Movies
Vile
“Within the subgenre that Vile lives, aka torture porn, the movie will be a sure hit.”
Almost forty years ago, in July 1961, psychologist Stanley Milgram started a series of social psychology experiments. These experiments, based on Nazi war criminals and their heinous acts, were devised to answer a simple question – How far are people willing to go when instructed by authority?
Vile, a new film written by Eric Beck and directed by Taylor Sheridan, hones these experiments in a familiar setting.
After a long introduction, where the game of “Would You Rather?” takes precedence, the story begins. Nick, played by none other than Beck, and his pregnant girlfriend Tayler, stop for gas late one night after a few days of camping with their friends Tony and Kai. The setup from here is simple. An attractive, older woman approaches Nick at the station claiming that her car has run out of gas up the road and she needs a lift back. Once they reach her car, the “strange cougar” entices the girls in the car with samples of perfume she personally makes and sells. As Tayler rolls her eyes once more to Nick’s succumbing to this woman’s plea, the woman reappears in a gas mask and sprays toxic fumes into the car.
Fast forward hours or days later, where the four friends sit tied to chairs, with two vials (Get it? Vial. Vile. No?) attached to the base of their skulls and wired into their brains, while another group of strangers stare them down, asking why they are there and mumbling about a mysterious video. Greg, the strong leader of the group of strangers says he cannot wait – grabs a pair of pliers and eagerly pulls a fingernail from Kai’s hand.
This action sets off a timer on a tv screen which once more plays the mysterious video.
They have 22 hours to fill the vials on the back of their heads. The vials will only be filled if the wearer experiences pain. The group concludes they need the chemicals to create a drug made from dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline. Said drug can only be made by experimenting on people. Cue an hour of the group torturing each other in various ways including hot irons, boiling water, and tools.
Reminiscent of Cube and Saw, Vile definitely produces the fear and paranoia a group of strangers would have in such circumstances – and it holds it all up with piles of torture and gore. If you get off on seeing innocent people subjected to horrific pain and Vile (haha!) situations, then you will definitely enjoy this film!
For someone who knows how detrimental medication can be to the quality of life – and the horrific circumstances if one does not get such medication – I would’ve loved to have seen this side of the story explored further. We are definitely blind as to what goes into making drugs safe and producing said drugs to begin with. And, as the film tries to show, it is true that people don’t care where the medicine comes from, they will just pay for it and be on their way.
For those who search beyond visual gore for a solid meaning to a story, Vile gives you a taste of what could be a thought provoking film – but just falls short. Had there been more explanation or purpose to said drug, I think my reaction would’ve been stronger.
It would have also helped if the DVD had not arrived with a big “postage due” sticker – which I then had to pay. That, in itself, was pretty Vile.
However, within the subgenre that Vile lives, aka torture porn, the movie will be a sure hit.
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
Adam Simon (The Haunting in Connecticut, “Salem”) and Tim Metcalfe (The Haunting in Connecticut, Kalifornia) penned the script. The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallace.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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