It might be news to you, but apparently there is an area just past Barstow in the Mojave Desert known as “Wineville,” because of all the family vineyards. Grapes love that desert soil, right? Tess Lott’s family used to operate one of them, but it has fallen on hard times—not that she cares. She left her abusive home and never intended to return. However, when her despised perv-father died without a will, she ironically inherited.
Naturally, that really frosts her nasty Aunt Margaret, who lives on the Lott lot in a white trash bungalow. It also worries, Joe “Lott,” a “foundling” her father unofficially adopted. He has big plans to return the vineyard to its former glory. He also picks up women on the highway, luring them to their violent, painful death. However, her sort-of brother acts sufficiently normal for Lott to trust him to look after her son, Walter while she deals with the estate.
It is hard to say which will make viewers feel more unclean. The vicious murders or the horrific flashbacks to the sexual abuse Tess survived. Together, they make Wineville a spectacularly miserable viewing experience. It is billed as a retro slasher, but it has none of the sub-genre’s guilty thrills. Instead, it just rubs our noses in its grossness.
Weirdly, Roderick is not bad as the grown-up Tess Lott. She might make a pretty good final girl-mom in a better horror movie. Her on-screen performance is the best thing she has going for her as the director.
Presumably, cinematographer Fabian Montes-Sanchez was going for a throwback 1970s look, but visually, the film is so garish and murky, even the innocuous scenes are unpleasant to endure. Wineville is just no fun whatsoever. If you are going to watch, you will need plenty of hard alcohol to chase it down, but the hangover will be a killer. Not recommended, it releases tomorrow (9/10) on VOD.
