{"id":57241,"date":"2025-07-11T16:03:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T16:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/57241\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T16:03:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T16:03:16","slug":"skillhouse-review-an-influencer-horror-satire-with-no-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/57241\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Skillhouse’ Review – An Influencer Horror Satire With No Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"

Obnoxious online celebrities must fight for their lives while the entire world watches in Skillhouse<\/strong>, yet the in-universe fanfare is unbelievable. Josh Stolberg<\/strong> writes and directs, but disappointingly, his screenplay isn\u2019t on par with career standouts like Piranha 3D or Saw X. The emaciated story, washed-out lighting, and grating performances are as unlikable as the self-absorbed TikTok problem child and star Bryce Hall<\/strong>, whose former content creator mansion \u201cThe Sway House\u201d doubles as the titular Skill House. There are plenty of meta parallels given how Skillhouse inhabits a defunct influencer haven, but it\u2019s a superficial, poorly told homicide party that offers nothing besides cheap thrills with no virality.<\/p>\n

The film stars Hall\u2014famous for endangering lives by throwing COVID-19 lockdown parties and real-life assault charges\u2014as a \u201cfictional\u201d take on his unlikable online personality, Carter Swick. Poor Carter\u2019s grieving after the heinous murder of his vapid Insta-celeb sister Lauren (Hannah Stocking<\/strong>), but life\u2019s about to get worse. Carter, along with nine other prominent social media influencers, is kidnapped for a sick maniac\u2019s clickbait Saw imitation dubbed \u201cThe Skill House.\u201d The fame-seeking vloggers must compete for views each round, and the lowest total gets brutally eliminated. As Curtis \u201c50 Cent\u201d Jackson<\/strong> says (playing himself as the game\u2019s host), clout isn\u2019t just currency; it\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a shame, because Stolberg has proven to be a competent plot navigator in the past. There\u2019s also plenty of drama to mine as influencers continue to invade the horrorsphere. Skillhouse recognizes neither truth, cycling through the motions of a mid massacre broadcast to the masses. Carter\u2019s pegged as a red herring given his sister\u2019s death, since the Grim Reaper seems to follow his digital stench, but there\u2019s hardly any setup to the Skill House\u2019s competition. Stolberg tries to introduce his cast of sponsorship-hungry, niche social media celebrities after there\u2019s spilled blood, which is a misfire. All we know is that Carter\u2019s sibling dies horribly, he eats pizza and grows a beard, wants to regain his fame, then wham\u2014a masked villain takes over.<\/p>\n

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Skillhouse commits the cardinal sin of giving us no reason to care about any of the contestants eliminated by the \u201cTriller Killer\u2019s\u201d sick challenges. It feeds the misconception that horror cinema is only senseless blood and guts. A cast including MMA fighter-turned-OnlyFans model Paige VanZant<\/strong>, Sorority Row\u2019s Leah Pipes<\/strong>, and some up-and-coming young talents fulfills all the YouTube stereotypes and nothing more. The camera-ready fakeness, the sexual exploitation, the tasteless depths they\u2019ll all go for another \u201clike\u201d\u2014but it\u2019s never making a point beyond what\u2019s been covered in similar films like Funhouse or Stream. Kudos to Stolberg for trying to give Skillhouse a mean streak, yet in doing so, there\u2019s never any real substance, catharsis, or enjoyment behind the extreme violence on display.<\/p>\n

What I will say is Skillhouse doesn\u2019t skimp on gore. The hooded Triller Killer villain wears a mask reminiscent of Scream: The TV Series, but what stands out are a few character deaths, which slather on a particularly heavy coat of practical ick. Jigsaw\u2019s influence offers victims a chance to survive, like when Amanda (Emily Mei<\/strong>) uses acid in an attempt to detach one hand and foot\u2014and it\u2019s GNARLY. There are also two particular head explosions thanks to nifty wire collars that cause an array of havoc if the Triller Killer pushes the proverbial red button. In these moments, Skillhouse feels like it\u2019s turning a corner. If only we can look past all the low-hanging storytelling fruit and focus on the goop, the gratuity, and the glorious bloodshed.<\/p>\n

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Sadly, we cannot. Most performances are plucked off the Temu TikTok shelf, except for Neal McDonough<\/strong>, whose important law enforcement officer role cannot save the film from itself. The whole 50 Cent angle is a boneheaded mess, to the point where you\u2019ll question why he\u2019s even involved\u2014much like 50 himself, who failed to keep Skillhouse unreleased via a lawsuit. There are parts of this movie so rigid and mechanical that scenes feel (and sometimes look) like A.I., especially shots of random \u201creactors\u201d seen viewing the Skill House massacre on their phones. It\u2019s the MadTV to Deadstream\u2019s Saturday Night Live in terms of quality, but even that\u2019s giving too much credit.<\/p>\n

In a subgenre of horror films where brainless, backstabbing creators reveal the toxic relationship we\u2019ve established with social media\u2014and the soulless celebrities we\u2019ve created\u2014Skillhouse is toward the bottom of the food chain. There\u2019s nothing to grasp beyond blind rage, even when deserved. Mayhem and bloodlust attempt to present themselves as kooky fun, but there\u2019s a lack of backbone throughout that would fortify any structure. Yes, there\u2019s reason; yes, there\u2019s motive \u2026 eventually. What\u2019s worse is how predictable said reasons and motives are once revealed. My compliments to the chefs who cooked up some truly vicious shades of reddend carnage (when not terrible CG), but beyond visual nastiness, Skillhouse is just another forgettable wannabe desperate for likes and attention.<\/p>\n

Skillhouse is now playing in theaters from Fathom Entertainment.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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