Hey gang, Valkor here. With Halloween soon upon us, it's time to get into the mind set in all things "spooky". For me? I'm all about scary movies and I have a few treats lined up that I'm sure you'll wanna add to your rotation. Let's kick things off with the latest in torture horror – Vile. I found out about this film from a friend who tweeted something about a "cheese grater"; my first guess was "Farmhouse", which I reviewed and it's awesome. But as I soon discovered, it was more than just cheese grater terror that I would have to sit through. So much more...
Vile centers on a group of four friends returning home from a camping trip. Along the way they stop for gas and is approached by a very attractive woman whose car has also run out of gas, but half a mile from where their location. The woman is returned to her car and as a "thank you" she offers the women of the group perfume samples. But instead of something sweet, they get the gas. When they are awaken, they find themselves in a house locked away with five others, each with a device strapped to the back of their heads containing two vials – one is empty and the other contains an unknown liquid. The group watches a video that explains to them what the devices are – the empty vial is a container to collect a specific brain fluid, which would then be sold on the drug market. This fluid can only be obtained when the body experiences extreme pain, which means the group will have to violently torture one another until they get enough of this liquid. And they'll have 22 hours to collect it or else face death (that other vial contains a deadly cocktail).
The group agrees to the demands (some more outspoken than others) and with a room full of pain goodies, they proceed to pound, bash, pull, scrape, burn, boil, and tear the flesh off of one another until the demands are met. Now I don't mean to make it sound like a free for brawl, because there are dramatic breaks plus accusations of other person's involvement in the pain project, between the tortures; which is good because I almost didn't make it through this picture.
Thinking about it now… I just threw up a little in my mouth.
The Good:
I've cringed through my share of torture horror before (i.e. Train, Grotesque…) and just when I think I've seen it all, something new pops up to make me queasy all over again. Vile is an excellent film, showcasing brutal depictions of pain and emotion; these people hardly know one another and yet they put themselves through some serious punishment for the sake of their freedom. It's touching yet riveting. Much of the tortures are implied, with only audio cues to let you know its happening. But that makes it even more terrifying because then our imagination takes over, making those scenes appear that much more terrifying. The story is OK and pretty straightforward, with nary a twist to be found; there's a slight one at the end, but nothing that's gonna blow the roof off of this film. Vile offers up a series of painful tortures to watch and their a sight to behold – cheese grater to the arm, hands in boiling water, and a wrench to the face are just some of the horrific sights you'll witness as you painstakingly make your way through this film. There were a few times I didn't think I was gonna make it without a vomit bag (I came seriously close at the steam iron). Finally PerfectView goes out to Maya Hazen, though she was quite teh bitch... she was one sexy bitch! In the end, Vile offers up some high quality horror that's painful yet entertaining to watch.
The Bad (Spoiler):
First issue I had with the film was that it was slow at times; but in this case, some people might appreciate the breaks. But my biggest gripe was at the end. Upon completion of their task, the group is directed towards another device where their head gear can be removed. Once that's done, they can leave, but one at a time. Last one behind is Tayler (April Matson) along with near dead body Greg (Rob Kirkland). Greg eventually dies and the count drops from 100 to 88% with 11 minutes left to collect the final 12%. This is bullshit because two characters died before hand and the count never dropped. Hmmmm… now that I think of it, the group picked up a smaller dead body to extract her vial. You'd think they would wanna take Greg first, you know… since he's the biggest and heaviest.
The Ugly:
Wooooooo too many to choose from! Watch the film and you'll see what I mean.
Vile is available now on DVD and digital download (i.e. Amazon instant video and Netflix) and it's torture horror at its finest. This Halloween prepare to squeal, scream, and cringe your way through 90 minutes of terror. I highly recommend it. And out of TOV 5 stars, I'm giving Vile a 3.5 and it's been Valkor Viewed, TOV Approved!
