Rich, Simon, and Eva are heading out on a road trip to go to a friend’s wedding, and Simon is capturing it all on his new camera. It is apparent that Rich and Eva are dating, and they are in the front seats during the drive. Simon seems to be that guy who would rather videotape his whole life rather than living it: he annoys his friends by sticking his camera in their faces constantly. Rich and Simon are best friends, but Simon seems to have a crush on Rich’s girlfriend, Eva. The characters are established well, and I was not bored at all by the fact that a lot of the first half is spent getting to know them.

Rich

First, I’d like to say that I read some reviews of this and a lot of them mentioned similarities to films like The Blair Witch Project. Everyone always does this when a film comes out that is presented through the lens of one of the character’s cameras. People have also mentioned Paranormal Activity, and I don’t see any similarity there at all besides the fact that the characters set up video cameras in Paranormal Activity to capture what was happening in the house. Also, I thought this was just a much better film than Paranormal Activity. And remember that these weren’t the only films that every used this technique, either. Movies like Cannibal Holocaust used fictional “found footage” shot by the characters long before these movies came out. And they are all very, very different movies. One thing that Skew sort of has in common with The Blair Witch Project, besides the way it’s shot, is that it often uses a “less is more” approach. That’s not to say we never see any blood, because we do; but rather, that it leaves some things to the imagination. To me, that’s why TBWP worked, and it’s one the reasons Skew works, as well.

Eva

On to the plot. It seems Simon’s parents never bothered to take any photos of important events when he was a child, and he laments the fact that he doesn’t have all these captured memories that everyone else has. He doesn’t have the home videos and photo albums to go through to remember his childhood. Now he’s bought himself a video camera, and he’s determined to document everything from that point on (much to the dismay of his friends). He doesn’t let his friends use it, either, so we don’t get shots of Simon; just shots of Rich, Eva, and various strangers they meet along the way. He’s a bit neurotic about not being filmed, in fact. He won’t let Rich and Eva use the camera, and when Rich does touch the camera, he insists that Rich doesn’t point it in his direction.

World’s largest pan and plate?

It’s a film about a camera, as well as the relationships between Simon and the other characters (this also seems to have an influence on what’s going on with the camera). When Simon films a stranger, like a hotel clerk or a convenience store worker, their faces are weirdly distorted. (Well, skewed, I guess. It made me think of one of Stephen Gammell’s illustrations in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, I think the story was “Somebody fell from aloft,” but never mind that.) At first he thinks something is on the lens, so he cleans it. It’s not the lens though, and every time he films a stranger, something bad happens. Then he begins seeing even weirder stuff through the camera, though none of it can be viewed again when he plays back the taped footage.

Some tourists.

A lot of this takes place in the car or in hotel rooms, so it doesn’t suffer from the “shaky cam” that makes a lot of people nauseous with handheld-camera shots. Despite the everyday settings, the editing and pacing is done very well, and the interactions between the characters keep you interested in what’s going on. My only complaint is that the guy who plays Rich is somewhat unconvincing when he’s supposed to be very angry. Otherwise, no complaints about the acting. The script is also very well done, and it’s not too heavy-handed when it’s revealing key plot points.

Rich looking through Simon’s massive collections of home video footage.

It is scary? I’m not one who is very creeped out by many horror films, but of course, I still enjoy horror films. They don’t have to actually scare me to be enjoyable. This movie was both enjoyable and scary, though. The way certain scenes were shot and sometimes accompanied by sound effects created a lot of tension in a few scenes, and I jumped a bit at least once. There’s also the fact that a lot of the plot is directly related to what Simon is seeing through the lens, and I found myself watching this very closely. I was pretty much glued to the screen the whole time. I also liked the way that it was believable as a home video. Certain conversations were cut short when the camera was turned off, the camera was left running on the table, and sometimes you couldn’t see what was going on.

Overall, I found this to be an impressive film. It has been making the rounds at several film festivals, as well as winning Australia’s Independent Spirit Award. The move was filmed about five years ago (the newspaper Rich holds up in the convenience store says “2005,” if I recall correctly) and was done for under $25,000. Despite the budget, it is an imaginative film put together very well and is one of the best new movies I’ve seen recently.

Skew (click to read the review) will be available on US Netflix beginning October 1st.

Tags: Sevé Schelenz, Sleep Apnea Productions