Winterskin (2018) User Reviews

Honest review of Winterskin

[mikedegroot · 3/10 · 23 June 2019]

Winterskin is a low budget horror flick out of the UK. I am a fan of low budget horror movies but this one is really not worth the watch. The whole production is subpar but what really drags this movie down is the annoying dialogue and piss-poor acting. It's hard to tell if it's the actor's are ruining the dialogue or the dialogue is making the actors sound amateurish. The fake accents are cringe-worthy bad, and that added to the fact that the film is so dialogue heavy only makes it worse. If you took a drink every time that Ol Agnes obnoxiously says "child", you'd be passed out drunk within the first half hour (and maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing).

The story itself is kind of original and unique but there's a strange shift in the tone about halfway through where everything grinds to a halt and the story becomes complete back and forth dialogue between the two characters and it turns monotonous.

The few effects that are used aren't horrible, but the fake blood looks and flies like dark red water, with a whole 64oz Big Gulp cup of blood spewing from each bullet wound. I realize that it's a horror movie, but that's not how that works at all.

Without going into any details, the ending is pretty weak and not worth the tedious ride. I honestly can't even recommend this one to the hardcore horror fans out there, as watching this one felt more like a chore because of the grinding dialogue and the fact that there are much better low budget offerings out there. Skip it. 3/10

More cuckoo than a clock factory

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 7 July 2019]

While outside the snowy cabin, Billy (David Lenik) gets shot by Agnes (Rowena Bentley) a woman with a southern accent and speaks about herself in the third person like an idiot. As she cares for Billy, she tells him about "the red man" who is outside of the cabins, creatures who look like people with their skin removed.

The cabin is lit by candlelight but does have electric outdoor light. The mystery is solved, although it raises serious plot questions that I can't ask without spoiling the plot.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Meh!

[sebcaron · 3/10 · 19 October 2021]

That was... Bland and boring!

The lighting effects were really strange too... too much yellow/orange lightings. I don't know if that was intended but it felt so weird I almost thought the color settings of my TV were messed up.

I somehow managed to watch it entirely, but I'm glad it was not a 2 hours+ movie... one and a half hour is already enough time wasted.

I'm usually not too picky when I listen to "low budget" horror movies. I'm really easy to be satisfied with pretty much anything, even if it is not realistic at all, but that one was just... awful.

Maybe it's just not my cup of tea, but I'm wondering who the hell could really ENJOY that movie.

Misleading Summary for an Awful Film

[vanwolfster · 1/10 · 16 February 2020]

Reads summary, sees movie, in the famous words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, "You lie!"

I know a horror movie should be suspenseful, building itself up to reveal the monster or whatever in a climax then get a good ending out of it, but to mislead their audience to do ruins the experience and feels completely cheap. It sure is much more cheaper than the movie's special affects that is for sure. The acting is awful, the main character to be completely overtaken by the "monster" is... it does not make any sense. Physically it does not make sense, but it has to be put there or else the story won't continue forward. Deus ex machina event right there to the extreme.

If I were to see the movie without reading any summary, I wouldn't be as mad as I am right now since the plot in the movie is completely different than what the summary says. They hoodwinked me, skinned me before my eyes into watching this lie of a film.



The real summary should have been like "Hunters looking for serial killer gets separated in the cold of winter and encounters something they weren't prepared for." Was that so hard to think of? And the cover art for the movie should be replaced too to avoid the lies and confusion the movie causes too. I expected skinless monsters not this crap.



TL;DR: The whole summary of the movie is a lie and the movie itself is as bad too, save yourself the time to do something else. The director of this disaster deserves to be banned from the movie business. Hell, all this lying makes them great to be a politician.

The boring, the terrible and the misleading.

[Constantine306 · 1/10 · 13 February 2020]

Hateful eight, this is not. Wow. Just hatefully terrible. Where to begin? The hero is a joke. This guy couldn't stop a squirrel let alone a human being. He spends half the movie making stupid decision after stupid decision all while whining like a baby. He couldn't even overpower an old woman. Being crazy doesn't give anyone supernatural strength so why couldn't he stop "old Agnes?" This movie is only 1:24 in length but it felt like 2:30. Then there's the triple-shot double barreled shotgun. O__o No joke. And a repeater that had to be reloaded after each shot which was absolutely baffling. Oh, plus there's the cover art on Amazon Prime. Showing a person holding an assault shotgun, with a sidearm strapped to their leg, while creatures not even close to resembling the skinned people in the film break in through the window. Absolutely egregious false advertising.

Any rating above 1 star came from someone involved with the film....

[greg-29535 · 1/10 · 17 March 2020]

Father and son out hunting deer. Dressed wrong and with no gear or weapons. They get split up and are so stupid they can't shout to find each other. The son gets shot the father can't follow the sounds or his son's footprints in the snow?? Anyway, forgetting the insanely stupid plot. The hero has no charisma and zero screen presence. The woman who plays Agnes did about the worst (over)acting job I've ever seen. The dialogue was absolutely terrible, and on top of that the direction was beyond awful. The idea of this old lady being a serial killer was beyond goofy. The scene where she overpowered him would be hilarious if it wasn't supposed to be serious. I really don't even understand how movies like this get made....

Worthless Pathetic wannabe Horror film.

[erkcan2 · 1/10 · 25 December 2020]

This movie is slow moving and not worth the time to even watch the trailer. This movie is a worthless pathetic wannabe thriller, and or horror movie or what ever it's trying to be. This movie is a waste of 85 minutes of your time. Even the dialogue is pathetic. I can't believe someone actually financed the making of this movie. The only good part of this movie is seeing the end credits so that I can make a notation of the people's names that were involved in making this movie; so that in the future I can make sure to avoid watching anything that they produce.

Absolutely terrible

[jkitley-22107 · 1/10 · 29 March 2020]

I want to like this movie I really do, but man, where do I begin? There are more plot holes in this movie than can possibly allowed. It's never really explained what time period they're in. Is it 1914 or 2006? The actors accents change frequently and are never very good. The film is gory and grotesque but as the plot unfolds (slow burn) it's just not good. Don't get me wrong they nailed the gore factor which is really one of the only compliments I can conjure up. I feel bad for the people trying to jumpstart their acting careers starring in this dumpster fire.

Seriously?

[rodhackenflasch · 1/10 · 19 September 2019]

In the first scene, we've got some sort of skinless, crazed ghoul wielding an axe to break a down a cabin door, then he supposedly shoots the occupants, each bullet generating a quick, gushing bucket of blood, then the ghoul crawls from behind the couch growling (apparently people don't bleed to death after being skinned alive, and they can survive in winter conditions). Next, we see a man and his son hunting deer without any weapons. They get separated and the kid gets shot by a crazy old crone (with a bad American accent) and winds up in her cabin. After that, I don't know what happened because I stopped watching the movie (about 10 minutes is all I could stand).

Dog dies

[thedarkestshadow-32785 · 1/10 · 15 August 2020]

Any movie that kills a dog like this automatically gets a 1 star rating from me. I'm incredibly tired of it.

My Review Of "Winterskin"

[ASouthernHorrorFan · 7/10 · 9 June 2019]

"Winterskin" is a throwback to classic creature horror, blending folklore with ethereal, whimsy and nightmare. It is reminiscent of the atmosphere and character drama found in 80's anthology series such as "Tales From The Darkside". There is an almost "home entertainment" quality, that despite the film's flaws, makes "Winterskin" captivating and entertaining.

The story is a straightforward concept with an almost wildness survival aspect, fitting somewhere between The Donner Party and Windego. It keeps with the microbudget, indie horror feel. The cast is great at bringing these doomed characters to life. And, even though the more minial dialog stumbles, there is a lot of theatrical, twisted juiciness written in "Winterskin" that plays with both amusement and gothic elements, adding to this bizarre and chilling tale.

The special effects on display in "Winterskin" is excellent. The gruesome and macabre nature of the "skinless" is disturbing, reminding me of Frank in "Hellraiser". There are a couple of exploding blood bag effects that tease a more 3-dimensional, graphic novel style, which despite the intent, come off as hokey. Beyond that the horror elements are great, placing this indie horror above the expected dreg. Pair that with nostalgia inducing cinematography and a total 80's music score, and "Winterskin" is a definite one to watch.

Oh my god

[thomasgrods · 1/10 · 15 May 2021]

How is it possible... i mean, oh my god! The actors are so bad, that you can't take the story serious. 1 hour and 24 minutes are better spent in the trunk of a car.

A swing and a miss...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 23 September 2021]

As I sat down here in 2021 to watch the 2018 movie "Winterskin", I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, as I hadn't even heard about writer and director Charlie Steeds' movie. But with its title and it being a horror movie, of course I opted to watch it.

The storyline told in "Winterskin", as written by Charlie Steeds, fell quite short of providing me with much of any entertainment. So I didn't really enjoy the movie, and made it about halfway through before giving up out of sheer boredom and a lack of interest in the movie entirely.

The movie was just too slow paced for my liking and the storyline was just downright bland and boring. And it didn't really help much that the character gallery was pretty uninteresting, and the dialogue was pretty wooden and rigid.

For a horror movie then "Winterskin" just didn't have what it took to impress or entertain me. So this is hardly a movie that I would recommend you waste your time, money or effort on.

My rating of "Winterskin" lands on a very generous two out of ten stars.

Casting failure...

[Turgut_Belen · 4/10 · 28 June 2019]

This movie could have been a blockbuster, if Bentley's role was played by Kathy Bates. Now, don't get me wrong, Rowena Bentley is a superb actress, but in my opinion, not for this part. Southern accent just did not fit her, neither did her make-up. Although a lot of effort was given to produce this movie, sad to say, just did not grab me.

What could have been...

[haskel-72951 · 6/10 · 16 September 2019]

Sooo much potential. Good concept, decent screenplay, well directed. All nearly sunk by one of the most over the top, overwrought, "what the hell is she thinking" performances of all time from Rowena Bentley. Recast that role - or even dial her back 2 or 3000 notches - and this would have been seriously great fun. Even with her insane hysterics it's a fun watch.

Video throwback

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 10 May 2019]

Literally from the first moment of this film -- the logo for Dark Temple Films -- I had the feel of renting a movie I had no idea about from my old haunt, Prime Time Video.

While hunting in the woods, Billy Cavanagh is accidentally shot. Looking for shelter when he's taken in by the kind and kooky old lady Agnes, unaware that her isolated log cabin is being stalked by a bloodthirsty skinless creature hellbent on getting inside. And he's even more unaware that Agnes is completely unhinged.

That's a great beginning that makes you ask: And then?

Directed by Charlie Steeds (Escape From Cannibal Farm, The House Of Violent Desire), I'd compare this to a blend of Evil Dead and Misery. Yet it's very much this film is its own story.I enjoyed the film, as its a throwback to 80's video store rental fare. The FX are solid, with plenty of gushing over the top gore. I just wish some of the outside shots had the same care as the inside ones, but that's a minor quibble.

Decent enough if you're willing to go along with this one's twist

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 31 December 2019]

Out in the woods hunting deer, a man separated from his father by the conditions finds himself comforted by a lonely old woman in a remote cabin, but the longer he stays with her the more he comes to believe her claims about a series of skinned-creatures out in the woods aren't the real threat.

This one wasn't all too bad of an effort. One of the film's strongest aspects at play is the enjoyable setup that's incredibly intriguing as well as providing for some fine setups. The kids' arrival at her remote cabin in the forest through deer hunting and then being stranded there with an injury which keeps him there to hear her backstory about the creature hunting her is a great way to get this going, and when all added together with the freezing cold winds and snow serve for a great setup. That leads into the stellar series of scenes between the two of them in the cabin. The films' smart enough to play incredibly well with the concept of whether or not the isolation and the story she's told has driven her insane, providing plenty of fun here as the outbursts and interactions really drive this section of the film. From the genuine emotional outburst over the dogs' death to the revelation about his meal to the growing distrust about the true nature of the creatures out there, this back-and-forth nature makes for a pleasing side-plot about the mental stability of her as she becomes far more unhinged the longer he stays there. The other decent part here is the connection to the creatures and the few scenes we have with them. Starting with the opening assault on the family where they get systematically slaughtered and ripped to pieces, the brutality and ferocity of the attack serves this as a shocking start. Forged by the stories we've heard, the encounter in the cabin where the creature attacks them creates some tense moments and brutal scenes where they get to stop the creature are pretty fun methods. The finale, which turns into a series of bloody and gory shootouts throughout the cabin, keeps this one incredibly enjoyable for the most part delivering action where it counts. These here are what works for the film since there are a few issues to be had here. The main issue is the fact that the premise of having them stuck together with no other people around causes this to get quite boring and repetitive. The mind games get old quickly when you realize that's all the film has as it won't go back to the creatures that are out in the woods which is a total cheat since they're not the main focus of the film. For all the focus and attention given to them early on, there's nothing done with them about their true nature or if they're truly threats at all based on what they do with them. These here are what holds the film back overall.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Very Good Movie - But the color grading was the films worst nightmare!

[tkaine3 · 7/10 · 24 June 2019]

The Illegal chroma levels in this movie has potentially kept this film from recieving high praise. Basically not too dark or not too bright. (QA) Quality Assurance will reject films for TV, Cable or DVD that don't abide or meet these standard limits. The problem with independent straight to web movies are these conditions don't apply. The high lights coupled with the brightness of the snow at the start of this movie and subsequent scenes with blinding light peering through the cabin windows were painful to see. Inside the cabin was the complete opposite, not as bad but overly dark with a color temperature too hot and exhausting saturation but it fit the mood for the most part and leveled out eventually. In all honesty this film did not need the gimmicky post production antics & mistakes. It was phenomenally filmed and written. Old lady Agnes played by Rowena Bentley is an absolute gem. Beautifully mature funny while equally scary. Billy played by David Lenik also does a fine job. The pace, storyline, special FX and music were brilliant and deserves praise. The setting may seem like a parody of the classic "Misery" and a few other movies which most certainly was the intent but "Winterskin" has a firm agenda and it sticks to the goal at hand. Creepy bloody comical and fun. Definitely deserves a higher Imdb rating than 4 and I give it a 7 (Some Praise) and would definitely recommend this film for horror comedy fans you should really enjoy it.

"Winterskin" Serves Up Electrifying Horror Thanks to Rowena Bentley's Bone-Chilling Performance!

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 7/10 · 3 November 2023]

Story - 1.25/2 Acting - 1.50/2 Direction & Pace 3.25/4 Entertainment - 1.5/2

Total - 7.5/10

"Winterskin," the 2018 psychological horror film, is a rollercoaster of delicious thrills and chills that'll entrust you cling tenaciously to your popcorn and sleep with the lights on! While the movie typically has its highs and lows, there's one shining star that undoubtedly keeps it afloat - Rowena Bentley, who portrayed "Mother" Agnes with an electrifying performance that's the stuff of nightmares.

Bentley's brilliant portrayal of Mother Agnes is a masterclass in horror acting: Her notable vigour and zeal ooze from the screen, making her principal character a truly bone-chilling presence. With every sinister whisper and devilish glare, Bentley delivers an outstanding performance that's nothing short of mesmerizing. She's the wickedly delicious icing on this horror cake.

Regrettably, the same can't be said for the rest of the cast: They range from average to dire, especially the ill-fated rescuers who stumble upon Mother Agnes' eerie abode. It's as if they wandered onto the set from a beginner's acting workshop, naturally making you question their logical choices more than their safety.

The fascinating story itself is decent, but there are some glaring errors of creative storytelling that will cause you to scratch your head. When the rescuers cautiously enter the seemingly abandoned property to liberate young Billy, they somehow deem it uninhabited despite glaring clues like a burning fire, a meal cooking, and lanterns aglow. It's almost as if they'd never read the script!

Director Charlie Steeds shines with his creative direction, even if the writing falls a tad flat. His effective use of close-up camera work, steady shots, and dramatic angles add a distinct layer of intrigue to the film. It's like watching a macabre ballet of terror unfold before your eyes.

Ultimately, "Winterskin" is a mixed bag of horror, but it's worth a watch if only to witness Rowena Bentley's chilling brilliance and Charlie Steeds' directorial finesse. Therefore, grab your popcorn, turn down the lights, and prepare to be both terrified and unintentionally amused in this horror rollercoaster. One viewing is worth the shivers and unintended giggles.