In Their Skin – Toronto After Dark 2012

In Their Skin, previously known as Replicas, is a film about a family who is a tormented by a group of strangers, who want to take over their lives.  Mark (Josh Close) and Mary (Selma Blair), along with their son Brendon (Quinn Lord), travel to their family’s cottage as a way to cope with the recent accidental death of their daughter.  They are soon greeted by Bobby (James D’Arcy) and Jane (Rachel Miner, along with their son Jared (Alex Ferris), who turn out to have a very keen interest in Mark and Mary’s lives. It is very obvious from the start that something is not right about Bobby and Jane and I spent much of the film waiting for them to reveal their true colours.  Many of Bobby and Jane’s “way too friendly” behaviour in the early going came off somewhat humourous, which I was not was intentional or not.  By the times things do turn sinister, I didn’t find it all that suspenseful.  Perhaps, it’s because I’ve seen this type of home invasion premise done better in other films, such as Funny Games or The Strangers. Of the three invaders, it is actually the kid Jared who, in my opinion, is the most disturbing an threatening of the three.  I think there was only one moment in the film that truly made me jump.  Other than that, the action seemed to be going through the motions, and without spoiling anything, I will say that the plot resolves itself in a very sudden manner. Lack of tension aside, I still thought that In Their Skin was a somewhat decent film and I was still able to sympathise with the characters and their situation.  I just wish that the home invasion premise was done in a more original manner.7 | FAIR