Skull: The Mask (2020) Shudder Movie Review

By Newguy

Skull: The Mask – Gory Crime Thriller

– Skull: The Mask – Photo Credit: Lucas Kappaz/Shudder

Director: Armando Fonseca, Kapel Furman

Writer: Armando Fonseca, Kapel Furman (Screenplay)

Starring: Natallia Rodrigues, Tristian Aronovich, Wilton Andrade, Ivo Muller, Ricardo Gelli, Guta Ruiz, Greta Antonio

Plot: The feature film is an action-packed horror flick depicting a supernatural serial killer based on pre-Colombian mythology in a hunt for revenge in the metropolis of São Paulo.


Tagline – A killer hunt for revenge.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Skull: The Mask starts as an ancient skull from pre-Colombian history is discovered, Galvani Volta (Ruiz) returns to San Paulo for examination only for her partner Lilah (Antoine) to release the ancient evil behind the skull, leaving them both dead.

Detective Beatriz Obdias (Rodrigues) is leading the investigation into the murders, which will see her needing to confront her past and a stranger Manco Ramirez (Andrade) who is looking for his own form of revenge, in a race against time to learn the truth about what is going on.

Thoughts on Skull: The Mask

Characters & Performances – Beatriz Obdias is the detective with a dark past that is leading the investigation to the gory murders, finding herself drawn into the dark world of what could be behind them murders, while also a man trying to gain control of the artifact. She will use her past to help drive her to stop the bodies continuing to pile up. Natallia Rodrigues is great in her leading role, showing the strength needed to make her character standout among the police figure we meet. Manco Ramirez is the man that has been hunting down the killer, preparing for a battle he knows will have closure for something that previously happened in his life. The Skull becomes his own character, hunting down people, being the powerhouse that isn’t going to stop for anything or anyone who gets in his way. The mix of different characters do work for the film, bringing us the victims for the Skull, the people trying to gain control and others that have been waiting to fight for years.

StoryThe story here follows an ancient artifact that gets bought to San Paulo where it gets the evil within it released on the city, with the people becoming the latest victims, while a detective and stranger are both trying to figure out how to stop the killer. This is a story that will give us plenty of bodies, play into mythology from pre-history that will add to the mystery about how to stop the killer, along with a detective needing to redeem herself with this case being the chance for it and the people that want to use the power for their own advantage. Everything in the story does come together well to give us the intense gory levels we get throughout the film, adding more to the story.

ThemesSkull: The Mask is a horror movie that will follow a killer that is relentless in killing people with a ritual style. We have a large bloody, gory body count, which will get to show off different levels of practical effects skills, with each being a different style of injury inflicted.

Skull: The Mask is a blood filled horror movie that is relentless in the kills we see throughout.