‘Skillhouse’ Review – An Influencer Horror Satire With No Skills
Obnoxious online celebrities must fight for their lives while the entire world watches in Skillhouse, yet the in-universe fanfare is unbelievable. Josh Stolberg writes and directs, but disappointingly, his screenplay isn’t 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 […]
Obnoxious online celebrities must fight for their lives while the entire world watches in Skillhouse, yet the in-universe fanfare is unbelievable. Josh Stolberg writes and directs, but disappointingly, his screenplay isn’t 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, whose former content creator mansion “The Sway House” doubles as the titular Skill House. There are plenty of meta parallels given how Skillhouse inhabits a defunct influencer haven, but it’s a superficial, poorly told homicide party that offers nothing besides cheap thrills with no virality.
The film stars Hall—famous for endangering lives by throwing COVID-19 lockdown parties and real-life assault charges—as a “fictional” take on his unlikable online personality, Carter Swick. Poor Carter’s grieving after the heinous murder of his vapid Insta-celeb sister Lauren (Hannah Stocking), but life’s about to get worse. Carter, along with nine other prominent social media influencers, is kidnapped for a sick maniac’s clickbait Saw imitation dubbed “The Skill House.” The fame-seeking vloggers must compete for views each round, and the lowest total gets brutally eliminated. As Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson says (playing himself as the game’s host), clout isn’t just currency; it’s survival.
It’s a shame, because Stolberg has proven to be a competent plot navigator in the past. There’s 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’s pegged as a red herring given his sister’s death, since the Grim Reaper seems to follow his digital stench, but there’s hardly any setup to the Skill House’s competition. Stolberg tries to introduce his cast of sponsorship-hungry, niche social media celebrities after there’s spilled blood, which is a misfire. All we know is that Carter’s sibling dies horribly, he eats pizza and grows a beard, wants to regain his fame, then wham—a masked villain takes over.
