Wineville
“Wineville” is both exactly the type of horror movie you expect it to be, as well as one that has some surprises in it. Its execution is not unlike most slasher films we’ve watched over the years, but the story is unexpected in how it unfolds in a way that is truly creepy and unsettling. Best known for her role on “Baywatch,” star-director Brande Roderick makes a largely predictable slasher film engaging in how she approaches the screenplay by Richard Schenkman.
Roderick has set her film in the late 1970s, as her character, Tess Lott, and her son- Walter (Keaton Roderick Cadrez)- are returning to Tess’s family home. Her family owns a vineyard, and her father has died recently. All who remains on the property is her Aunt Margaret (Carolyn Hennesy) and Joe (Casey King), a young man whom her father took in as a baby, and has helped him run the vineyard. Tess ran away at 16 and didn’t look back, but now, she is back to settle up his affairs. Margaret hopes that she decides to do the right thing by her and Joe, but as the days unfold, teenagers disappearing makes Tess’s sad memories of her family even more potent.
The film does not begin with Tess, but when her and Walter enter the equation, the narrative begins properly. “Wineville” has a familiar structure for a slasher in the vein of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and the “Friday the 13th” reboot back in 2009, but what kept me engaged was the meat in the film. As the reasons for Tess’s leaving her father become clear, we understand why she hopes to get rid of this property as soon as possible- it is not a holder of positive memories. Facing past traumatic events is a powerful motivator for a character, and as the story progresses, and her past and present meet, we see a side to Tess that we care about, and realize that something is going to force her to act again. Roderick understands the assignment as a director and- while we see the moments of terror coming- what they mean for the characters takes us by surprise. It’s a pleasantly surprising dichotomy that the film pulls off well. The film is not nearly as gritty and grimy as it wants to be (a la “Chain Saw Massacre”), but it was a good time as someone who enjoys a well-made slasher film.
