Skintown Movie News: Kieron J. Walsh’s New Film Buzz

It’s the mid-90s in Northern Ireland. The IRA ceasefire is holding, the peace process is grinding forward, and for two best friends stuck in a tiny town, the future looks… bleak. Enter a get-rich-quick scheme that involves a whole lot of pills, a bit of danger, and the kind of reckless optimism that only youth can provide. That’s the setup for Skintown, the new film from director Kieron J. Walsh, and we’ve got an exclusive first look at the chaos.

The movie stars Chris Walley (The Young Offenders) and Jack Rowan (Peaky Blinders) as two pals who decide that the best way to escape their dead-end lives is to dive headfirst into the dodgy world of dealing pharmaceuticals. It’s a buddy comedy with a countercultural pulse, set against the backdrop of a nation holding its breath. In the new clip, the pair are making a sales pitch that’s equal parts enthusiastic and disastrous, trying to move their product with the kind of confidence that suggests they have absolutely no idea what they’re doing. And honestly? That’s the charm.

The clip opens with the duo in a car, presumably on a mission that’s about to go sideways. Walley’s character, all nervous energy, is trying to lay out the plan while Rowan’s character looks like he’s already regretting every decision that led to this moment. There’s a knock on the window, a quick exchange, and the kind of awkward haggling that feels less like a drug deal and more like two lads trying to sell a secondhand sofa. It’s funny, tense, and very, very Irish.

What’s striking about Skintown is how it uses its historical setting. The film doesn’t fire a single bullet; instead, it focuses on the quieter, weirder aftermath of conflict. The ceasefire is a strange limbo - a time where the violence has stopped but the reasons for it haven’t fully evaporated. For these two friends, the conflict isn’t about politics or ideology. It’s about opportunity. With the Troubles officially (mostly) over, the only thing left to fight is boredom, poverty, and the overwhelming urge to get the hell out of a small town that’s closing in on them.

The movie leans into that itch, offering a snapshot of a generation that grew up with war as a backdrop and now has to figure out what to do with peace. The answer, apparently, is to sell contraband to the neighbors. It’s a sneaky clever premise, wrapped in the familiar trappings of a crime comedy. You’ve got the big dream (escape), the unlikely partners (the sensible one and the loose cannon), and the plan that’s doomed from the start (selling pills in a town where everyone knows everyone). What could go wrong? Everything. Everything could go wrong, and that’s exactly what we want to watch.

Walsh, who helmed the cult classic The Killer and has a strong TV pedigree with shows like The Alienist, brings a sharp, energetic eye to the material. He’s excellent at balancing grit with gallows humor, and Skintown looks like it fits squarely in that wheelhouse. The performances are key here. Walley and Rowan have a natural, bickering chemistry that feels lived-in - you buy that these two have been friends since childhood, have fought, made up, and fought again, and will probably end up in a ditch together before the credits roll.

The exclusive clip is a perfect microcosm of the film’s tone. It’s scrappy, quick-witted, and grounded in the kind of mundane ridiculousness that makes crime stories about real people so appealing. There’s no glamour here, no slick suits or neon lights. Just a couple of lads in a car, trying to hustle their way out of a situation that’s probably going to get them in more trouble than they can imagine.

MovieBuzz’s take: Skintown is shaping up to be one of those hidden gems that festival audiences will be talking about for years. It’s a period piece that doesn’t feel dusty, a comedy that doesn’t shy away from the tension simmering beneath the surface, and a crime film where the biggest threat might be the buyer’s parents finding out. If you’re looking for a fresh take on the Irish crime story - one that swaps guns for blister packs - this is the one to keep on your radar.

We don’t have a release date locked in yet, but with clips this good, expect Skintown to make some noise on the circuit soon. For now, enjoy the exclusive look at two lads trying to sell their way to freedom, one pill at a time. It’s messy, it’s charming, and it’s a proper good time.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter