirish cinematography, the brooding score by Keith Arem and Contagion, and the typically excellent gore f/x by KNB. An unjustly neglected sickie sleeper.
Theodore goes Gein.
Combative Fizzle4 August 2000
What a fun little movie. Who would have thought that Sam Raimi's little brother had it in him? He's much more than just a Lunatic or a guy who gets slapped around by big, burly lesbians in leather bustiers every week on TV. Ted plays Dennis Skinner, a fun loving guy who just happens to dig slicing off people's skin and wearing it. Is that so bad? What will be even more frightening for you prudish non-horror fans is that stuff like this really happened back in the 50's in a little town in Wisconsin called Plainfield. Eddie Gein donned a suit of human skin and unwittingly inspired such horror movie classics as Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. Ted's great as the creepy homicidal screwball who just looks like your average everyday nerd that nobody would ever suspect of doing such horrible things. Sure, Ricki Lake and Traci Lords are in it, but forget about them! This is TED'S movie! Skinner may be tasteless, extremely graphic, and pretty damn offensive but that just adds to its charm. Rent this one today, kids! Oh, there seems to be a whole lotta running water in this movie for some odd reason...so prepare yourself for frequent trips to the bathroom.
Cool Idea
ihateeverymovieisee12 August 2003
The movie Skinner is about a serial killer who has a disturbing hobby of skinning his victims and then wearing their skin like clothing. To me, that sounds like a credible horror film story line, but the execution of this film was very poor. The acting was unbelievable, the film quality looked like the movie was filmed in the 1800s, and the effects were not good at all. I would not recommend this film to anyone at all for any reason. There are no memorable scenes or lines in this movie, so I'm going to give it a 1 out of 10 star rating.
Great movie!!!!!!
lonewolfssong19 December 2000
I loved Ted in it, he's funny, charming,etc...
I do think the movie needed more blood though...
It was very interesting to see Ted Raimi act out a crazy comedy/horror like that! My sister rarely like any actors that I like,but he's one she said knows how to act!
That's all you have to know to know how great this movie is, I won't say much, because I hate when people tell me too much about a movie I haven't seen yet!
Skinner Rules!!!!
I do think the movie needed more blood though...
It was very interesting to see Ted Raimi act out a crazy comedy/horror like that! My sister rarely like any actors that I like,but he's one she said knows how to act!
That's all you have to know to know how great this movie is, I won't say much, because I hate when people tell me too much about a movie I haven't seen yet!
Skinner Rules!!!!
"What Have You Got In There?!"...
azathothpwiggins25 February 2020
SKINNER stars Ted Raimi as Dennis Skinner, a man who just happens to enjoy removing the dermis and epidermis of unsuspecting females. One such female, named Heidi (Traci Lords!), has escaped his clutches, and lives only to see him die. Meanwhile, Dennis moves into a room rented to him by Kerri Tate (Ricki Lake!!). Hitting it off swimmingly, Kerri is unaware of her new boarder's perilous proclivities.
Raimi's character is the seemingly harmless nebbish, springing into lethal action upon getting his victims alone. There is a notorious skinning scene in gruesome detail. This all has to do with Dennis' master plan (hint: think Buffalo Bill from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS).
Disgusting and absurd, this movie will offend just about everyone, especially after Dennis "embodies" one of his male co-workers. Yikes! Shockingly, one of the most sickening scenes involves a raw chicken and a knife from the kitchen floor! Mmm-Mmm!
Ms. Lake is good in her role, dealing with her swine of a husband, as well as her timid, yet terrifying tenant. However, what sets this movie apart from typical gore / horror / schlock is Traci Lords. Her portrayal of "the one that got away", takes us into revenge film territory, and she pulls it off with aplomb! The final conflict could have been better, but this is certainly a bizarre, twisted, early-1990's artifact...
Raimi's character is the seemingly harmless nebbish, springing into lethal action upon getting his victims alone. There is a notorious skinning scene in gruesome detail. This all has to do with Dennis' master plan (hint: think Buffalo Bill from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS).
Disgusting and absurd, this movie will offend just about everyone, especially after Dennis "embodies" one of his male co-workers. Yikes! Shockingly, one of the most sickening scenes involves a raw chicken and a knife from the kitchen floor! Mmm-Mmm!
Ms. Lake is good in her role, dealing with her swine of a husband, as well as her timid, yet terrifying tenant. However, what sets this movie apart from typical gore / horror / schlock is Traci Lords. Her portrayal of "the one that got away", takes us into revenge film territory, and she pulls it off with aplomb! The final conflict could have been better, but this is certainly a bizarre, twisted, early-1990's artifact...
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