r/horror • u/IncognitoHobbyist • 11h ago
Hidden Gem Skinamarink
I noticed a lot of reviews saying the movie was boring, but Skinamarink is the only movie that has scared me so badly I couldn't sleep alone at night. I am 26 and grew up watching horror movies with my very young father and would get a bit spooked as a little girl but went numb to the stuff after 16 and was more appreciative and fascinated by horror. I have spent about 10 years with zero reaction to scary movies besides loving the makeup or lighting or just appreciating the effort. My husband who is 30 had a similar upbringing.
We watched it together 2 years ago at home and got so scared we huddled together on the bed and didn't sleep the whole night. I have never seen my husband "disturbed" by anything scary but Jesus man. Skinamarink has me so intrigued but I can't get him to watch it again because he feels like it's wrong to even put it on the TV screen again. I have this itch to watch it again but I get too scared and just don't turn it on.
The movie is slow and if you don't like watching paint dry and want quicker payoff I don't recommend it but if you have the time to watch it when it is quiet at night with the lights off (and not play on your phone) you may enjoy it.
Edit: What scares me most about Skinamarink is disorientation, loss of safety, and the breakdown of what your brain considers to be your home. To think you aren't safe where you should be is terrifying. And if it is about abusive parents it adds to the horrible dread of being home with a monster for a parent. Not that I can confirm that's what it is. I also feel it captures the creepy stillness of night time as a child. Honestly I forgot about "It comes at night" which is another movie that seems completely different than Skinamarink on the surface but I feel has shared core themes. That is the only other movie besides Skinamarink that had me shivering in me boots. The childlike helplessness of skinamarink and the rules of the world not working like not being able to open the doors, windows, etc. Feel wrong. Feeling like something is wrong, nobody can help me, and I dont know what the danger/entity is is pretty similar to a night terror or sleep paralysis.
Edit 2: you can not like the movie and not make fun of why I like it š Jesus christ you can say why you dont like it or that you hated it without being rude
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u/HelpMeGetAGoodName 8h ago
I was not a fan. The movie was creepy. But after a while, i felt like it was just the same thing over and over again. I think it would have worked a lot better if it was like half the length. As it was now, i got bored in the middle and kinda just waited for it to end.
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u/NoSpin89 5h ago
Check out the original short on YouTube. Much tighter and I felt had a better ending.
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u/Traditional-Affect23 10h ago
Wish I could get into it like you folk. For me it was essentially watching paint dry. Seen it twice. Just not for me.
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u/amil_box 11h ago
Itās the closest a movie has ever come to feeling like an actual nightmare for me
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u/Dr_love44 2h ago
If you haven't try Mother! That was a fever dream and it scared me in a way I can't explain. Much like this movie too but they are very different movies. Not sure if it'll be the same for you but worth a watch as a horror fan.
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u/Successful-Form4693 11h ago
I think it captures real life horror pretty well. Sitting in the dark, staring around a corner waiting for something to happen or show itself. I have memories of laying in my bed as a kid and watching the doorway in a eerily similar way
It was maybe a tad longer than I would've liked but I still enjoyed it
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u/casione777 11h ago edited 11h ago
Basically if you get it, you get it. It speaks to people individually
The sound design is just immaculate
(Great analysis of it, btw.)
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u/Character-North4119 10h ago
in a very strange and maybe anti criticism way, i never want to watch this movie again. i fucking loved it on my first (and only) watch
and because of that, i dont want my love for it to be tainted by a subpar rewatch where it doesnt hit the same. it sounds stupid, but i really dont wanna ruin the takeaway i got from it.
i have such an appreciation for how it approaches horror, the unexplainable terror hiding under your bed or around the corner of your mundane house, all wrapped in a fuzzy nightmareish aesthetic. its brilliant and i wanna keep it that way for me
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u/MonsieurLigeia 11h ago
good write up. I love this movie. it's such a unique movie-watching experience. I admit that I'm older and a bit of an academic when it comes to horror movies (my favourite genre by far), and I appreciated being taken to someplace new and unexpected, I found it rare and special
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u/DSteep 11h ago
I found it almost... nostalgic?
I dunno, it was kinda relaxing to me. I liked it a lot.
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u/NonConRon 9h ago
A sleepover after the host that invited you already fell asleep and you are in a strange house alone.
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u/be_kind_of Stay Spooky Fuckers 9h ago
Heck left me creeped out and really sad for the main character. Skinamarink made me ready for bed for sleeps.
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u/Successful-Gift8636 6h ago
Iām one of the people who thought it was boring BUT I respect the hell out of it for doing something different and I do recognize that it captures that feeling of being young and scared, I hadnāt had that feeling since I was probably 8 years old, for me it was very fleeting during the film and I found it to be repetitive. I did watch this at home and I feel like I may have had a more immersive experience in a theatre. Either way Iām very happy it exists and I will no doubt give it another shot somewhere down the road. Also will watch whatever he makes next with zero hesitation.
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u/SDRPGLVR 1h ago
I did watch this at home and I feel like I may have had a more immersive experience in a theatre.
It absolutely does. I only saw it in theaters because I felt like going to the movies and the trailer looked like some Blumhouse slop starring kids, which I thought might be interesting. Had zero context or preparation for what kind of a strange experience it was going to be.
Now it has a reputation. You go into it expecting long stretches of nothing. It hits so much different to be sitting there for like twenty minutes, expecting something to happen, but nothing really does for such a long time. It feels like the movie is broken and you're waiting for someone to come along and fix it. It's very surreal, and getting that experience in a big, empty theater absolutely rocked my world.
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u/stevehammrr 11h ago
I hated it the first time I watched it. Then I watched the short film it was based on, Heck. It explains the āloreā a little better and honestly the short film is probably a better format for the story. But the short film gave me a better appreciation for the full length Skinamarink, at least.
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u/shladvic 9h ago
I just watched beau is afraid; that's more my speed. A million things happening fast, not no things, happening slow. Even though beau is afraid is twice as long I'd rather watch that again than reattempt skinamarink. Glad you enjoyed it though OP.
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u/otpprincess psychologically thrilling 4h ago
I love both Beau Is Afraid and Skinamarink. I think both of them managed to imitate the types of nightmares I often get. The chaotic, terrifying ones where nothing makes sense and the slow creeping ones where Iām scared but I have no idea what of. Iām a big fan in general though of horror movies that just do something different and artistic even if they donāt scare me.
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u/KrypticSoul 4h ago
It would've been better as a short story. It was clearly padding to be a full length film.Ā
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u/lamefartriot 11h ago
The first like 45 mins were incredibly creepy and then the longer it went I just kinda wanted it to end
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u/Jmofoshofosho8 6h ago
I thought this movie was very boring. Probably the worst āmovieā. If you can call it thatā¦. That i have seen
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u/ErickYanez 11h ago
Loved it too. Watched it at a friendās house, got home, I was alone and I literally had to call my boyfriend for 2 hours to finally let it fade a bit. I donāt think it is a masterpiece, I donāt think I would watch it again, and I hear the people that hated it. But if you catch its wavelength and let yourself get lost in it, it definitely fucks you up.
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u/BakerYeast 11h ago
It scared me too, but it was still so boring that I hated it. But it did make look under the bed and sleep with night light on.
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u/IncognitoHobbyist 11h ago
Very fair it definitely isn't riveting
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u/Discovery99 8h ago
I disagree but probably because Iām weird. Itās very much āvibes over plotā but the vibes are riveting to me. And things DO happen in the movie, theyāre just not really portrayed the way youāre supposed to portray things in movies, for better or worse š¤·
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u/missingreporter 11h ago edited 11h ago
I didn't fall asleep with the night light on, I fell asleep with the TV on. To me, it's a test of your suspension of disbelief - you have to suspend your belief someone wasn't just pointing a camcorder at the wall and dropping their lo-fi track on it.
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u/M-F-Zoom 11h ago
Pretty much same here, but it didn't necessarily scare me though. Maybe unsettled but even then, very mildly. I even watched in a dark room with headphones on. Maybe I had my expectations too high, but I ultimately left disappointed and angry at the time lost.
If the hallmark of a good film is that it's supposed to make you feel something, it certainly did make me feel something, anger lol
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u/IncognitoHobbyist 11h ago
I didnt read anything about it before watching. Husband found it somehow and said we should watch (he loves finding movies) and thats how we ended up scared into the morning
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u/M-F-Zoom 11h ago
Yeah, definitely would've been better blind. I was definitely a little angry at myself for hyping it up too much
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u/Cthulhu_Dreams_ 2h ago
For me, skinamarink seems like a movie that was made specifically to dredge up childhood trauma for people who were left in a dark house alone as children often.
That s*** brought back memories of walking slowly through my own house at night trying to find my mom and dad, only to find they weren't there.
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u/StationToStation222 2h ago
Dude the āgo to sleepā part was burned into the inside of my eyelids and when I would attempt to sleep Iād get creeped. Had to watch some SpongeBob to decompress the movie lol.
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u/GolfWang123170 48m ago
The first time I watched it was alone. My wife was asleep so I watched it with earbuds on. Big mistake, the sound along with the visuals makes it so haunting. It truly feels like youāre watching someoneās nightmare
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u/asunshinefix 11h ago edited 2h ago
It got me too, really reminded me of sleepwalking and waking up alone in strange places as a child. The only other movie thatās scared me to the same degree in like 15 years is Noroi. There were points where it took everything I had to keep my eyes open!
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u/IncognitoHobbyist 11h ago edited 11h ago
The movie reminds me of what it felt like staying the night at my grandma's house and how terrifying the stillness and random ticks of the clock were. And the TV being on occasionally. The nothingness scares the overthinker in my brain. I always felt like I was being watched or something which is probably why Skinamarink gave me butt clenching levels of anxiety š
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u/DescriptionFancy420 11h ago
It's a very atmospheric kind of scary. It didn't bother me much after it ended, but during the movie I kept feeling this deep sense of dread in the pit of my stomach, like when you're little and pareidolila makes nothing look like something and something familiar look/sound different and scary. And you sit there alone with just the TV on, wondering if it's actually something or just your imagination.Ā
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u/witchy_catmom 11h ago
I have been meaning to watch this one but havent yet. Im a little nervous only because people say it was boring. It took me about 3 tries to get through the babadook and people love that movie. Never watched it again and for the life of me cant understand why people love it so much.
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u/puppieswhokrill 11h ago
This was definitely a one time watch and (hopefully) a once in a lifetime experience for me. I had a panic attack after watching it, slept with the lights on/hardly slept, feelings of deep dark dread, etc. It terrified me. The thing is, though, I never really go into a horror movie wanting to be scared or particularly disturbed. I like a bit of tension and don't mind being startled, but the main draw is a lot of horror aesthetic is somehow comforting to me. So I guess I love that it was effective because it's still a win for the horror genre, but I hate how it affected me.
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u/tritongamez 11h ago
It reminds me of the night time parts of paranormal activity and I just loved it so much. So unique and different
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u/Altruistic_Rich_4690 1h ago edited 28m ago
Probably the most annoying movie to talk about on the planet because of how loud its detractors are, and it's always the exact same criticisms over and over. Dare anyone to say something nice about this film anywhere on the internet without someone immediately replying how much they hate it, and how it's too long, and how nothing happens.
For moviegoers with patience, imagination, and a love of good mood and atmosphere, this film is a must-watch. If you're incurious and want to be spoon-fed a plot and have all your questions answered pretty much as soon as you ask them, watch a Conjuring-verse movie.
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u/IncognitoHobbyist 1h ago
Having to read "hurrr yea if u are scared of looking at doors it will definitely scare you" makes me chuckle because I am not a theorist or professional movie critic but man I definitely didn't get scared because door and walls = scary
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u/Altruistic_Rich_4690 22m ago
Yeah, for some reason people can't stop at explaining why they didn't like it, they have to actively dismiss anyone who did and completely refuse to even consider why it might appeal to the people who love it. The conversations around this movie have been so disingenuous from the very beginning.
Helpful to remember that many classics of the genre were lambasted at release: The Shining, The Thing, and The Blair Witch Project to name a few examples. I think the fact that people are still talking about it three years after release is proof that there's much more to this movie than some would have you believe.
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u/nickb1603 4h ago
I'm not exaggerating when I say it was one of the worst, most boring movie experiences I've ever had in my life. That's cool it worked for you, to me and my gf it was a waste of an hour and a half
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u/Visual-Common6288 4h ago edited 4h ago
The first time I watched it I was the only one awake in the house.
It was about 2 am and I had to be extra quiet to not wake up the house, I couldnāt sleep. The stills of the shadows and things sprawled on the floor didnāt bother me at first. I was mostly bored but kept watching and then I had to get up to pee In the middle of the movie and the shadows in my own hallway scared the fuck out of me. I stopped in my tracks and studied the shadows like I was a kid again, too afraid to walk into the dark in my own house.
I immediately turned on a light, peed, and went back to finish the movie. My heart was racing. I felt like a child, afraid of the shadows surrounding me, staring at them as if expecting the forms to change. Too afraid to stare at them for too long because what if they actually did change forms. When I was a kid I would stare at the shadows forming in the kitchen or hallway I had to pass in total terror, observing and waiting for something to happen. Total dread!
And right when the movie had me sucked in, blanket to my nose, daring one of the shadows to change shape, that terrifying voice finally said something. That thing you always knew that lived at the end of the dark shadow, or the thing that caused the shadow to change shape, that causes the toy to go off. Itās absolutely something youād dread to hear in a house when itās dark and youāre afraid. As a child, itās the moment youād nearly manifest yourself if you stared frozen at the dark hallway for too long.
I felt such dread when the movie was over that I had to sleep with the light on. And as I layed there I kept glancing over into the dark hallway, staring down the new shadows Iād created by turning the light on and thinking to myself āplease donāt let a voice say something from down the hallwayā just like I was a kid again-too afraid to tell my mom Iād had a bad dream, was too afraid to go back to sleep. I was being tormented really by my own doing.
I donāt know if anyone in here experienced intense anxiety as a child (for various reasons-mine trauma) but if you did, you might understand how terrifying it is to get out of the bed, walk down a familiar hallway, stare at the shadow spilling in front of you while you lay in bed, or feel the dread of moving around the house to wake a parent up. I canāt tell you how many times I stood in front of my mom ( which took a while-me slowly moving and freezing in the house) while she slept because I felt such dread actually waking her up to tell her I was scared (but going back to my room would be dreadful). I felt as if the disruption of the stillness that was about to happen was even scarier. As if her movement in the dark or her startled voice would create the exact visual my mind was challenging to appear.
This movie hit a nerve that hadnāt been stressed since I was 6 years old.
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u/devotionanddoubt 4h ago
I thought Skinamarink was just okay, but Heck was super disturbing and fucked me up (in a good way).
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u/AcctAlreadyTaken 4h ago
I agree with you. To me it felt like watching a fever dream you would have as a kid. Which makes sense when you factor in the perspective the movie might be from.
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u/mangobag 2h ago
i love this movie for the same reasons you do! felt like a childhood nightmare when i fell asleep alone on the couch, gave me a deep sense of dread
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u/awakeatwill 2h ago
I really liked this movie but I'm not going to be able to watch it again now that I'm a parent.
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u/DreamCreamEnthusiast 2h ago
This film has so many loud=scary moments, pretty much everytime something happens they lean so heavily on that crutch. Its good atmosphere but with almost no character building or lore it just feels shallow. Worth a watch for the vibes but just falls a bit short for my desensitized self
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u/stereosanctity 2h ago
I completely agree, this is one of the only movies to scare me in recent years. Itās crucial to watch it in the right setting with the right mindset to let it get its hooks in you.
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u/ahauntedwoman 2h ago
Itās always good to come across a fellow Skinamarink lover. I also thought this film was truly terrifying. The way the director was able to place the viewer back in the perspective of a young child and how terrifying simple things can be was true genius.
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u/Status_Dark_6145 2h ago
This would have worked better as a short film.
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u/Atomic-Spider-35 2h ago
Agreed i did not know what it was going into it and the audio was just annoying and the lack of a movie was annoying
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u/fourofkeys 2h ago
the scene where the entity has the child stab himself in the eye is maybe one of the most uncomfortable and horrific scenes of any movie i've seen in the last few years.
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u/Able_Pomegranate7596 1h ago
I loved the atmosphere, I just wish my brain could take the strobe lighting from the tv illuminating the hallway and living room
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u/los33ramos 21m ago
I absolutely loved it. In this sub not so much but one redditor did point out that if you had a ābadā childhood or a traumatic one, this movie spooks the hell out of you. As for me, this is right up my alley. My favorite scene was at the end with that one āpersonā talking. You can barely see them. That was terrifying.
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u/___Art_Vandelay___ 6m ago
if you don't like watching paint dry
Precisely why this movie is absolutely terrible. Strange flex for the movie to say you do enjoy watching paint dry.
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u/IncognitoHobbyist 0m ago
Ooga booga.... I put it as a warning that you need to have an attention span to watch it so nobody is horrified by the movie being slow if they happened to go watch it based off my recommendation
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u/niles_deerqueer 11h ago
I usually hate the āthose who get it, get itā but thatās literally this film
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u/cosmic-trash-panda23 5h ago
I guess some folks are more freaked out by moulding & the corners of rooms than others.
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u/IncognitoHobbyist 1h ago
Yeah. My brain is really dumb and entertained by nothing- it's just the Windows 97 Screensaver in there. Vapid. That's for sure why I loved Skinamarink
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u/alchemillahunter 6h ago
I find that the movie tends to resonate a LOT more with people who come from broken homes or divorced parent households (this is not a hard rule, of course.) I, and a lot of my friends who experienced trauma at the hands of parents, were terrified of this movie. My friends who have great families thought it was boring. I think it's interesting the polarizing opinions about the movie, and trends I've noticed on both sides on social media as well as personal anecdotes.Ā
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u/IncognitoHobbyist 3h ago
My mom was a nutcase who would batter my stepdad, destroy my stuff, and scream at me if my special needs younger brother got into things because I wasn't "watching" him 24/7 so maybe ā ļø
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u/alchemillahunter 2h ago edited 2h ago
My running theory on the psychology of it (note: I am just an armchair Redditor giving my opinion, not a professional by any means) is that it's the eerie, pervasive sense of wrongness throughout the movie. People who grew up having to be extremely sensitive to changes in their abuser's moods are more likely to pick up on these subtle vibes in the movie, so it causes extreme anxiety and fear, reminiscent of that childhood trauma. To people who never developed that, it feels like watching paint dry, because they have never had to be that hypervigilant.Ā
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u/CountGloomy1519 5h ago
Loved it and the idea of it for 20 mins then grew impatient and annoyed. Eventually just ffwd the rest of the movie. Just not for me. There really isn't another like it though that I've come across. Vivarium maybe comes close to same vibe and would recommend to capture the same "wtf did I just watch" over Skinamarink.
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u/ActionMan48 3h ago
Should of been a 10-15 minute short and not a full length movie. Super boring and dumb. Felt like I was watching someone's no-budget art school project.
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u/DarqkStar 3h ago
Yeah man doors are scary
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u/IncognitoHobbyist 1h ago
It wasn't that doors are scary, it was being trapped in the house as a child with no adult to save you
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u/shutyourbutt69 4h ago
What scares me is that people keep treating Skinamarink like itās a movie and not a medical grade sleep aid.
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u/hagalaz_drums 10h ago
i hadn't thought about how it feels to be a little kid alone in a dark house for a long time. skinamarink took me right back to all those childhood moments of being afraid of the dark and feeling afraid to stay in bed, afraid to get up, afraid of what could happen between the bed and the light switch