31 Days of Horror: “He Took His Skin Off For Me” Will Make Your Heart Ache and Your Skin Crawl

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TookSkinOffForMeI love indie horror mini-movies, and although my last one, Aftermath: Genesis absolutely destroyed me and I spent a good half hour afterwards scrubbing my skin shivers away in the shower, I found another one that tops my list. He Took Off His Skin For Me is both terrifying and beautiful. Following the devotion a man has to his wife, and her adoring devotion in return, the 10 minute film crashes through your defenses and breaks your heart while keeping hearts of those squeamish to blood alive with a flutter. It’s almost hard to believe it’s listed as horror!

An unnamed woman and her unnamed husband are preparing to have a dinner together when he asks, “Is this what you really want?” She answers yes…and he takes off his skin. First of all, let me just make it very clear to my future husband that if you take off your skin, I will bathe you in Holy water and perform every exorcism process known to man, angels, and demons alike. I will go 360 degrees of Dean Winchester on you (Can I get a Whoot! from the Supernatural fandom?!).

Hanging his skin in the closet, the husband begins his life without it, and their journey together with this terrifying TookSkinOffForMenew change is beautifully portrayed. There are moments of happiness, moments of desire, sadness, defeat, embarrassment, and terror. Although his wife is happy with how open and bare he is to her now, this man is facing issues daily with the loss of his skin, from work, to home and cleanliness, to his friendships. Now let’s think a moment. Taking off your skin leaves muscle and blood vessels and fat and everything else open to the air and susceptible to all sorts of germs, bacteria, and other irritants. Why would anyone put their health in danger to make their partner happy? While I can’t say I would ever do such a thing (nor would I want to clean the hellish mess of blood everywhere…it’s bad enough when I do my horror makeup), this wife seems ecstatic at first about it. As time goes on though, she recognizes the burden her demand has put on her husband.

This film made me first sickened but happy, then my heart fell as troubling times rolled in for the couple. You may shed a small tear watching this, and squeamish viewers may lose their last meal. Overall, I give this film about a four out of five stars. There were a few inconsistencies with the blood, but it was overall pretty good for such a short indie film. I actually think I will go watch it again now…. Enjoy!

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