When I first watched Skinamarink, I wasn’t really feelin’ it. I felt like it took forever to start. And then, it ended. I have enjoyed looking at people’s theories on what was going on. I did like viewing the short film that it was based on. Heck was more of a “proof of concept” thing. And, I think Heck clearly demonstrates that they’re in Hell in Heck. 

I don’t really think that they are in hell. The first time I watched the movie, I thought that may be there was some sort of abuse allegory. They didn’t want to talk about the mom, and you can hear the mom’s bones snapping at one point. Some people have theorized it was self inflicted, but I felt like it was the father. When I was studying child psychology, a lot of children (myself included) describe their abuse as an out of body experience. Some kiddos will create an entire world where things are better. Well, what if Kevin created a world where things are worse. Not a coma.

My youngest son is actually going through an analogue horror phase right now. So, I rewatched it with him because he was curious. The film isn’t rated; so theoretically, he didn’t have to be supervised. However, I like to do things with my kids. Tbh, I got the vibe the parents in the movie didn’t like their kids very much. Even if they loved them. 

When the movie ended, Arch turns to me and says “that happened to me one time.” At first I thought he was being funny.If you didn’t know he is also Miles Morales, Goku, and he killed an Ender Dragon. But, he was serious! I asked him what he meant.

He reminded me of this time in Las Vegas when Ken, Tre, and I went on a summertime  morning walk in our apartment complex to get the mail. Archer takes after me, so he doesn’t really wake up early. Since we were in the apartment complex, we left Archer at home with the front door locked. Well, Archer woke up, because…of course he did. Murphy’s law and all of that. Tre and I let Ken go down the neighborhood slide a few times and then we hear a horrible, yet familiar scream. Luckily, we were just around the corner!  

Archer said we were gone a lot longer than we said we were. We had to get him doughnuts to calm him down. Thinking about how terrifying it must have been from Archer really makes me believe that maybe we were a lot longer than we were. Archer is someone who has always co-slept with his parents. That was the first time he woke up alone. And, we were all gone. 

Ever since my dad died, I’ve felt like time is not really linear. Like yeah he’s dead, but he’s not dead in 2018. If some non terrestrial force wanted to visit him there’s a chance it could still be 2018. It could be 1990, he could still be playing basketball for the University of Colorado. So, Archer could be in the apartment alone right now even though he’s currently asleep right next to me. 

And that got me thinking, do we all have a Skinamerink experience? I know I do. As much as I love my dad, he was not perfect. He wasn’t even a good person when I was a small child. Once, my mother dropped my sister and I off at a daycare center that was relatively close-ish to her work.  Since we were children of divorce, our father was supposed to pick us up after he went to work. 

He didn’t. 

And he could not be reached.Neither could my mother. 

Now, before I tell y’all the rest of this, please know, the daycare was shut down soon after. Fun fact though, during Halloween, a really popular haunted house always has a big billboard! This event happened when I was in elementary school and I have a middle school child now. I’m ok for the most part. My dad has passed and my mother and I are no contact for other reasons, as this truly was not her fault!

The staff left me and my infant sister. Alone. Overnight.The only lights available were Kiki’s Delivery Service (I played it on a loop) and the street lights outside. I still remember how it smelled, and how all the doors were locked, except the bathroom. Luckily, my sister slept most of the time. Lucky… for her. I have never felt as alone as I felt that day, and I don’t think I will again. I want to say I was seven, because I remember my sister being over the age of one. I remember this because we were able to share one of those microwaveable chef boy-ar-dee meals.  Cold of course, I couldn’t reach the microwave. I had to drink water from the bathroom sink, but I was so scared of the bathroom because I couldn’t reach the lights. I remember “seeing” people peek from the bathroom door because my eyes weren’t used to the dark. I lost my favorite barbie that night. She worked at Sea World (or the BarbieWorld equivalent) and came with an Orca.  I don’t know if my sister and I were kicked out of the day care for this incident, or my parents were too embarrassed to continue using their services. But, I never got to go back for my barbie. 

I don’t care what anyone says, time moved differently that night. And upon further research, time does move differently when you are young. It goes by a lot slower. That’s another reason I believe Archer when he said we were gone longer than we said we were. And, it’s why I don’t think the 572 days in Skinamarink are actually 572 days. I think the days are incidents of child neglect. I think Kevin and Kaylee are neglected children. 

Like the actual N word is bad, but this N word is also pretty bad. No one wants to admit they were neglectful. All parents are supposed to be diligent and protective at all times.But, that’s not reality. Even with good parents. I don’t believe the parents in this film are good parents. Especially when you consider the mother in Heck. 

But what if, what if, Kevin and Kaylee deal with that at their mom’s house and go through a similar abuse at their father’s place? I don’t think Kevin is in a coma, why would Kaylee’s experiences even factor into Kevin being in a coma? This is something they were both experiencing. 

Obviously, I’m factoring my own childhood experiences here. Like, I doubt the movie has some secret code to crack. But the popular theory that Kevin is in a coma makes no sense. But, allegorically, Kaylee losing her mouth and eyes when she wanted her parents back could be Kaylee feeling silenced because no one seems to care that she expects her mom and dad to take care of her. Many people that are abused feel that way, and I think if you were to ask a child, it would sound more like that. 

Like I said, my dad was not a good person when I was a kid. Like at all. I was afraid of him a lot of the time.I remember some nights sobbing for my parents even though I knew they could not comfort me at the time. I mean, it was no “put a knife in your eye” but I felt whatever was making my parents be “like that” was scary and could “do anything”. You’re supposed to feel safe in your home, Skinamarink is a perversion of that very basic need. If you don’t feel safe in your house the world feels upside down and you have to replay the reasons you don’t feel safe. Eventually, your brain will block and forget to protect you. That could be symbolized with the ending. Eventually, Kevin and Kaylee will forget the specifics of the abuse and just remember a block of time that was terrible. They probably won’t even be able to put a name to it. That’s why so many people realize they were abused until much later in life. 

 Oh, also…You all know how I don’t believe time is linear? I don’t remember being picked up from that day care center. So I will be retrieving my Sea World barbie. As a treat.