Second Skin

What can I say really. Lost for words.

When a ball goes over the fence into another property, one young man is chosen to recover it. Things about to get weird. This looked really good, there was nice variety in the shot selection, there was controlled use of focus, good use of slow motion and it was nicely edited. The acting from the lead was also really good. This is, however, one rather strange story and an interesting take on the genre. I think some of the kanji subtitles needed explaining for the uninitiated, although maybe they were through some of the actions on screen - there was a lot going on! And it was an interesting decision to provide both kanji and english subtitles at times when they weren't needed. Stylistically, you made the film that you wanted to make; so well done. I really liked it, it was very different and as odd as it all was, you could easily find this film in the CHCH final.

I loved the intense style of the film, heaps going on. The lead was a loveable goof (typecast Elliot?), who really brought the film up a notch. Overall it was refreshing to see a film that was different from the rest - would watch again.

There is a bit of bad blood between Sneaky Horses and Les Cousins, which was why my blood boiled as I watched this film for the first time and was completely at the mercy of this terrifying story and it's immersive style.

Some kids are playing in a field and throw their ball onto the property of 'the busy man' (I think). Some speech is subtitled foreign, some is garbled English. One of them goes to get the ball. And then, um, some other stuff happens. Straight out of the gate this film made its mark, wilfully oblique, artful, with plenty of visual flourishes to keep us engaged. The veil of bizarro was briefly and unfortunately lifted for a moment when our protagonist fell to the ground over the fence, with some rather plain blokeish utterances, pushing me out of the dreamlike vibe. But the trip resumed when he went inside the house and found a woman inside a closet. But the woman's actually a mannequin, and busy man has her arm, and our hero has big freaky eyes, and so forth. The dream logic of the piece, the non-sequiturs of sequencing, all delightful. Not only did it not matter if the dialogue or subtitles were incomprehensible - it was actually better that way. Maybe in places I sensed that the WTFery was a bit too self-aware, and not reckless enough, and maybe if anything I just wanted to see the film go even further down the rabbit hole. But anyway, can't really offer much more comprehensive analysis than that. If nothing else, this was a fun mood piece.

what the hell was this? Thats not to say i didn't enjoy it, nicely shot, nicely edited, generally a really well put together short film by a team that clearly knows what they are doing. Sneaky Horses clearly wants the WTF reaction from the audience so by this standard alone the film is a complete success. I'm kinda lost for words on this one, I enjoyed watching it, I look forward to watching it again, and as has been noted by other reviewers it's really good to see something fresh and different in the competition.

Lots of nice shots and camera work throughout. Great deadpan stare by the girl when the veil was removed. I didn't really understand why the Japanese was used, but it was different and interesting. Overall I found it pretty confusing as I wasn't quite sure which bit was "real".

In today's 24-hour news environment we are exposed to many tragedies, but never have I felt so utterly devastated than when I saw that this movie did not make it to the finals. I can sum this short flick up in one small word: Fresh. It's wonderful to see such a different strategy taken to tell a story. Beginning with something every Kiwi remembers as a kid - losing a ball over someone's fence - this film examines the concept of the 'other', one who is not like us but who is different. Why different? Maybe because they are truly strange, or perhaps simply because we don't understand them. Another excellent observation on the state of humanity is that our homes are our castles. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors? The imagination can run rife, but in reality things are possibly even weirder than we can dream up. This movie is evocative of Japanese horror films: adopting a linear storytelling approach while interspersing snatches of emotion in a way that appears random but is designed to unhinge the mind and allow the viewer to fill in the gaps with their own sickness. A juxtaposition of the 'normal', and the uncomfortable tentacled lunacy that lurks behind the thin veil of the subconscious. H. P. Lovecraft got it, so does this team. You truly deserved to be in the finals. I hope PJ gets to watch this film and feels the same.

Well this was an ok film. Nice film work and story but was not the best and some stuff to work on but ok

Thie was an pritty good film. They used there genre well and it all made it work soo good job

Weird and interesting. Strangely compelling. The director has got a style going for himself I would follow.