COMFORTING SKIN (2011)

Streaming on Tubi!
Directed by Derek Franson
Written by Derek Franson
Starring Victoria Bidewell, Tygh Runyan, Jane Sowerby, Philip Granger
Find out more about this film here!

Wow, this descent into madness tale blew me away. Star Victoria Bidewell offers up a commanding role as Koffie, an ordinary girl with issues. She’s in her mid twenties, looking for love and recovering from a bad relationship. She decides to go for a change in her life and gets a tattoo, but as she begins to recede from interaction with society, she starts to form an unhealthy bond with her tattoo. Soon Koffie is having full blown conversations with the ink, which whispers back to her like a serpent and moves from one location on her body to another. COMFORTING SKIN is not necessarily a day in the park type of film experience, but it is a fascinating character study of a person whose life is falling to pieces.

Writer/director Derek Franson takes his time allowing the audience to pity Koffie as she watches her girlfriend get picked up by guys in the club then goes home only to be rejected by her roommate who would rather drone over his keyboard than form a relationship with her. The edges begin to fray as Koffie’s past is revealed, involving a lover who tries to be nice to her when they meet on the street, but is definitely afraid of her unpredictable nature. At first, Franson paints Koffie as a free spirit, someone the audience wants to root for, and that friend you know who just can’t get a break. But he subtly peels back the layers, indicating that all is not well with Koffie, even before she gets the tattoo.

The effects in this low budget film are fantastic. The blue feathered tattoo dances and glides across Koffie’s skin with ghostlike grace. Like a tempting snake, the ink teases and coaxes Koffie to become unburdened by doubt and give in to desires she keeps hidden. Bidewell offers up a bold performance, throwing her all into this role. Throughout most of the film, she’s pretty much naked, either writhing in pleasure her tattoo gives her or the pain it inflicts on her when she attempts to stand her ground. This is definitely an actress who isn’t afraid of anything and shows it in this nightmare life she acts out.

COMFORTING SKIN is a powerful journey through the maze of an unwell mind. The director shows great promise not only with his patience but his technical skill and ability to get his all from his actors. Franson dives full on into Cronenbergian body horror with his fetishistic portrayal of contact with flesh bordering between sensual and horrific, sometimes at the same time.

Check out the trailer here!!