Sheep Skin (2016)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Michael Schantz, Laurence Mullaney, Ria Burns-Wilder, Zach Gillette, Jamie Lyn Bagley
Directed by Kurtis Spieler
Available from Amazon
Everybody’s looking for the next best thing, and the werewolf sub-genre is certainly no exception. With the latest inclusion to the mix from director Kurtis Spieler, Sheep Skin should be enough to give fans of lycanthropy enough of a fix until something else flies down the production chute.
With a heavy backbone of crime thriller tossed in, the movie does take awhile to build up some steam. The film follows Todd (Mullaney), a businessman who doesn’t exactly seem to take the greatest interest in his bride, and his incessantly lecherous actions towards a new temp in his office cement that assumption.
After a long night at work, he takes off and is immediately snatched up by a group of rather angry young folk who are rather insistent about finding out if Todd is responsible for the murders of many ladies around the city. Deep down they have gut instincts about his “ability to change” and have no second thoughts about offing him as soon as he confesses to his crimes. As the group members bide their time, it doesn’t appear as if Todd will be undergoing any full-moon metamorphosis in the near future, thereby setting off a little dissension in the ranks among our band of ruffians; and the audience continues to wait for something to happen as well.
As the tension mounts, we’re faced with an endless siege of interrogation-like dialogue that very well could put some viewers to bed a little early, but it’s the idea of what will happen that makes this film somewhat enjoyable to sit through. All of the performances are solid, with the gold star going out to the group’s vocal leader, Michael Schantz as Schafer; and with a very admirable collection of portrayals behind him, you can’t help but believe that everyone’s emotions are raw and unharnessed.
It’s quite the feat to advertise a film that upon first inspection (especially the cover art) looks like it will be a balls-to-the-wall terrorfest, but this one works in quite the opposite direction. If you’re willing to sit and wait for a bit, it’ll pay off for you in the end. Worth a watch.
Special features on the DVD (unavailable for review) include:
- Full Feature in Color
- Full Feature in Black & White w/Exclusive Intro
- Director’s Commentary
- Deleted Scene w/Intro
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
- Sheep Skin Short Film
- “Dick Punchers” Music Video
- Trailer
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
