Short Film: Dead Skin (2023)

• Directed by Ciara O’Rourke
• Written by Ciara O’Rourke
• Stars Elizabeth Kanzi Jubb, Michael Short, Isabella Percival, Ruth Allison
• Run Time: 10:06
• Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaXzddJ3H6g

What Happens

Jess gets up for her morning and finds that she’s got a big red blotch on her shoulder that itches. Her mother wants to go shopping for a prom dress, but Jess is obsessed with her rash. At school, all the girls talk about what they’re planning to wear, and Jess is dreading the whole thing– but she can’t stop scratching. 

What does one do when the medication doesn’t work fast enough? Jess has an idea!

Commentary

There’s acne, and then there’s… this. The makeup here is quite good, very realistic and horrifying in a real-life kind of way. The cinematography and pacing of the story is good– it moves slowly, but it doesn’t feel slow.  The final result really wasn’t a surprise, but it was well done overall. 

Very nice!