I Eat Your Skin

I Eat Your Skin is a rather disturbing sounding title. I half-expected a dark cannibal shockfest full of ritualistic terror, and got silliness instead. And when I say that I don't mean to imply that this is supposed to be a comedy, it has that sort of lighthearted mood but doesn't deliver any laughs, at least not on purpose.

A playboy writer is sent to a remote island full of voodoo rituals. Bad luck and zombie maniacs create danger for the writer and his friends as he tries to save a pretty girl who lives there from a cult that needs a virgin sacrifice. She is refusing to flee the danger because of her father so the writer must stick around to play hero.

There's virtually nothing good about this movie. The characters are over-the-top mouthy and loud sometimes to the point of being annoying as well as unrealistic. Much of the movie is inconsistent such as showing a jungle paradise in one shot and a snake-infested danger zone in the next. I suppose they could be trying to say that it's both beautiful and dangerous, but it comes across as a clash rather than creating an appropriate atmosphere. Other things just don't seem to have much thought behind them such as the sound of tires on asphalt as a plane lands on a sandy beach.

Besides all that, so much of this is off-the-shelf. A strapping young single man ventures into the middle of nowhere yet finds a lovely young single lady there to save and fall in love with. Must all jungle adventures follow this pattern? She anchored because of her father which puts her in peril. Why are mothers never around in these stories? Why do recluse scientists always have gorgeous, young daughters but never other children? Why not one that's a little plain and perhaps a bit socially awkward thanks to her years of isolation?

The acting is less than impressive. The zombie effects are simplistic. The story is unoriginal and unimaginative. There's really nothing to interest a viewer here.

MORALITY:

While there is some violence, such as a man decapitated on screen (somewhat unusual for an old black and white film), those moments are few.

The hero is shown to be womanizer, but the sexuality is mild.

I didn't notice any strong language at all.

SPIRITUALITY:

Voodoo plays a part, but it's not done well enough to take seriously.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I don't know that this one is bad so much as it's boringly cliché. Some might find it campy fun, I suppose.

#IEatYourSkin