Skinned Deep – Severin Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 2004
Director: Gabriel Bartalos
Writer: Gabriel Bartalos
Cast: Les Pollack, Aaron Sims, Kurt Carley, Linda Weinrib, Eric Bennett, Lee Kociela, Karoline Brandt, Jim O'Donoghue, Liz Little, Warwick Davis, Jason Dugre

Release Date: July 20th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 97 Minutes 57 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $34.95

"His mind-blowing work as an FX artist has included everything from Frank Henenlotter’s BRAIN DAMAGE and FRANKENHOOKER to Matthew Barney’s CREMASTER CYCLE. And for his 2004 debut as writer/producer/director, Gabe Bartalos created this “demented gift from the B-Movie Gods” (Bloody Good Horror) about a rural clan of psychotic freaks, the killing spree “that takes us places and shows us things we’ve never seen before” (Dread Central) and the final girl that may be their depraved undoing." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "now scanned uncut in 2K from the original negative for the first time ever."

Skinned Deep comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 27.8 GB

Feature: 26 GB

The source used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are strong throughout, and compression looks very good.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English and included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear and balanced throughout. This is an active soundtrack that does a great job with ambient sounds and the score sounds appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a trailer for Skinned Deep (2 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival Making Of featurette (22 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a new featurette with writer/producer/director Gabe Bartalos, actors Jay Dugre and Karoline Brandt and weapons machinist Jake Lee titled Deep Cuts: A Look Back on Skinned Deep (14 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles)  and an audio commentary with Gabriel Bartalos, Karoline Brandt, Jason Dugre and visual effects Al Magliochetti.

Summary:

Saint Bernard was written and directed by Gabriel Bartalos whose most known for his work as a makeup / special effect’s artists. Notable films that he worked on as a makeup / special effect’s artist include, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, From Beyond, Brain Damage and Frankenhooker.

Skinned Deep’s narrative revolves around a family of psychopaths who would fit in nicely in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. From its opening moments Skinned Deep is a go for the jugular experience that has all the elements that horror cinema fans crave. There are an ample amount of gory set pieces and the special effects look amazing. Other strengths include the meticulous detail that went into set design, which makes the world these characters live in all the more convincing and the cast's enthusiastic performances make sure that there's not a dull moment. Not too be overlooked when discussing Skinned Deep is Gabriel Bartalos’ contributions to the film. He’s a creative force of nature who’s overflowing with imagination and nightmarish imagery.

Severin Films gives Skinned Deep a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer