4 Star

Creepy Goings On In The Country.

Independent filmmakers Black Coppice Films bring us a folk-horror story from Chris Shane Sanders (Nest of Vampires, The Haunted Studio). Directed by Randy Kent (Road King, Chinese Speaking Vampires) who brings the tension and isolation of Mr Sander‘s story. Be prepared to be creeped out, and be very wary of a close-knit family, you never know what they might be knitting.
Helen Daniels (Alyssa Haymor, Cinderella’s Curse, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2) visits her twin sister’s grave and contrary to everyone else’s belief, she knows her sister would never commit suicide. Mark Cushing (Chris Shane Sanders) her ex-boyfriend is the supporting type, all this pressure is affecting her life. This doesn’t go unnoticed at work, as her employer, Uncle David Daniels (Bhasker Patel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Snowden) has noticed the difference in Helen’s demeanour. He tells her to take time off and head to the country where he has bought a cottage, which has no Wi-Fi or mobile signal. He says all this as he put his presents in a large cupboard and she accepts the offer.

She arrives at the pretty cottage nestled on the edge of a wooded landscape. She lets herself in and puts her carpetbag on the table. As she takes in her nicely appointed cottage, she is interrupted by Dee Perkins (Zara Hadeshian, Twenty Two Presence, Operation Mayfair) the neighbour and also a distant relative. She has been told by Uncle David that Helen would be visiting, and that she would spruce the place up with her very strange daughter Stella (Carmen Holloway, Played and Betrayed). Helen feels a bit weirded out at Stella’s fascination with death, and the way Dee takes things from her hair. The old house makes for an uncomfortable night of sleep.

After a restless night, she is awoken by the sound of wood being chopped, It is Byron (Jimmy ‘The Bee’ Bennett, Red Army Hooligans, Dead Again), Dee’s brother, and the gamekeeper for the large estate the cottage is on. He thought that it would be a nice gesture to cut the wood for the new resident, but Helen is behaving offish, however eventually she warms to him and offers the reward of a cup of tea.

She finds out that both families have all suffered multiple deaths, and she tells Byron about her nasty father Richard (Vernon Wells, Weird Science, Commando) and his disappearance. Byron tells her some of the history of the cottage.

This house wants me dead!

Helen and the house don’t get along as supernatural events start disrupting her stay, and the locals are very weird in Helen’s eyes. What have they got in store for their new neighbour?

Bring Me a Skin for Dancing In is a cracking folk-horror that should be seen and a great way to creep you out on a spooky night. Things do go bump in the night.