Female Film Critics 24/375
Elizabeth Banks’ latest thriller, Skincare, is a fairly generic ride in the world of beauty and the shallow social pool of Los Angeles. The premise is mildly interesting: A driven and business-savvy aesthetician feels threatened by a rival who moves in across the courtyard from her salon. Her descent into madness while navigating a superficial world and cutthroat industry is shot in a 90s/00s retro way but set in the present day.
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Set in Pikeville, Kentucky, this crime thriller is based on actual events that caused fear, loathing and revenge in rural Appalachia. “You know what’s the worst thing about being dead? You have too much time to think,” muses Susan Smith (Emilia Clarke) as her from-the-grave voiceover teases the Southern Gothic saga about to unfold.
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Despite the best efforts of the cast, the characters are a bit thin to sustain the tension and film starts to falter midway, wavering in tone between thriller and farce. We know things will spiral downward but Silent Panic doesn’t take us anywhere new or unexpected.
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