Wordiezett So much average

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Michael_Elliott Skinned Alive (1990) * 1/2 (out of 4) Straight-to-VHS title about Crawldaddy, a crippled mother who along with her son and daughter travel around the country in their van selling leather. What people don't know is that the trio are actually psychopaths who are killing people and skinning them. Apparently the budget of this thing was just a little over $18,000 and it certainly shows it. I'll admit right up front that I didn't enjoy this movie but at the same time I can't help but tip my hat to director Killough who was pretty much just a horror fan who decided to make his own movie. I'm sure that's something a lot of people would like to do but he actually did do it so my hat's off to him. As for the film itself, it's yet another take off on THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE as we get the wacko family killing, skinning and just being plain weird. The film doesn't do too much story wise as things are pretty uneven as we stay focused on the nutty family for a while but we also have a hero in a former cop who is now an alcoholic after his wife leaves him. I think some of the stuff with the drunk cop just seemed to be thrown in to pad out the running time. It was only 73-minutes without the credits so I guess we'd be looking at something less than an hour but that might not have been such a bad thing. The special effects were done with very little money but they were good enough for this type of thing. It's obvious that the skinning isn't real but it contains plenty of red stuff so fans of gore will have plenty to look at. As expected, the performances are rather weak but Scott Spiegel is somewhat fun in his role. Films like SKINNED ALIVE use to be released each week and it was always fun checking out the latest at your local video store. I do miss those days and this here is a prime example of the type of film you'd be renting in those days.

Tender-Flesh This is about as low budget as you can get. But, at least the director had the foresight to make this a comedy. If it was played straight, it would have been totally abysmal. As it stands, the comedy isn't the sort to really make you laugh out loud, but it's somewhat amusing.Expect no real acting in the movie and the dialogue is some of the worst ever. That being said, this is a film made by fans of real gore who have basically five dollars to make a movie. And they made that money stretch. Even though the gore is not very well made, it's plentiful. You get split-open heads, fully skinned bodies(both just a hanging skin and a bloody slab of muscles and veins), and a Jehovah's Witness! Who could ask for more? The "plot" involves the Crawldaddy family, Mama or rather Daddy Crawldaddy, a worn out wheelchair bound biker chick who has gender issues, and her adult daughter and son who lust after each other and would probably go all the way if the daughter's bra wasn't set up like a Burmese tiger trap. They make their way cross-country, finding hapless victims on the roadside and killing then skinning them. Presumably the skins are actually made into something, but there is no real evidence of that. Their van breaks down in a small town, they seek refuge at the home of the Miles'. While Tom Miles feeds them dinner and prepares to go back to his shop to work on their van, all sorts of schlock hijinks ensue. That darn Jehovah's Witness just won't die no matter how many times you stab, shoot, or skin him. Meanwhile, the neighbor, Paul, battles raging alcoholism due to his pending divorce from a skanky Debbie, I mean, Deborah Gibson clone who's shacked up with the divorce lawyer. The finale finds Paul and Tom trapped in Paul's house, while the Crawldaddy's lurk around every corner. And they are rather hard to kill, just like that old Bible-thumper. But, we get some of the best gore here. Paul whips it out....an M-16 with a double drum magazine and a bayonet. The ending is predictable and the 5 minutes of rolling credits is a gypp on run-time.Unfortunately, Violet never gets completely bare for the camera, that would have earned another star for this steaming pile. She's like Courtney Love's stunt double, minus the heavy thigh bruising. While I can't really recommend this unless you are in need of some gore and you don't care how you get it(like watching a Gwar video), this is, I suppose, a way to kill a lonely Wednesday night if you have a full bottle of schnapps and a big bowl of beans. And make sure you're wearing your Boycott Jane Fonda t-shirt!

movieman_kev A traveling family of sickos, an inept brother/ sister team and their wheelchair-bound mother, Crawldaddy (Mary Jackson of "The Waltons" fame), have their car brake down after they kill a guy. So they stay at the neighbors of an alcoholic ex-cop and continue nonchalantly killing people. Will the cop exorcise his demons long enough to put an end to Crawdady and families reign of terror? Due to the ultimately jaw-dropping awfulness, Will we even care? To be fair the first 10 minutes hold a little promise and the last 20 are OK by me. It's just the endless minutes of stupid slapstick 'comedy' in the middle where the movie becomes a chore to sit through. and what a painful chore it is. The film would have been a good short film. But as it is now, it's not even passable entertainment.My Grade: D DVD Extras: Commentary with JR. Bookwalter and David Lange; Isolated music score audio track; 35 minute Making-of; Behind the scenes; camera and wardrobe tests; About the Remastering; Artwork and Stills Galleries; an episode of 'Roomates"; Theatrical Trailer; and Trailers for "Ozone", "Eddie Presley", "Dead and Rotting", and "Hell Asylum"

MizSlick I've read a lot of other comments and I have to say that this movie does not suck and it's certainly not stupid. You just have to have an open mind and a taste for this kind of stuff. It's not a horror movie in that it will scare you but there is some gore (albeit not very authentic gore, but they were on a miniscule budget) and some seriously twisted characters in it. Admittedly, all the stuff with the former cop neighbor is very lame (I skip it usually). But, the joy of this flick is to watch Scott Spiegel and Mary Jackson together. They are an absolute riot! Spiegel really makes the film worthwhile. He pretty much did it as a favor to the director and producer and boy did he deliver! He's an innately funny man and the lines that he and Mary Jackson exchange are incredibly funny. The physical comedy is superb as well. I ordered this sucker on DVD without seeing it first and was not disappointed at all. Those of you who are familiar with the 'Fake Shemps' (Spiegel, Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Rob Tapert, Ted Raimi, etc) will enjoy this flick. Trust me.