Plot: What’s it about?
The market for fine leathers is always booming, so Crawldaddy (Mary Jackson) and her young’uns make sure to cash in as often as possible. She and her two offspring, Phink (Scott Spiegel) and Violet (Susan Rothacker) travel across the landscape in their van, hawking their leathers and pulling down some solid profits. Of course, they’re able to maximize those profits by cutting down on source costs, since real leather can be expensive. So how do they ensure they can obtain the materials on the cheap side? Let’s just say they’ve found a less expensive method of securing faux leather that could get them into trouble, but with their traveling, they’ve been able to remain on the loose. A patch of bad luck strikes in the middle of an acquisition however, as their van shuts down and leaves them stranded in a backwoods town in Ohio. The trio winds up taken in by the always kind Tom Miles and his wife Whinnie, who of course, have no idea what sort of maniacs they’ve just let into their home. Will their secret remain undiscovered long enough to hit the road again, or will their sadistic business be closed down for good?
Skinned Alive is a wild, often hilarious horror picture with an excellent premise and some nice scenes of blood & gore work. I have to admit that some scenes come off as too silly, but most of the humor works and if you’re a fan of “splatstick” cinema, Skinned Alive should satisfy most of your expectations. The budget limitations are obvious throughout, but it seems like director John Killough was able to cut some corners and make it work, as most of the locations look good and the bloody scenes are as solid as can be expected. I’d have to think hardcore genre fans will be most interested however, as this is a little too offbeat for most mainstream audiences. As far as the cast, Mary Jackson (from Tv’s The Waltons) and Scott Spiegel (The Evil Dead) steal the show, though low budget legend J.R. Bookwalter has a memorable smaller role as a Jehovah’s Witness. Tempe has went back and remastered this film from the original negative, remixed the audio into Dolby Digital 5.1, and included a slew of terrific extras. In other words, this is a great disc and if you’re at all interested, Skinned Alive is highly recommended.
Video: How does it look?
Skinned Alive is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. Although Tempe has done some work to enhance the materials, this still looks like a worn, low budget 16MM picture, but it is a solid treatment, considering the materials involved. And as the pre-film statement says, quit your bitching, as this is as good as Skinned Alive is going to look. The print has frequent nicks and marks, but these aren’t too bad most of the time and given the budget & materials used here, I think most viewers can overlook the flaws. On the bright side, colors and contrast come through well and sharpness is better than I had anticipated. I am scoring this on a special curve, as I think Tempe has done some excellent work to ensure this very low budget movie looked as good as possible, which is highly commendable, without question.
Audio: How does it sound?
A new Dolby Digital 5.1 track has been included here and while the material limits how dynamic the audio can be, this is still an effective treatment. As you can imagine, the audio is on the thin side, but this is due to the materials and not this mix, of course. I found the mix to be more robust than expected, with some good use of the surrounds for music & atmosphere, but keep in mind, this was a low budget production in all respects. The dialogue is as clear as a bell and presents no problems and on the whole, I think this is a solid treatment. I also want to commend Tempe for going back and remixing the audio on this release, as not many studios would lavish this kind of picture with such care & attention.
Supplements: What are the extras?
As always, Tempe has packed in a nice assortment of extras, perhaps the highlight of which is a lively audio commentary track. You’ll hear from producer J.R. Bookwalter and makeup effects artist David Lange, both of whom have a lot of comments to share. Bookwalter showcases his superhuman memory powers, recalling almost every location seen in the film, as well as all kinds of general behind the scenes tidbits. Lange chimes in at times to discuss his work, but Bookwalter drives the session, which works out well, I think. Next is Cut to the Bone: Dissecting the Making of Skinned Alive, a top notch retrospective featurette. This piece runs about thirty-five minutes and features a wealth of candid cast & crew interviews, which shed some light on how Skinned Alive came to be and was produced. In addition, three brief featurettes are also found here, a general behind the scenes look, wardrobe & camera tests, and a quick look at the remastering of the film for this special DVD release. The last of the three is a real eye opener, as Bookwalter shows us the immense amount of improvements made to the materials for this edition. This disc also includes an isolated musical score, an episode of Roommates, a selection of production artwork & stills, and the film’s trailer.
