Knives and Skin

Carolyn is a martyr for Reeder's message-a complex and twisted commentary on the plights of human nature.

Reeder is deadly serious about the film's themes of teenage girls' fears, desires and demons, though there's a fair amount of deadpan black comedy...

Social satire's strange sights and sounds are sure to stick with you.

The positive qualities lie in the surrealistic film's bold cinematography, distinctive use of music, and diversity of cast, though that's not enough to redeem this tedious viewing experience.

Knives and Skin is a welcome reprieve from its genre-mates' sameness, borrowing and blending elements from assorted storied predecessors to create something mysterious, hypnotic and malevolent.

Like the songs sung by its young cast, Knives and Skin feels like cinematic karaoke, lacking in authorship or deeper meaning.

Knives and Skin tackles a number of heavy topics. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter if things get dark in the midst of the film’s beautiful colour palette.

More interested in emotions than a straightforward narrative, Jennifer Reeder's Knives and Skin is simultaneously compelling and confounding.

Characters are allowed to be shown as problematic and exist without moralistic overtones.

Part psychological lucid dream, part feminist coming-of-age tale, and even part musical, Knives and Skin is a sharply experimental effort from writer/director Jennifer Reeder.