Skin (2020) User Reviews

Very good horror film

[alipg · 7/10 · 1 February 2022]

The horror film was relatively good. I hope the horror films in Iran develop day by day.

I really liked the soundtrack... The language of the film also increased the enjoyment of the film many times over...

"The spirit of the forest came into his dreams in the shape of a tree."

[morrison-dylan-fan · 8/10 · 17 November 2020]

In a exchange with a fellow poster on the message boards for FrightFest, they mentioned to me about having viewings lined up on the Leeds International Film Festival. Never having heard of LIFF before, I signed up,and after missing it at FrightFest, finally caught up withThe Columnist (2019-also reviewed.)

The next day I got a E-Mail from the fest,saying that due to copyright concerns,they were changing how the movies could be played. Following all the sent details,I found the film to stop playing 10 minutes in. Getting no help at all in E-Mails from the organisers,I mentioned it to a friend,who gave me a idea which allowed me to at last skin a viewing.

View on the film:

Building upon their short Animal (2017-also reviewed), where a man disguises himself as a ram, co-writers/co-directing brothers Bahman & Bahram Ark blends the stylisation of Iran New Wave (INW) with the earthy dark Fantasy of Magical Realism.

Unearthing objects that reveal bewitching reverse spells have been haunting the household of witch Marhamat and her son Araz,the Ark's dig into the discovery with elegant close-ups on each magical object being pulled out of the earth, covered in soil that reflects the dark means for which it was used for.

Conjuring rustic Folk songs across the title, Ark's striking opening of a man performing a ritual dressed as a lion (clawing into the image of the animalistic masculinity in the village) is impressively kept grounded, by the Ark's use of INW stilted wide-shots.

The Ark's stay seated from melodramatic close-ups on mum & son confrontations, instead filling the household with a frosty atmosphere, from the distorted sight of walk-off's, to stray off the cuff comments thrown between the duo.

Following Araz visiting village elders to free him from Marhamat, the screenplay by the Ark's retains a grit whilst " Jinns" are casually woven into the dialogue, waves the wand to tear two choices for Araz, either head into the soft-focus, fairy tale romance with his dream girl,or break her superstitions, and support Marhamat, as Araz's bursts of maturity,gives him a new skin.

The good, the Evil, and the Enchantment

[taddayyon · 8/10 · 24 March 2022]

Unique and innovative in many ways: Impressive music, realistic acting, awesome editing, and above all, magnetic storytelling. An Ashigh (a traditional storyteller and musician in northwest of Iran) tells an impossible love story of a saddler and a formerly christian widow who converted to Islam. But there are also jinns who tempts the saddler to come to a tragic decision in a dilemmatic situation.

I also think this film shows the most accurate image of jinns according to Iranian folklore (as I myself imagined when I listened to my grandpa's tales.)

Beautiful and meaningful. Extremely recommended.

Best Iranian horror movie

[siavashsoflaee · 10/10 · 24 April 2022]

Everything was perfect, filming , plot , actors' act , make up , music & etc all was done in a really perfect way that I hadn't seen in any other Iranian horror films.

I hope Iranian directors continue this way of horror film making based on the rich sources of Iranian folk tales.

An Iranian western horror movie..

[ThisisJimik · 8/10 · 4 December 2022]

It takes place in western Iran village, where people are Turkish orginated and follows their superstitious beliefs about how exersising magic can involve your family members and loved ones, making em in trouble as your punishment for distroying other people's lifes by doing that cursed action!

It also talks about religious beliefs of superstitious western Iran ( Turkish ) peoples.

The simillar kinda movies that can be named are Turkish (Turkey) Siccin series which is made in 6 episodes from 2007 to 2019.

I once my self travelled to Ardibil of Iran where this movie was made and talked to it's different peoples about them religious beliefs and am sure what the movie tries to say about em is a hundred percent true!...

THISISJIMIK.