Vile is a 2010’s indie horror film with a few wants. It wants to be shocking & intense; it wants to be emotionally impactful with characters you care about, and lastly, it wants to be the next Saw. Here from MVD Marquee Collection is a recent Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a few extras.

Vile is from the year 2011. It was directed by North Carolina-born Taylor Sheridan- it was his debut feature- he’s gone on to make two more features slow-burn murder mystery Wild River (2017) and forest fire-based thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021). He’s also directed a few US TV shows.  It’s co-written by Eric Jay Beck(who plays one of the leads) and Rob Kowsaluk-this is his one & only writing credit.

The whole thing opens with pre-credits that hint we’re in for all-out torture porn- as we see a man strapped down on an operating table with a yellow ball gag in his mouth. A masked and medical-gowned man is cutting into his chest- as he screams & screams- he seemingly removes something, then starts rubbing some white cream into the wound- more screams, and we see fluid dripping into a glass jar, before brief shots of white pills…run credits.

As we get into the film properly, we see two twenty-some couples lounging around in nature on a summer's day. There is Nick (Eric Jay Beck), his girlfriend Tayler(April Matson) who is pregnant- but hasn’t told him. And Asian American Tony (Akeem Smith), and his girlfriend Tara(Maya Hazen). We get a few minutes of some rather flat & badly written dialogue between the four- before they set off on the road again.

Next, they pull up at a rundown gas station in the dark- Nick fills up with fuel- then a flirting middle-aged woman appears from the night with a petrol can. She claims to have broken down a few miles back- so Nick agrees to give her a lift, but Tayler is rather unsure of the woman. The five set off- with the journey going fine- the woman says she’s a perfume maker, and as she exits the car she says she’ll get the woman some samples- she comes back, and gasses the four.

Next, they awake in a basement tied to chairs- looking on are three other people- long haired & cowboy shirt-wearing Sam (Greg Cripes), the rather on-edge Kia( Elisha Skorman), and smartly suited black American Greg( Rob Kirkland). Just as they are coming around Kia rips one of the group's fingernails off- this of course doesn’t go down well- but the three say they are also trapped there- they untie the four, and head upstairs.

The three show them a video of a sinisterly smiling & smartly dressed woman- explaining calmly that they are all here so their Adrenaline, Dopamine, and Oxytocin can be collected from their heads by tubes & collection bottles on the back of their necks. To create these chemicals they have to go through pain- they have twenty-two hours to harvest a certain amount(shown by a percentage line below the clock). And as soon as soon as this is done the group are free to go…so a fairly interesting set-up/ premise.

Unfortunately, there are a few issues. First off the acting is highly mixed, mostly falling on the either flat or over-acting side of things. Next, we get use of ill mood-fitting music- which largely kills any tension or suspense. The promise of the opening torture barely gets fulfilled- as most of it is all mainly off-screen, and when it does appear it looks a bit naff, and lacks the impact this type of thing should have.

Throughout I kept hoping things would improve, and yes there are a few interesting enough twists along the way- but nothing mind-blowing. And as the acting is so mixed you don’t feel sold by the whole thing- so you never really feel or relate to the characters.

So, I’d say if you’re coming to Vile with the promise of brutal torture porn- you’ll be disappointed. And as a tense Saw-like thriller- it’s largely frustrating & ultimately underwhelming. There are a few positives- the woman on the TV screen is creepily effective, some of the twists are ok, and the resolve is alright- though like the rest of the film, it's a little clumsy.

On the extras side, we get two cut scenes, and the director mopping up the bloody floor of the kitchen set- these last around a few minutes each.

The idea/ concept behind Vile is certainly promising/ sound. But sadly what we get is a very much flawed indie horror film, with far too many issues to make it a wholly engaging & tense ride that it should be.