The Serpent’s Skin (BUFF)
Tired of listening to her stepfather berate her to her mother, Anna (Alexandra McVicker, TV's 'Vice Principals') leaves home, bunking in at her older sister Dakota's (Charlotte Chimes) apartment, where she immediately draws the attention of the building's 'hotty' Danny (Jordan Dulieu), who has no problem at all with her being trans. When Anna foils a violent robbery at a record store while applying for a job, tattoo artist Gen (Avalon Fast) recognizes her supernatural powers as similar to her own and the two women bond romantically. But then Gen gives Danny a ouroboros tattoo on the back of his neck, inadvertently unleashing a demonic power in "The Serpent's Skin."
Laura's Review: B-
Australian transgender cowriter (with her "Satranic Panic" and "Carnage for Christmas" collaborator Benjamin Pahl Robinson)/director Alice Maio Mackay displays a similar sensibility to "I Saw the TV Glow's" Jane Schoenbrun with themes of finding one's identity, a nostalgia for 90's television and love of shocking pink. But Mackay, who at half Schoenbrun's age has made more films, has a more DIY aesthetic, simple practical effects adding to her film's charm. Supportive independent community spirit is also on hand with "The People's Joker's" Vera Drew as editor and the Adams Family's band H6llb6nd6r contributing to her ethereal rock score by composers Alexander Taylor ("Scream Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street") and "Boorman and the Devil's" Eduardo Daniel Victoria.
Mackay's also got a knack with actors, the fine cast assembled here creating characters we care about, especially McVicker, loved by the camera and the most compelling presence. We first sense that something is abnormal with her witnessing one of her 'microsleep' nightmares, visions that initially confuse rather than illuminate. Dakota is more outgoing than her little sister, impressed that Anna's already made inroads with Danny, who she claims is weird, but in a good way, not unlike Anna (we see his 'FUCK TRUMP' tattoo when they have sex, a plus). Dakota also warns Anna that the building's gossip, 'Old Lady Bling Bling,' lives in the apartment below him.
Of course things change soon thereafter, record store owner Buzz (Scott Major) hiring Anna, musing that she's either a curse or a good luck charm. A far more passionate relationship develops with Gen, who tells Anna that she 'popped' the thief, who had blood running out of his eyes, and probably could have killed him if she tried (and she will have another chance). Gen begins to coach Anna on how to focus her powers, superior to Gen's own, and introduces her to friends Helly and Jade (Lewi Dawson and Alyssa Peters, both of "Carnage for Christmas"). Anna tells Danny that she's met someone else and encourages her sister to make a play for him, but when he shows up at Gen's tattoo shop, she doesn't know about his connection to Anna and after she tattoos him, he becomes something like a cross between a vampire and male succubus leaving the people around them in a catatonic state. It's up to Anna and Gen to reverse the curse.
"Carnage for Christmas" cinematographer Aaron Schuppan casts everything in a gauzy yet colorful haze. Makeup effects are rudimentary (amusingly, it looks like Anna's death ray stare was achieved with that old trick of painting her eyelids while Danny's possessed visage is beastly and 'Old Lady Bling Bling' gives "Weapons'" Aunt Gladys a run for her money). Mackay does have a tendency to lean heavily on montage, perhaps the better to highlight her film's soundtrack, but something which begins to feel like a device to pad the film's running time to feature length.
"The Serpent's Skin" is a fun romp by a filmmaker who knows how to put on a show with good actors and limited resources.
Robin's Review: B-
Dark Star Pictures releases "The Serpent's Skin" in theaters on 3/27/26. It will be featured as part of the Boston Underground Film Festival on 3/19/26.
