Winterskin is a Thriller Horror Movie by Charlie Steeds.
Billy Cavanagh (David Lenik) is a man who's out one winter hunting with his dad Russell (Peter Cosgrove) when he comes across a derelict cabin in the woods. Not heeding his dad's advice to stay close, Billy approaches the house, and is promptly shot in the leg and loses consciousness.
When he comes to, he finds his leg is bandaged, and he's in the company of an old woman named Agnes (Rowena Bentley), who lives in the house with her dog, King. She informs him that he needs to stay in the cabin and recover before he's in any condition to leave. He also comes to learn that, apparently, there's some mysterious but violent creatures out there who resemble men with no skin, and that if he tries to leave, he'll be killed by them. So, Billy has no choice but to stay.
Soon, a fight for Billy's life will occur inside of the house.
The film was released on November 10th, 2018.
Winterskin contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Time Period: It's never really clear when the movie's supposed to be set. The architecture of the cabins and the way everyone dresses and talks seem to imply the film is set in colonial times, but Billy mentions he and his dad repair snowmobiles, and Billy finds the guts of a radio in Agnes' cabin.
- Ax-Crazy: Agnes becomes this late in the movie.
- Axe Before Entering: In the prologue, the mysterious intruder uses an axe to chop through John Carver's front door.
- Berserk Board Barricade: After Billy kills the skinless man who barged into Agnes' home, the next scene shows the doors and windows with boards nailed over them.
- Bloody Handprint: In one sequence, when Pete, Chuck, and Old Tin Ruth investigate John Carver's house, the front door has at least three of these on the outside.
- Canine Companion: Agnes' dog, King. Then Billy lets him out one night, and Agnes brings his flayed corpse back in.
- Closed Circle: The bulk of the movie is set in Agnes' cabin. Billy can't leave so long as his leg is injured, and Agnes lives there, and claims that there's monsters out there shaped like skinless people.
- Fingore: Near the end of the movie, Agnes decides that the best way to keep Billy from fighting back is to chop off all of his fingers.
- Grievous Bottley Harm: Billy takes Agnes' bottle of alcohol and breaks it in her face when he decides to fight back against her.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: After Billy confesses that he let King out last night, which lead to him becoming dead and skinless, Agnes gets furious at him and starts beating him with one of King's legs.
- I'm a Humanitarian: After cutting Pete's tongue out, Agnes eats it.
- Missing Child: Russell's son goes missing in the woods, and he spends a long time looking for him.
- Missing Mom: Billy states that he never knew his mom. Agnes states that her mother is also dead. Because she and/or her dad killed her.
- One-Word Title: Winterskin, of course.
- The Reveal: Agnes is actually the killer that Billy, his dad, and others in the town have been tracking. She may have been responsible for the murders of the Carver family, and made up the story about skinless men in the woods all so she could have someone she can look after.
- Spot the Thread: One day, Billy tells Agnes that he watched her sleep all night. He noted she seemed quite comfortable and slept suspiciously soundly for someone afraid of monsters breaking into her home.
- Suddenly Voiced: The skinless man says one word before Billy kills him.Skinless Man: Billy?
- Third-Person Person: Sometimes, Agnes refers to herself by her name.
- Tongue Trauma: Agnes cuts Pete's tongue out and eats it.
- Trap Door: There's one in the cabin that leads to the basement. Same thing at John Carver's house.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: While investigating John Carver's house, one of the team runs back outside to vomit. The sound of him wretching can be heard.
- Would Hurt a Child: The intruder from the prologue actually shoots one of John Carver's kids through the floor into the cellar, where they're both hiding.
- Yandere: Agnes. She'll look after Billy no matter what, even if she has to make him stay by force.
