Skinamarink (2022) is a low budget Canadian film gripping social media users with its terrifying trailer. Our test subject knew little about the film other than its title and a nostalgic song she sang as a child. Find out if this non-traditional horror film got her heart racing or if the unusual style left her bored to death.
SYNOPSIS:
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.
When to Watch: January 13, 2023
Test Subject: Leah
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Fears: Xenophobia or Fear of the unknown
Resting HR: 60-65bpm
Walking HR: 80-85bpm
ANALYSIS:
Our subject thought she was watching a typical horror movie, she was dead wrong. The unusual cuts and strange angles had her confused within the first five minutes, but that didn’t stop her pulse from climbing. Slow camera moves and grainy footage had her squinting to focus on certain parts of the screen, hoping she didn’t miss something important. It was this trick that slowly pulled her in, and then the whispering began. In a FearScale first, our subject reached 86bpm within the first ten minutes of the film.
A scene at 40:00 had our subject’s imagination on overload. The incredible unease she felt lifted her heart rate to a 96bpm peak. It was these stressful techniques that continued to produce elevated numbers, sustaining them throughout the entire film. In another FearScale first, take a look at the last minute on our scale above. Normally movie credits diminish our subject’s heart rate but instead we have it climb to a 94bpm spike. This was not a normal horror movie.
CONCLUSION:
You will struggle to hear and you will struggle to focus, but that's how this experiment in fear will terrorize your psyche. Click To Tweet First off, let us just say, we’re probably going to die seven days later. This was one of the strangest films we have ever monitored. Similar to the Ring video, bizarre camera cuts plagued the screen leaving our subject feeling possessed by the end. Slow, drawn out camera moves built an extremely anxious setting which caused a feeling of impending dread throughout the film. Like one of those videos that trick you during Halloween, you’re focusing on the distance only to be shocked by a closeup scream… but does that scream ever come? We won’t spoil the fun.
We know for a fact there will be viewers bored by this type of film but please allow yourself to be in the moment. What may seem like extremely dull scenes will eventually drag you down into an agonizing fear of the unknown (if you let it). We’re not here to nitpick the director’s intentions or choices, we’re here to monitor on-the-surface physiological reactions. Skinamarink terrified our subject and we have the results to prove it.
Skinamarink (2022): Burns an average of 244 Calories
Chicken on the Barbie: 310 Calories
How many Fear Calories did you burn watching Skinamarink (2022) ? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
