Winterskin (2018)

Winterskin: Directed by Charlie Steeds. With David Lenik, Rowena Bentley, Barrington De La Roche, John Lomas. Gunned down in the snowy wilderness and desperate for shelter, Billy Cavanagh is taken in by kooky old lady Agnes, unaware that her isolated log cabin is being stalked by a bloodthirsty skinless creature hellbent on getting inside.

“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 arenu0026#39;t the real threat.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis one wasnu0026#39;t all too bad of an effort. One of the filmu0026#39;s strongest aspects at play is the enjoyable setup thatu0026#39;s incredibly intriguing as well as providing for some fine setups. The kidsu0026#39; 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 filmsu0026#39; smart enough to play incredibly well with the concept of whether or not the isolation and the story sheu0026#39;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 dogsu0026#39; 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 weu0026#39;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 thatu0026#39;s all the film has as it wonu0026#39;t go back to the creatures that are out in the woods which is a total cheat since theyu0026#39;re not the main focus of the film. For all the focus and attention given to them early on, thereu0026#39;s nothing done with them about their true nature or if theyu0026#39;re truly threats at all based on what they do with them. These here are what holds the film back overall.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.”