Running Time: 86 minutes
Release Date: October 30, 2013
Review by: Chris
Skinwalkers. The yee naldlooshi. With it, he goes on all fours.
Growing up Native and spending the summers of my formative years with
my grandparents and extended family on the San Carlos 'rez' I am no
stranger to whispered second hand tales of malevolent shapeshifters.
Spoken hushed in the afternoon, outside of grandfather's earshot-- Never around the campfire. Never at dark. Never out loud. For They
listen. They hear when named. They come when called. These
supernatural stories of dark magics and twisted men and spirits fired
the imaginations of a young boy and his friends. Children whose world
was still filled with mystery and wonder and awe. They were my boogey
men. My Cucuy. My Gurumāpā. So naturally when this review came across
my desk (okay I really don't have a desk), I was ready to jump feet
first, and revisit my childhood boogeyman.
Growing up Native and spending the summers of my formative years with
my grandparents and extended family on the San Carlos 'rez' I am no
stranger to whispered second hand tales of malevolent shapeshifters.
Spoken hushed in the afternoon, outside of grandfather's earshot-- Never around the campfire. Never at dark. Never out loud. For They
listen. They hear when named. They come when called. These
supernatural stories of dark magics and twisted men and spirits fired
the imaginations of a young boy and his friends. Children whose world
was still filled with mystery and wonder and awe. They were my boogey
men. My Cucuy. My Gurumāpā. So naturally when this review came across
my desk (okay I really don't have a desk), I was ready to jump feet
first, and revisit my childhood boogeyman.
Devin McGinn's Skinwalker Ranch is a found footage film that
is a tale loosely based on Sherman Ranch in north eastern Utah. Bordering
the Ute Indian Reservation it has been a hotbed of alleged
paranormal activity for close to 50 years. Everything from UFO's to
Bigfoot, mysterious orbs, poltergeist activity, crop circles and even
disappearances have been reported from the ranch. In fact, just about
the entire gambit of paranormal phenomenon has checked in at Sherman.
Makes you wonder if the ranch itself is a place where "the borders of
the world have worn thin (credit must go to Stephen King and his
"thinnys").
is a tale loosely based on Sherman Ranch in north eastern Utah. Bordering
the Ute Indian Reservation it has been a hotbed of alleged
paranormal activity for close to 50 years. Everything from UFO's to
Bigfoot, mysterious orbs, poltergeist activity, crop circles and even
disappearances have been reported from the ranch. In fact, just about
the entire gambit of paranormal phenomenon has checked in at Sherman.
Makes you wonder if the ranch itself is a place where "the borders of
the world have worn thin (credit must go to Stephen King and his
"thinnys").
Skinwalker Ranch immediately jumps into action from the opening
scene. We are introduced to a family happily spending time on the
ranch when they are suddenly struck with the bizarre sudden
disappearance of their son right before their eyes in a flash of blue
light. We fast forward a bit to our protagonists, a motley group
of researchers and experts from a dubious research firm, who are
charged with the mission to uncover the secrets and mysteries of the
ranch. The group is seemingly comprised of experienced paranormal
researchers, skeptics, and trigger-happy people already near the edge
of a violent blackout. The perfect mix for an isolated, supernatural
ranch. Almost immediately our heroes experience the full gambit of
tricks and scares in the ranch's repertoire. So quickly in fact, it
feels like we are viewing a one night only, open audition for all
manner of beastys and ghouls. In the mix we are also privy to a
somewhat convoluted backstory involving the research firm. The film does not suffer a lost action beat. Eventually, the nasties begin
offing our group and a last ditch effort must be made to escape. "Get
to da choppa" indeed. Fairly standard faire. To be fair however, what
film of any quality does not follow at least a basic formula.
scene. We are introduced to a family happily spending time on the
ranch when they are suddenly struck with the bizarre sudden
disappearance of their son right before their eyes in a flash of blue
light. We fast forward a bit to our protagonists, a motley group
of researchers and experts from a dubious research firm, who are
charged with the mission to uncover the secrets and mysteries of the
ranch. The group is seemingly comprised of experienced paranormal
researchers, skeptics, and trigger-happy people already near the edge
of a violent blackout. The perfect mix for an isolated, supernatural
ranch. Almost immediately our heroes experience the full gambit of
tricks and scares in the ranch's repertoire. So quickly in fact, it
feels like we are viewing a one night only, open audition for all
manner of beastys and ghouls. In the mix we are also privy to a
somewhat convoluted backstory involving the research firm. The film does not suffer a lost action beat. Eventually, the nasties begin
offing our group and a last ditch effort must be made to escape. "Get
to da choppa" indeed. Fairly standard faire. To be fair however, what
film of any quality does not follow at least a basic formula.
The all important question, should you see Skinwalker Ranch? The
found footage genre is an interesting animal to say the least. Dating
back to the twisted moral quagmire that was Cannibal Holocaust (1980),
found footage features have for the most part been little more than a
curious footnote in horror circles, not really garnering much
attention or traction. Even with the near immediate cult status
attained by The Blair Witch Project (1999), found footage never really
gained a foothold in cinema until the wide release of Paranormal
Activity (2007, wide release 2009). Suddenly found footage films
exploded. There has been more than twice as many found footage films
released in the last 7 years since Paranormal Activity released, than
were released in the combined 27 years before it.
found footage genre is an interesting animal to say the least. Dating
back to the twisted moral quagmire that was Cannibal Holocaust (1980),
found footage features have for the most part been little more than a
curious footnote in horror circles, not really garnering much
attention or traction. Even with the near immediate cult status
attained by The Blair Witch Project (1999), found footage never really
gained a foothold in cinema until the wide release of Paranormal
Activity (2007, wide release 2009). Suddenly found footage films
exploded. There has been more than twice as many found footage films
released in the last 7 years since Paranormal Activity released, than
were released in the combined 27 years before it.
It's understandable. PA was a monster hit. It still holds the record as the most profitable film in history when comparing cost to revenue. What made Paranormal Activity brilliant was
subtly. Skinwalker Ranch was a huge fan of Paranormal Activity. You
can see it writ large in it's technical shots from the onset. And to
be fair, Skinwalker Ranch makes excellent use of it's establishing
shots; so well in fact that the viewer easily builds a map of the
ranch in their head. However, Skinwalker Ranch is about as subtle as a
6 foot tall, 500 pound wolf with glowing eyes humping your SUV (yeah,
that happened). I don't have a problem with giant supernatural wolves
(cough coughtwilightstillsuxcough), but I do have a problem with giant
wolves being around for absolutely no point. That is the single fault
with Skinwalker Ranch. There is no point to just about everything that
is thrown at our eyes. Yes, there is a story that runs through the
film, but it is not explored to any satisfactory degree.
subtly. Skinwalker Ranch was a huge fan of Paranormal Activity. You
can see it writ large in it's technical shots from the onset. And to
be fair, Skinwalker Ranch makes excellent use of it's establishing
shots; so well in fact that the viewer easily builds a map of the
ranch in their head. However, Skinwalker Ranch is about as subtle as a
6 foot tall, 500 pound wolf with glowing eyes humping your SUV (yeah,
that happened). I don't have a problem with giant supernatural wolves
(cough coughtwilightstillsuxcough), but I do have a problem with giant
wolves being around for absolutely no point. That is the single fault
with Skinwalker Ranch. There is no point to just about everything that
is thrown at our eyes. Yes, there is a story that runs through the
film, but it is not explored to any satisfactory degree.
It seems that while a compelling, chilling story about supernatural beings and
greedy heartless corporations and suffering trauma is swimming all
around our movie, the filmmakers seemingly skirt around it to show us
how many more X-Files baddies of the week they can cameo in 86
minutes. This film is not by definition "bad." It has a developed
story (weakly, but still functioning), a progressive arc, established
characters, a conflict and a resolution. But the story elements, our
characters and motives are so muted and replaced with visuals, that it
feels more like an effects reel for a visual artist. You couldn't ask
for a more apt and ready fan of a film named Skinwalker Ranch than
myself, but like the old Indian said ,"you better get hell out of
here."
greedy heartless corporations and suffering trauma is swimming all
around our movie, the filmmakers seemingly skirt around it to show us
how many more X-Files baddies of the week they can cameo in 86
minutes. This film is not by definition "bad." It has a developed
story (weakly, but still functioning), a progressive arc, established
characters, a conflict and a resolution. But the story elements, our
characters and motives are so muted and replaced with visuals, that it
feels more like an effects reel for a visual artist. You couldn't ask
for a more apt and ready fan of a film named Skinwalker Ranch than
myself, but like the old Indian said ,"you better get hell out of
here."
4/10 - Old Indian Warnings
Skinwalker Ranch trailer:
my only question is, are there cattle on this ranch? and if there are said cattle, do the aliens make the meat more tender?
ReplyDeleteGood question, Adam. I'm not sure about cattle, but I heard they make great werewolf chops.
DeleteThe problem I had with this movie is that I felt more should have been implied rather than shown given the type of movie this is. I think they would have done a much better job at spooking the audience and keeping you on the edge of your seat had it been more of a monster lurking in your mind than a monster on screen.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Skinwalker really could have been a very interesting watch if they had been more emphasis on developing and tense atmosphere instead of relying on special effects. With this type of film less is definitely more.
ReplyDelete