Rob Munday

Initially slated for our Halloween lineup, but postponed due to the abundance of scary shorts on our site this year, Joachim Hérissé’s Écorchée (Skinned) is a stop-motion masterpiece. A macabre story of siamese twins, Hérissé’s twisted tale conjures a nightmarish world that elicits both fascination and fear, making it an experience you’ll simultaneously love and dread.

Described by its creator as a “fairy tale” that takes inspiration from the “classics”, Hérissé introduces us to his conjoined siblings as they watch an empty boat sail down the river outside their house. The character design of Skinned providing the first indication of what to expect from the following 14-minutes or so, its patchwork effect feeling more Frankenstein’s monster than cuddly children’s keepsake.

From this point on the director’s aims of creating a nightmare on-screen were realised through a series of surprisingly gruesome scenes, from the killing, skinning and devouring of a rabbit, to the moment of “separation”. It’s a surreal world, but it all comes from Hérissé’s childhood fears, the characters influenced by fever dreams of his body going from a hollow to a full state, the rabbits a reference to his grandmother, who would remove their fur and make them into slippers.

The sisters, creatively named the Bloated (L) and the Flayed, share more than a bed in short film Skinned

The use of fabric puppets is the real masterstroke here though, as it heightens the unsettling effect of the short, the threads and fibres the perfect substitute for flesh and blood. The decision to use textile marionettes wasn’t a straightforward decision however and it took Hérissé several failed attempts at designing his characters before finding the perfect material. After a quick internet search the filmmaker discovered the work of Aline Bordereau (in particular, her piece Boeuf écorché), prompting him to reach out for a potential collaboration. Fortunately, the artist recognised the shared artistic vision and agreed to craft the puppets for the film.

The palpable nature of the short extends beyond the physical marionettes, with the layered sound design playing a crucial role. From the visceral sound of flesh tearing to the voracious gobbling of meat, the audio elements work in harmony with the character design, crafting an unexpectedly tangible world. It truly exemplifies stop-motion filmmaking at its finest, and this brings me back to a standout quality of Skinned – its remarkable ability to simultaneously enchant and repulse. This nightmare realm is brought to life with exquisite craftsmanship, and for my personal preferences, that fusion is a genuinely perfect combination.