Not an easy movie to find - it's never had a DVD release - but worth making the effort to track it down on the festival circuit or on one of its rare showings on cable TV in Mexico.
Prolific Mexican director Leopoldo Laborde returns to the well-trodden path of teenage dysfunction for this sex-filled and occasionally gory psychological thriller.
Diego and Karina are 16-year-old ex-lovers who rekindle their relationship in a no-holds-barred manner.
But hovering on the periphery of this conscious recoupling is Karina's mother, who is eager not to miss out on young Diego's vigour herself.
The first part of the film charts Diego's affairs in unflinching detail, but rather than mere titilation, you realise by the end that it is setting the scene for Diego's breakdown. And a third woman begins to make appearances in Diego's arms; a mannequin, which he is also seen having sex with. Is it a dream? Or a nightmare?
It is always likely to end in tears and it does - but that is only the start of Diego's problems as the final 20 minutes of suffocating tension chart his mental decline as he tries desperately to play the hand he's been dealt. This section - not for the faint-hearted - explains why the film is often found in horror festivals.
Like many of Laborde's efforts, Piel Rota was made on a shoe-string budget but the director is well-versed in not overstretching himself, so it doesn't distract too much from the story he is telling. The actors in the most part are amateurs and while it shows, again, it doesn't jar too badly. The film weighs on the shoulders of Luis Fernando Schivy as Diego, and he bears it - and bares it - well.
(NOTE This review is of the version that airs on Mexican TV; an unrated version stretches another 90 seconds, and a tamer version with much of the nudity removed is sometimes featured on Laborde's YouTube account.)
Prolific Mexican director Leopoldo Laborde returns to the well-trodden path of teenage dysfunction for this sex-filled and occasionally gory psychological thriller.
Diego and Karina are 16-year-old ex-lovers who rekindle their relationship in a no-holds-barred manner.
But hovering on the periphery of this conscious recoupling is Karina's mother, who is eager not to miss out on young Diego's vigour herself.
The first part of the film charts Diego's affairs in unflinching detail, but rather than mere titilation, you realise by the end that it is setting the scene for Diego's breakdown. And a third woman begins to make appearances in Diego's arms; a mannequin, which he is also seen having sex with. Is it a dream? Or a nightmare?
It is always likely to end in tears and it does - but that is only the start of Diego's problems as the final 20 minutes of suffocating tension chart his mental decline as he tries desperately to play the hand he's been dealt. This section - not for the faint-hearted - explains why the film is often found in horror festivals.
Like many of Laborde's efforts, Piel Rota was made on a shoe-string budget but the director is well-versed in not overstretching himself, so it doesn't distract too much from the story he is telling. The actors in the most part are amateurs and while it shows, again, it doesn't jar too badly. The film weighs on the shoulders of Luis Fernando Schivy as Diego, and he bears it - and bares it - well.
(NOTE This review is of the version that airs on Mexican TV; an unrated version stretches another 90 seconds, and a tamer version with much of the nudity removed is sometimes featured on Laborde's YouTube account.)
