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source: Replace

Afflicted with a dermatological disease, young and beautiful Kira (Rebecca Forsythe, who was also the executive producer for this movie and the daughter of actor William Forsythe) learns that she can replace her skin with those of other women. Helped by her lover, she plots a murder and the victim becomes her donor, but when the disease returns, she must continually find new victims. There are two reasons to be excited about this movie. First, it has Barbara Crampton in it, which is always a welcome site. A genre vet, she elevates any material that she is in. Second, it was written by Richard Stanley. Yes, the very same Richard Stanley who directed Hardware and The Otherworld, in addition to being caught up in the mess that was 1996's The Island of Dr. Moreau. There's an intriguing premise here. Unlike a vampire, Kira must take the flesh of the living or her skin will age before its time. This is co-writer and director Norbert Keil's English language debut and he's done it with plenty of style. The thing about this film is that while many streaming movies we're asked to cover are simply digital point and shoot films with no allusions to art, this is an actual piece of cinema. It actually has something to say about aging, vanity and the need to control one's illness.

The story is an emotional confrontation of body image, self identity conflict and cultural expectations wrapped in a slow-burn psychological thriller. It is completely realized and development meticulously. The emotion almost feels aching and takes center stage- almost too much. It seems to overwhelm any suspense or thriller edge, that at first glance seems to be a potent element of "Replace". The characters are compelling and the cast show some real talent. Throughout the film the level of quality as far as character development and story structure, maintains a true indie quality that shows the director and writers maturity. My only complaint is the pace moves too slowly and the melancholy overpowers the excitement of events. That being said, "Replace" has some pretty cool body horror moments. A few that show a small influence of graphic visceral gore reminiscent of Italian horror. The special effects are mild but quality moments. Moments that should have been helped along by more outward, sensationalized suspense. Beyond what the great music score and soundtrack is telling us to feel in those scenes. Overall "Replace is a strong indie scifi drama with some thriller edge. It offers a strong dreamlike level of surrealism that accentuates the subject matter and emotional conflict of the main characters. I found the pro-lgbtq aspect mindful and positive as far as the relationship is concerned. I just think the horror elements could have been more present considering the acts committed in"Replace". Plus Barbara Crampton should have been utilized better.

Had a great start that made me start it over and put down my phone. Now that we have passed that; I'm reading the news. I'm. Just. Bored. Girl kills girls - repeat! Sigh.

Solid production and decent acting. But the overall story isn't interesting enough to care about the characters or what the story is. Intriguing at first as the main character starts to suffer from a rapid drying skin condition. This starts the unraveling of what is behind this, but the swerve in plot actually distances from the initial intrigue to something entirely else that is banal ultimately. Sad too given the effort to make this film look nice. But looking nice isn't enough in this case.

Kira is terrified of getting older and, one day, she notices a strange growth on her finger that starts to spread to other parts of her body, rendering her skin flaky and rough. After seeing a doctor and a specialist who don't seem to know what's wrong with her, she suddenly realizes that replacing her skin with other human tissue can heal her, but it doesn't last forever and she needs more and more victims to heal herself. On paper, the concept of Replace sounds excellent, but the script is complete mess with characters doing things that require huge leaps of logic. The first 45 minutes are mostly a series of odd decisions made by our heroine which are never explained even when a big mid point twist arrives, trying to make sense of everything we've seen up to that point. Kira does things like pick up a slice of her friend's foot that's just been injured on a broken wine glass and stick in on her own skin. Why was she lead to do this? I suppose because the script said so. Even weirder is when she leaves her doctor's appointment and decides to take a trip down to the morgue to flay the skin off of a corpse and try it on for size. It's never explained why she jumps to these extremes and it makes for an infuriating watch. On the plus side, Replace is one of the most beautifully shot indie horror films I've seen in years, but it almost has to be to keep the audience interested in its moronic script and characters. Even horror icon Barbara Crampton can't save this mess of a movie.

As with most modern "horror" if you go in with lower expectations you'll do fine with this movie. The premise was interesting, the roles well done, and the twist (there's always a twist) was enough. It's somewhat of a slow burn, but there's enough to keep you engaged throughout. Will I return and watch it again? No. But for one view it's a decent flick.