Wineville

Following her father's death, a woman and her son travel to their family's vineyard to take ownership of the property against the wishes of the workers who stay there, but as they stay to make amends grow alarmed at a series of mysterious disappearances around the property tied to a horrifying truth.

This was a pretty solid and likable genre effort. The main feature here that comes off well enough is the main setup involving the family dynamic at play once they all arrive at the vineyard and how it all plays out. The initial backstory about her disinterest in the property with how her father treated her and how it affects her son when they arrive and make friends with the two still taking care of the property all makes for a great touch with how the day-to-day operations on the place go about. How the attempts at getting them into the way of working on this type of property they run while secretly making the serial killer antics feel like their hidden in plain sight due to the way they all seem perfectly natural in the idea of a vineyard such as this. The few scenes of his psychotic antics come off well enough and provide the brutality necessary to give this a solid punch at the right moment. Outside of this, though, there's not a whole lot going on here. The psycho tendencies might be hinted at throughout the early stages of the film but they're not present in any great degree until the last act leaving much of the film to function about the goings-on at the vineyard and the struggle to ensure it stays running. Operating in this manner where the farmhand and the older woman are there on the property teaching the mother and son about life on the winery and how it all works that it comes off without much in the way of a genre feel for most of the running time. It's way too late in the film to pile on the genre material that this one utilizes which goes on so long it does start to wear waiting for the final strike to get going where it gets questioned repeating things that aren't interesting in the slightest, which is the kind of issue here that brings this one down the most overall.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, intense themes of incest, and sexual content.

I knew going in that this was one of those films that I couldn't compare to a mainstream film. I read all the critic reviews, saw all the disdain for it. To my surprise, it was watchable, and to be fair I've seen weaker plots come out of big budget Hollywood movies. It reminded me a bit of 1998's U-turn, and I'm sure fans of lurid, under-the-radar cinema will find something to enjoy here at least.

And of course there is Joe, who you know from the beginning is a nutcase but you can't help but find him appealing. The actor is definitely a looker. Honestly I don't know whether or not his gay scene was bait or not, and I don't really care (it was kinda hot - until it wasn't).

All in all a very rough, small budget endeavor that plays it a bit safe for the crowd it was aiming for and it shows its weaknesses throughout, though I can't help but feel that with some proper mentoring, a good writing staff, more risks, tighter pacing and better editing, this might have been a solid cult film. As it is though, it's inevitably going to be lost in the wide sea of better produced genre efforts. I admire the attempt though and hopefully it was a valuable learning experience for ?first time?director ms Roderick. I've seen a lot of first worse first attempts, if indeed it was.

This movie is very gory. Brande Roderick does a great job as Tess.

The psychological and physical torture of the main villain by his mother is something to behold.

I would recommend this movie if you were a horror movie buff. This film is not for the faint of heart. There are several scenes that have a lot of gore. The amount of splattering gore was stunning to me. I was not expecting that. If you like horror I would give this movie a look.

Wineville" is a gripping drama based on the true story of the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. The film does a wonderful job of portraying a haunting exploration of crime and justice, making it a compelling watch for fans of true crime and historical dramas. It's a chilling reminder of the darker aspects of human nature. It's definitely worth your time to see this passion project of Brande Roderick's. She really believes in telling this story and you can see it in every aspect of the film. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Brande captures the beauty and ethos that exists between the storyline and its characters.

Wineville (2024), directed by Brande Roderick in her feature directorial debut, is a 1970s-set horror-thriller that blends familial trauma with supernatural suspense. The film follows Tess Lott (played by Roderick), who returns to her family's vineyard after her father's death, only to uncover dark secrets that have festered over the decades .I thought I was a good movie and really scary. I've always wondered about those murders back in the day and this movie does a great job at showing you the timeline and breaking down everything. I think it offers a compelling watch it may not be a conventional horror film kinda lacks traditional horror scares Brande Roderick did a fantastic job at directing this one she really did a good job at capturing the supernatural suspense looking forward to Branden's future projects.