Vile DVD Review
Written by John Colianni
DVD released by Inception Media Group
Directed by Taylor Sheridan
Written by Eric Jay Beck and Rob Kowsaluk
2012, Region 1 (NTSC), 88 minutes, Not Rated
DVD released on September 12th, 2012
Starring:
Eric Jay Beck as Nick
April Matson as Tayler
Akeen Smith as Tony
Greg Cipes as Sam
Elisha Skorman as Kai
Heidi Mueller as Lisa
Maya Hazen as Tara
Review:
It happens every time. You, your significant other and a few more friends go on some outdoor adventure that ends up being the time of your lives. On your drive back to civilization, you find it necessary to stop for fuel in the sketchiest place that's ever existed on the planet. And that random hitchhiker on the side of the road that always just "needs a lift" to their car? Of course you'll let them in your vehicle without question. That's how almost every one of these types of horror flicks turns out. You may think that maybe some of these individuals has seen Hostel or Saw or The Hills Have Eyes, which would instantly prepare them to not trust anyone or anything ever, but that's never the case. Then, before you know it, you're tied up in some shitty house, basement or ancient bathroom, forced to harvest your own organs to appease some faceless serial killer. Sounds like an awesome weekend to me.
Released by Inception Media Group, Vile puts an interesting twist on a genre that so many sick bastards (such as myself) have been eating up over the past few decades. Take the situation discussed above, add a few other depraved human beings also struggling for their survival and strap devices to their heads meant to extract some type of juice your brain produces when you experience pain. What is the result? Nearly an hour and a half of people owning themselves with ridiculous household appliances, all at the mercy of some crazy bitch of a doctor who is trying to make drugs from chemicals inside your skull. Your only means of escape is to cause enough pain to one another to fill up some gangster looking Windows 3.1 loading bar to 100%. Once again, humanity is completely boned by technology.
Vile has much of what many love from this type of flick: characters we like and hate, a completely implausible situation that never happens unless you pick up strangers at rest stops and cringe-worthy gore. For a relatively unknown film, the production value is pretty high and by no means would I consider this to be low-budget. From the looks of things, a decent amount of time was put into making sure the violence was believable and the acting by almost all of the cast (minus the occasional dumb exchange of dialogue) went above and beyond most. All the usual players show up to add to the fun: the token black guy, a stoner-esque badass, the morally absent hot chick and a few desperately-in-love couples. Trapped, with nothing but a clock counting down to their almost certain demise, everyone goes apeshit crazy. I would almost enjoy flicks like this a little more if they were sped up to about twice the speed and set to a Ragtime soundtrack, just for a change of pace.
For a movie that doesn't stray too far from its roots, I found Vile to still be entertaining and fun when all is said and done. Above average acting, well thought out special effects and cinematography that doesn't look like it was made on the same budget as the pilot episode of Fraggle Rock all add to the novelty of a film that, while it doesn't add anything different than is predecessors, it's still fun and enjoyable. And let's be honest, who doesn't have a grand 'ole time having their finger nails ripped out?
Video and Audio:
In terms of the film's audio and video, I was rather impressed. For a film I've never heard of before I crammed it into m DVD player, Vile was well looked after and cared for in post production. Audio is crisp and on par with any other independent movie I've ever seen. Video does a great job in following suit.
Special Features:
As far as features are concerned, if you're jonesing to see Vile's theatrical trailer and a few scenes that should have just been added to the damn movie to begin with, you can check out some deleted footage and director Taylor Sheridan (literally) mopping up the set. I can go on and on about why these features were negated from the flick to begin with, but most of you reading this probably don't have another three hours to read my ridiculous rant that will almost definitely conclude with everyone thinking I'm more of a dick than I really am.
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