This came out about the same time as the Buffy reboot was staked at Hulu. I always thought Chloe Zhao was an odd choice for director. I know she says she’s a super fan, but I haven’t been asked to direct an X-men film yet, and I’m pretty sure I could put those directors under the table on x-Men trivia. Sometimes, you don’t need a fan. In every generation, there is a director. My first instinct was Jane Schoenberg, who tipped the hat with I saw The TV Glow. But after seeing this queer horror audacity, I would ask Alice Maio Mackey, who is a bright young talent, and clearly takes her cues from not just queer cinema, but the kind of campy horror and science fiction that the LGBTQ community obsesses over. let’s face it, Buffy had a queer audience long before Willow got a girlfriend.

The Serpent’s Skin didn’t have audio description, but I rate movies on plot, characters, acting, and tangible things. I don’t just like movies that go boom, or splat. The Serpent’s Skin has a fun story about witches that meet and the more inexperienced one ends up falling for the slightly wiser one,until an en incantation throws their lives in dramatic turmoil. It celebrates community, found family, and has a campy vibe, while also upping the ante on its sensual overtones. It’s sexy, fun, honest, and original.

Yes, I can’t recommend this to a blind audience, because the lack of audio description would be a dealbreaker across the board, especially within this genre. but as a critic, I love the vibes here, the style, the choices being made. As a gay critic, I love the authentic casting in terms of having an LGBTQ cast, platforming trans talent, and still making a man fine film in the process. Sure, it feels like it could fly under the radar, because sadly A24 felt more like releasing things like The moment and The Drama in this part of the year, but it has those same vibes for fans of films like I Saw The TV glow.

My favorite part was the scene where our leads are talking about their powers, and what they can do, and watching them list various abilities took me back to the days of playing with friends, creating characters and claiming multiple power sets. Who wants to be the hero that can just fly, when you can fly, have super strength, invisibility, telekinesis, and a healing factor? Why stop at one power?

The cast, Alexandra McVicker and Avalon Fast specifically, should get more work. Their chemistry here is fun, and I can see an audience getting into this, and building the word of mouth. I don’t mind occasionally throwing a bone to a film like this that feels so far under the radar, and has so much going for it, that even though the strugggle was real, I appreciated it, and wanted more.

It certainly has a style all its own, influenced by exceptional bold filmmakers, yet with an originality sure to get under your skin.

Final Grade: 7.7/10