In Their Skin

Plot synopsis:
A family escapes their busy lifestyles to their upscale suburban cottage. Wedded couple, Mary Hughes (Selma Blair), a real estate developer and Mark Hughes (Joshua Close), a lawyer, have an 8-year-old son, Brendon Hughes (Quinn Lord), but grieve over their recently dead 6-year-old daughter, Tess, who died in an accident. They also have a dog named Harris. One night while out for a walk, they come across a vehicle, appearing as if they were being watched. The next day, they meet their neighbors, Jane Sakowski (Rachel Miner), Bobby Sakowski (James D'Arcy) and their 9-year-old son, Jared Sakowski (Alex Ferris), inviting them over for afternoon lunch.
That afternoon, the mood becomes unsettling when the Sakowskis bombard the Hughes with endless questions about their lives and overstay their welcome, envying their "perfect" wealthy living. After Brendon invites Jared to his room to defeat him playing games, Jared threatens him with a knife to his neck. This instills panic into Brendon, who flees to alert his parents. Jared pretends to his parents that he was punched by Brendon, to which Brendon denies. After Mary finds marks on Brendon's neck, the Hughes dismiss the Sakowskis.
Mark is furious about what they encountered. He smashes a vase of flowers given to him by Jane, as it is witnessed by her husband Bobby through the kitchen window. When their dog, Harris, sets off into the woods for a walk, the Hughes hear the dog get shot and see a shooter emerge. They shift into lock down mode and Mark arms himself, while Mary searches for her phone to call the police. Mark soon finds his family vehicle has its tires punctured. Stepping outside, he sees Jared, who tells him Bobby is burying the dog. Jared runs off after using rocks to smash two windows of the Hughes cottage and almost hits Mark with one as well. Mark gives his hand gun to Mary and instructs her and Brendon to lock themselves in the bathroom while he goes out to search for their dog.
Taking a kitchen knife, Mark searches through the woods, but he is captured by Bobby and returned to the cottage where the rest of Sakowski members turn up. Bobby, carrying a shotgun, manipulates Mary and Brendon out of the bathroom, taking the hand gun from Mary. Mary pleads to take care of Jane if they let her family loose. However, Jane concedes to the family that Jared is her younger brother and they were removed out of a dark family life by Bobby, whose wife died of cancer, as Jane refuses to betray him. Bobby also reveals he raised his family in a run down station wagon and plans to assume the lives of the Hughes.
Abruptly, Mark's brother Toby (Matt Bellefleur) shows up to the cottage. The Hughes and Sakowskis put up a pretentious act of harmony. Jared holds Brendon hostage upstairs. After an awkward meeting with the Sakowskis, Toby goes to retrieve his bags from the car, and Bobby shoots him dead in the head, leaving Mark and Mary emotional. The Sakowskis take control of the house, ordering Mark and Mary around, forcing them to perform sex in front of them. As Mary is forced to dry hump on top of Bobby, she stabs him with a knife, rendering him weak. The Hughes gain control shortly, but then Jared threatens Brendon at gun point. Later, Mark grabs his gun from Jared. A weakened Bobby says he wants to live the life of perfection, but Mark reveals his family is not perfect and that he killed his daughter in an accident. As Bobby tries to attack him, Mark shoots him dead. Mark consoles his family, and the rest of Sakowskis are taken into custody by the police. In the final scene, Mark and Mary are interviewed, showing they've drawn closer as a couple.

Tags: violence

Review:
Mark Hughes (Josh Close) travels to his isolated cottage with his wife Mary (Selma Blair) and their son Brendon (Quinn Lord) to recover from the loss of their little daughter.
Bobby (James D'Arcy), Jane (Rachel Miner) and their son Jared (Alex Ferris) tell that they are neighbors that brought the wood to welcome them and Bobby asks if the HMark wouldn't like to have dinner with them.During the dinner, Mark has an argument with Bob and expels him and his family from his house.
When Mark's brother Toby (Matt Bellefleur) arrives in the house to visit his brother and his family, Mark and Mary learn how insane the psychopath Bob is.Michael Haneke's 1997 "Funny Game" is one of the most disturbing movies that I have ever seen.
Living in a big city where we see violence on the news everyday, that sadistic movie really scared a lot since the plot is realistic and totally believable.
In 2007, there was a stupid and unnecessary remake also by Michael Haneke spoken in English."In Their Skin" is rip-off of "Funny Game" with good performances but with flaws in the story.
From the off I have to say I'm hardly the right person to take as gospel as regards a review for yet another home invasion movie.
I have grown increasingly jaded with this sub-genre of horror, it seems that every year a handful of these type of movies get trundled out and suckers like me keep watching in the hope of finding a gem amongst the rough rocks.In Their Skin isn't a gem, in fact it's not exactly a must see frightener, but it at least tries to add something to an already stagnated sub-genre of film.
Namely an identity theft angle that veers away from the usual "oh they are just psychos or hoodies" line of thinking.There is a raft of reviewers out there in internet land drawing comparisons to this being a Funny Games knock off.
Fans of his film(s) expecting a Selma Blair, Joshua Close, Rachel Miner and James D'Arcy starring movie to take home invasion horror to a new level?
For an hour writer and directer Jeremy Power Regimbal favours the slow burn approach, and it works because the cast are very committed, and in the case of adult villains D'Arcy and Miner there's some bona fide creepiness about their respective mannerisms.
It's only when things shift away from rumbling unease into psycho/sexual territory that the fledgling director loses control and sinks to formula conventions to get his shock and awe.Not a must see, but in the context of boorish fodder like The Strangers, or higher budgeted fluff like The Purge, then this is well worth a look by those not expecting a whole new dimension of home invasion horror.
The only difference between this movie and Funny Games is in this movie it is a psycho family, some nudity and sex scenes and a few more gunshots.
If you want to see two psycho young men torture a normal wealthy family, go see Funny Games.
If you want to see a psycho lower class family torture a normal wealthy family, see this movie.Both movies have great casts and great acting but I would have to give this film a slight edge in that category.
However, when it comes to the disturbingly psychopathic factor in the villains, I give that edge to Funny Games.All in all, don't waste your time like I did with this movie if you have seen Funny Games.
"In Their Skin" is another movie that came and went without anyone paying too much attention to it and while it's not likely to win any Oscars it's still a pretty good genre picture, in this case 'the family menaced in their home by malevolent neighbours'.
The couple are Joshua Close, (he also wrote the script), and an excellent Selma Blair and, let's just say, they aren't wanting for a penny while the vicious couple who treat them very badly indeed are Rachel Miner and a very creepy James D'Arcy.
If the film has a fault it's that D'Arcy and Miner are such obvious nut-jobs from the first time we see them any self-respecting couple who meets them should run in the opposite direction as fast as possible and anyone who's seen either version of Michael Haneke's "Funny Games", (both vastly superior to this), should know what to expect.
"In Their Skin" follows a fairly common premise among post-millennial horror films: a family vacationing in a remote summer home find themselves trapped and preyed upon by a group of killers.
Here, the family is an unsuspecting wealthy couple who has just lost one of their two children; playing counterpart is another family who yearns to live as them.While the central premise of the film is certainly straightforward and unoriginal (comparisons to "Funny Games" and "The Strangers" are inevitable), the spin here with the antagonists attempting to simulate lives of opulence and wealth is certainly different; the problem is that this central difference does not necessarily elevate the film's other shortcomings.
This could partly be a scripting issue that leaves the film feeling uneven, but it's also an issue of performances— as good as James D'Arcy is, I had trouble believing him in this role, especially as the film progressed; Joshua Close's performance was slightly more believable, but even still, both of the male leads seemed miscast.
The film ends with the suggestion of a family restored, but the details of the horrendous events that precede it seem undercooked by the end.Overall, "In Their Skin" is an unusual mashup of home invasion thriller conventions with vague social commentary and a problematic chemistry among the cast.
Perhaps misguidedly toying with the horror genre early in the film, he chooses the focus on the drama, the characters and story and let you decide if you are endeared, amused, scared, uneasy, entertained or otherwise.Regimbal stays with this beautiful ambiguity for most of the feature and gets fine-tuned performances from his story and character-driven cast that allows for the "replicas" to reveal themselves slowly, but surely.
All part of this trend of 'home invasion' films where the 'nice' family is held hostage my nasty intruders in the comfort of their own home.If you've seen any of those then you've basically seen 'In Their Shoes.' Here we have the 'nice' family who we are supposed to be able to relate to, being tortured in their holiday home by the 'nasty' family.Even if you know nothing about this film, you'll guess what's coming.
Big mistake.The first half of the film is basically 'character building.' We - the audience - can see the other family are basically nut-jobs and know what's coming.
Then, when it comes, it's all what you'll expect from a home invasion film.If you've never seen one of these types of movies before, then you might find it pretty intimidating and scary.
This movie reminds me of many other films I had watched and they all seem like simple horror/thrillers without any special depth or meaning.
It's envy that motivates them because they (poor)are told by society they are idiots,lazy, brutal, prone to vice so they get nothing that "good" citizens enjoy.
Happy ending is imminent(minus brother who does play minor role and can vanish without a pity).The movie shows tendency about what our world is slowly becoming: returning to Victorian times with their strict social order and moral judgement about rich, middle class,and poor - who all get what they deserve.
Take one part of (ANY) home invasion flick.Throw in a bit Tony Perkins, a-la 'Psycho'.Get Ms. Blair, for the 'young' (a-hem!) horror-flick ...je ne c'est quoI ('I don't know)- quality.Get someone who went to 'Acme Film School (found on a book of matches), and throw it in the 'film-o-matic'®, and you'll have a film, which is 'perfect'.'Perfect' for what?Perfect to convince people this (it had to be straight to video) cheese-ball is 'something they heard others' thought was good'.Then, they'll watch it, and they'll swear it was one of a fist-full of different films.But, it wasn't - any of them, though it has a bit from each, and by this point the maker's of this have your money.If - I-F this film had been real life, it's hard to get over the fact that, yes; people in a situation like this would be scared, but, at the same time, every opportunity they had to either escape, or turn the tables on the 'baddies'.
Like the proverbial 'sitting ducks'.THe one interesting actor (James D'Arcy), is so busy chewing the scenery, I don't know if he thought it'd be better playing it over the top, or the director WANTED iit.
Mark and Mary and son Brendon retreat to the family's remote holiday house in order to recover from a tragedy, only to find that the new neighbours have it in mind to find out as much as possible about them, kill them, and steal their identities.This film has a good cast (albeit the two male leads are each playing the part the other should have played), good performances, and an intriguing (if underwritten) character in the baddie's "wife".
...despite a somewhat suspect plot that raises a few too many questions that aren't satisfactorily addressed, "In Their Skin" manages to transcend its flaws to deliver a reasonably creepy psycho-thriller.
Premise: a young yuppie family has retreated to a summer home to work through the grief of losing a daughter, only to be tormented by an invasive mirror family of head cases who want to usurp their identities.
The cast is mostly on the ball, the lensing and lighting well done, effective helming from its tyro director/co-writer; there's much to like in this film.However, as mentioned, things fall apart as what started out as a slow- burning tension builder devolves into a disappointingly routine assault on our protagonists, replete with numerous stupid moves on the part of characters who've apparently never seen movies like this one before.
One can only wonder how this trio's leader subverted his followers into his dementia.Ultimately, "In Their Skin" fails to pack the punch of progenitors like "Funny Games" or "Last House on the Left." It's not a terrible watch, but it's far from essential, or even recommended.
First off, I know this film has been compared to a lot of other similar  movies but, since I haven't seen any of them, I will be judging this  one on it's own merit.
Instead, we are asked to believe the main villain played by James  D'Arcy who, I'm just going to say it, is basically impersonating Bruce  Dern throughout most of the movie, which is fine, but we already have a  Bruce Dern, we are asked to believe he is actually attempting some  complicated identity theft scheme that was worked out way in advance.
But this is little more than an angle on which to hang the disturbing and hyper-tense drama.Successful career couple Mary and Mark, along with their eight year old son Brendon, decamp to their luxurious family cottage in the wooded middle of nowhere following the death of their daughter.
Seems the neighbours are not so friendly; in fact, they are itinerant wanderers who kill others and take on their identities and possessions until it's time to move on to the next unfortunate family.Each performance is pitch perfect and the sense of creeping unease and foreboding is almost palpable.
His adopted wife and son are thoroughly indoctrinated and submissive acolytes, utterly entrenched in his psychotic ideals of achieving a perfect life.The tension is skilfully ratcheted up in a slow burn by first time director Regimbal, from the increasingly uncomfortable dinner sequence to a suspense-filled climax.
We have seen them before in movies like STRAW DOGS (1971), right down to FUNNY GAMES (2007) and THE STRANGERS (2008).
Fortunately, first-time feature director Jeremy Power Regimbal's IN THEIR SKIN (formerly known as REPLICAS -- which sounds too sci-fi for me) manages to give this an otherwise same-old genre thriller with a disturbingly edgy undertone and particularly heighten the movie with compelling performances by its leads.The setup is familiar: upscale couple Mark and Mary Hughes (Joshua Close, Selma Blair) are trying to overcome their grief after the recent death of their young daughter in a car accident.
They decide to travel to their family's country home with 8-year-old son Brendon (Quinn Lord) in hope to spend some quality time together.After a strange encounter with a mysterious truck that pulls up to their property's gate before driving away, the couple are woken the following morning by neighbors Bobby (James D'Arcy), Jane (Rachel Miner), and their 9-year-old son Jared (Alex Ferris).
Mark feels something is not right, and force them to leave, even though the neighbors have been repeatedly apologize.Then that same night, it doesn't take long before Mark and Mary find themselves under siege, with their dog apparently shot somewhere in the dark woods.
Soon the Hughes learn that their neighbors are one bizarre, yet psychotic family intends to get rid of them and assume their identities.Director Regimbal does a good job building up the slow-burning tension piece by piece, while the sudden shock of unflinching violence is cleverly done in a restrained manner without relying heavily on elaborate gory set-piece to make its point.
Co-star Joshua Close, who also writes the screenplay, gives an equally thought-provoking storyline that builds on the characters' psychological depths as well as playing the cards right on its genre convention.
Meanwhile, Keith Power's bone-chilling score and Norm Li's darkly atmospheric cinematography are equally well done to provide the necessary claustrophobic feel required for this kind of genre thriller.Above all, it was the cast that gives this movie an extra edge.
Both Joshua Close and Selma Blair give emotionally compelling performances here, while James D'Arcy makes a truly creepy psychopath here.
Rachel Miner, in the meantime, is equally creepy as a meek invader who has a disturbing mind on her own.While there are times this home-invasion thriller does relies too much on its genre convention to get everything goes around, IN THEIR SKIN remains a solid little thriller nonetheless.
The bad guy would have been more convincing as the protagonist and vice versa.The antagonist's wife was an interesting character thought, and I feel it should have been explored to a greater extent; they could have done a lot more with it.Selma Blair was a delight to watch, even though her character was dull and a bit one-dimensional (it was written that way; not the actress's fault).
Funny Games was making more of a statement with the fact that people love horror movies and they don't care who it is, who they are, they just seem to want to see people get murdered.This movie was completely different.
The story is of a couple and their son, who go away to their cottage home for a getaway following the death of their daughter, which is still a fresh "wound"...Then the main family gets a knock early in the morning from very peculiar and nosy imposters who are way too interested and eager to learn all about the family.
After the accidental death of their six-year-old daughter, the Hughes family escape their busy upscale suburban life and head to their isolated cottage for some quality time.
He is going to be a nutter.Secondly, you are going through the grieving process, why invite a family round for dinner?This, and many other questions go unanswered in this mundane, wannabe house invasion thriller, which tries to hark back to Funny Games, and Desperate Hours, but just becomes desperate.The characters are boring, wholly unlikable, and bitter, and by the second act, you couldn't care less who survives and who buys it.The acting is mundane, Blair looks like she's been dug up, and the rest of the cast falter.Stick with Haneke's Funny Games, either version is better than this..
This is another home invasion film.
Mark (Joshua Close), Mary (Selma Blair), and their son Brendon (Quinn Lord) get away to their summer home when their daughter is killed in a car accident.
While at their retreat they meet Bobby (James D'Arcy), Jane (Rachel Miner), and their son Jared (Alex Ferris).
This aspect was done very well as you can sense the creepiness in scene and characters.There is of course the later hostage situation and from the title and write up you know that these people want to take over the lives of the occupants.
Because the family was so bland, with Selma Blair looking gaunt, like a heroin addict, I didn't really care if they lived or died.
Just the title alone, "In Their Skin" sounds like it'd be a companion film to "Martyrs," So I rubbed my hands in anticipation, turned down the lights, and put this on.
And, even though the movie looked cheap, I kept on thinking, "I guess they poured all their budget into the upcoming special fx which would be the intruders making "Martyrs" of the family.." Boy, was I wrong.
Nothing of the sort happened.The reason I gave this 2 stars, despite the massive holes & horrible script, is because I felt sorry for all those involved in it's creation, from the actors to the director to whoever made the film look as pale and lifeless as a corpse.
"In Their Skin" is recommended viewing if only to show film students how to not make a movie.
A Funny Strangers Danger Game InvitationIN THEIR SKIN (★★★½/5 Stars.).
Nowadays, 95% of all horror movies involve ghosts, possession, exorcisms, haunted homes, found ghost footage, etc.
Not all home invasion thrillers are great, but at least they fall in the crispy 5% of horror I enjoy.In this movie's defense, it came out in 2012.
Before, during and especially since that time, there have been many home invasion thrillers.
All-but immediately, the creepy neighbors with no sense of timing, introduce themselves and invite their way into our hero family's home for some quality dinner time.
I enjoyed other home invasion films more, but the good here severely outweighed the bad and is a total recommendation for fans of the subgenre.***Final thoughts: It's August.