Watch Ben Aston's HE TOOK HIS SKIN OFF FOR ME

Relationships are hard, oftentimes seeming as though no matter what you do it just isn't enough. So goes the basic premise of Ben Aston's fabulous short film He Took His Skin Off For Me, in which a man goes to extreme lengths to satisfy his lover.

'He Took His Skin Off For Me' is a practical SFX fairytale. No CGI whatsoever. Based on the short story by Maria Hummer it is my grad film from the London Film School. It took us 2 years, 217 Kickstarter backers and a whole lot of fake blood to pull off. SFX legend Colin Arthur (NeverEnding Story, 2001: A Space Odyssey) helped us achieve the impossible, allowing SFX Supervisor Jen Cardno and her team set a new standard for anatomical practical effects. Actor Sebastian Armesto (Anonymous, Pirates of the Caribbean) spent as long as 8hrs in makeup each day to bring this story to life. Alongside Anna Maguire (Saving Private Ryan, Parade's End) they both give us something wonderful, horrible and completely unique. I don't want to tell people what the film should be. Even finding a genre to describe it is difficult. I want people to come to this film just like I came to the original story, completely unprepared.

If I can leave with one pearl of wisdom, though; if you take off your skin just to be with somebody? That's only ever going to end messy...

We've been covering this one since the initial Kickstarter campaign - I'm one of the backers - and now its online for everyone. Take a look below.