The Canadian experimental horror movie Skinamarink raises more questions than answers, and there are many meanings behind the film's ending.
The Skinamarink ending likely raised more questions than it answered for a lot of viewers. The horror movie marks the feature debut from writer and director Kyle Edward Ball, and it generated a lot of discussion due to its unconventional elements. Skinamarink follows four-year-old Kevin (Lucas Paul) and his six-year-old sister Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault) as they find themselves alone in their house all the doors and windows missing and their father nowhere to be found.
Skinamarink is a highly experimental film with a very unconventional horror narrative and an even more unconventional horror movie villain. The grainy visuals are usually indecipherable, and the protagonists are only occasionally seen on-screen, often from the back. However, what is apparent is that something in the darkness is talking to Kevin and Kaylee and asking them to do increasingly horrible things. The creators of Skinamarink offered very little interpretation of the narrative itself, which left the ending up to interpretation.
What Happens To Kaylee In Skinamarink?
Kaylee is the first victim of the entity within the house. Following a scene where she supposedly encounters her parents in a bedroom, she follows a voice calling out to her. When Kevin next sees her, in one of the film's most significant jump scares, Kaylee's eyes and mouth have been removed. The entity later tells Kevin, "Kaylee didn't do as she was told. She said she wanted her mom and dad, so I took her mouth away."
What Happens To Kevin In Skinamarink?
Following Kaylee's fate, Kevin becomes the primary target of the entity. In one tense sequence towards the end, Kevin stabs himself in the eye at the entity's request and calls 911, only for the entire conversation with the operator to be revealed as one of the entity's tricks. The Skinamarink ending sees Kevin in bed, with the barely visible face of the entity appearing to him and telling him to go to sleep.
Early in the film, it is reported by Kaylee that Kevin injured himself in a sleepwalking incident. As such, Kevin may have been sleepwalking for the entire movie. Another possible interpretation is that Kevin is in a coma in Skinamarink, which helps to explain why the audio in the movie sounds so distorted.
What Happens To Kevin & Kaylee's Parents?
Though Skinamarink explained very little of what was actually going on, one of the driving forces of the plot is how Kevin and Kaylee's parents seemingly disappear. While their father is briefly heard towards the start of the movie, their mother is absent, meaning she likely either left her husband or passed away. This makes it tenser when Kaylee encounters her mother sitting on the bed in the bedroom.
Kaylee's mother tells her to "Close your eyes. Please," only to vanish when Kaylee reopens them. On the surface, this may only be one of the many tricks played on the kids by the entity. However, a much darker reading is the possibility that at least one of Kevin and Kaylee's parents is abusive, and Kaylee's mother is telling her to close her eyes as a warning. Skinamarink's mysterious voice could be even darker, as it takes on real-world consequences for the young characters.
Why Does the House Appear Upside Down?
Similar to the disappearance of the windows, doors, and toilet, the house appearing upside down seems to be some form of interdimensional manipulation caused by the entity. If Skinamarink can be interpreted as a living nightmare, the standard rules of physics do not apply. Hence, the house seemingly turns upside down during the film's climactic moments, causing even more disturbing disorientation.
What Does 572 Days Mean?
Towards the disturbing Skinamarink ending, the words "572 Days" appear over a shot of an upside-down room filled with toys. The meaning of this phrase is purposely left vague. However, if the theory that Kevin is in a coma is true, then 572 days could represent the length of time he has been unconscious. Skinamarink scared in subtle ways as well as the overt, as it is a creepy possibility to consider how long Kevin has been tormented by the entity.
Whose Blood Is Splattered In Skinamarink?
In the Skinamarink ending, there is an upside-down shot of blood splattering from around a corner. As the blood vanishes and reappears multiple times in the horror movie, it is likely one of the many supernatural tricks of the entity. However, there are also some possible practical reasons.
In support of the parental abuse theory, the blood splatter might represent Kevin and Kaylee's father murdering their mother, hence the call for "mommy" at the end of the scene. The moment can also represent the metaphorical death of Kevin as he succumbs to his coma. This makes sense because of Skinamarink's final moments, where the entity's face appears to Kevin and tells him to sleep.
Skinamarink Explained: The Real Meaning Of The Horror Movie's Ending
Ball purposely produced Skinamarink as an ambiguous film that is open to interpretation. Though Skinamarink explained very little, one general reading commonly accepted is that the film reflects childhood fears of being scared of something in the dark. Skinamarink is a nightmarish and dream-like horror film about two kids trapped in their house with no escape, and its surreal format would make most sense as showing fears adults find less frightening from the harrowing perspective of a child.
It also says a lot that Skinamarink visually focuses more on toys and cartoons than the children themselves. Usually, these are ways for kids to escape their fears and nightmares. However, as one of Skinamarink biggest scares involves a Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone, Ball establishes that there is no escape from the horrors within this house — especially in the Skinamarink ending, where sleep appears to be fraught with peril, instead of a relief from the horror.
