Mezcal Mayhem: ‘Rotgut’ Unleashes a Worm-Fuelled Nightmare
Every once in a while, you tend to discover a film that makes you say out loud, “What was that?” as the end credits roll. This can be usually a bad thing, but sometimes a good thing. However, in a few rare cases, it’s neither, because you honestly cannot decide which way off the fence to fall.
Rotgut came to me amongst a pile of juicy lovelies off eBay and has sat around a while tempting all who pass by with a cover that promises loads of nasties, but you know isn’t going to deliver what you want. Anyhow, months pass by and your anticipation grows, you need to reveal its delicate goodies.
Finally, sitting with my Partner in Gore, Willow, I unleashed whatever awaited and decided within the first few minutes that this was a review in the making.
Rotgut comes off like Street Trash and Slither, but with some confusing CGI — confusing as to say that in some scenes it wasn’t really needed. Anyhow, I digress by jumping ahead. Billy Garberina has some good credentials as an actor mainly and directing a handful of films. Billy and writer Devin O’Leary have worked together a lot so know how to knock together a low-budget bit of crimson entertainment.
We open to a warehouse throwing out bottles of some hardcore tequila knock off rotgut booze and a couple of hobos, D.R. and Quinch (nice 2000ad mention there) grab one to share. “This has a worm in it!” gasps Quinch staring at the bottle of Mezcal and doesn’t drink it. D.R. swigs off the whole darn lot only to become victim of some hokey effects work afterwards. His buddy runs off splattered with blood.
Next, after the credits come, a prolonged intro to everybody due to arrive at this movie’s plot, with their names at the bottom of the screen. These sequences do absolutely nothing to get our interest unfortunately, but not a bad try. It’s all going to go down at a seedy back street Mexican bar managed by depressed and overworked plus underappreciated Leon (played by Jeremy Owen who all said and done is one of the only cast members who is acting not just talking monotone or overstating their lines).
Soon the rest of the cast swan in to take their places at the bar. Deena, the bargirl, is in an abusive relationship and has had her soul broken. Verna is in an abusive relationship with her girlfriend and loves to state how she doesn’t do dick. Tom is a newcomer to the gaggle of lost folks — he’s wearing a tuxedo and a bad hairdo. The Professor is… enough of this shit! You get the point!
Another horror review website states that the acting is good throughout — err, I will openly dispute that. No one pulls up trees and deserves that statement. Most are fair middle-of-the-road, but Paul Alsing as The Professor and Megan Pribyl as Deena are the worst over-the-top verbally stiffly forcefully stating each word of the script acting voids I have seen in a long time. In fact, they would be kicked off a porno movie for their low rent abilities. Unfortunately, they’re two of the main characters as well!!! Even if they were performing slam poetry, they’d be DOA.
Leon hasn’t been able to afford the latest booze delivery due to the boss taking money out constantly and not caring, so he’s managed to rake together $30 to buy a few bottles of… you guessed it, Mezcal — the drink that’s gonna spill the red ink!
One of the barflies, Sloppy, takes the plunge and drinks the bottle, worm included. Also, Quinch, who ran away from D.R. at the start comes in, shaken up, and sees the bottle. He screams about worms eating from the inside and munching eyes then runs out of the back door, barricading it. One escape route has now been deleted. Then Deena’s knuckleheaded other half turns up, and Sloppy falls down in the toilets, not feeling too good. Shit’s about to hit the fan.
Meanwhile, there’s three official dudes marching around accompanied by comedy music looking for the offending bottles. We keep going back to them throughout the film and they suck. Nothing is funny, nothing has a point. We don’t care! We’re waiting for the ravenous horde of brain eating zombies as promised by the DVD cover!!!
The biggest highpoint and recommendation for Rotgut is the use of Angry Johnny and the Killbillies on the soundtrack for the background of the barroom. Awesome! One of my fave bands that I reviewed recently (see Bloodgrass, Murder Ballads, and Killville Tales: A Journey into Angry Johnny and the Killbillies’ ‘What’s So Funny?’)
So, the worms in the bottles breed inside the human body and explode out, looking for another host to continue their line. This is done by a big of practical FX and a lot of CGI which, honestly, simple practical could have been used now and then to save humiliation.
Along comes a duo of Pulp Fiction rip-off stick-up kids out of their faces on drugs and holding the place up. They lock the front door. The phone has been cut off due to the owner not paying. The stick-up kids take everyone’s mobiles and throw them in the toilet. So, whilst the ravenous horde of brain eating zombies multiply, there’s no way out or communication with the outside world.
I’m a plain sucker for flicks where a small group are trapped and trying to survive against some kind of nightmare. Think of Demons, The Thing, Prince of Darkness, and such. Rotgut does it similar and I enjoyed it even with its ravenous horde of flaws. Willow, on the other hand, gave it a raised eyebrow and a puzzled look throughout. That means she didn’t like it, basically questioning its existence.
The direction is inventive and able to capture some great angles for the action sequences, plus a round of applause and a Severed thumb in the air for the effects team, lead by Hank Carlson who worked on Mindwarp, Buffy, Jigsaw (the 2002 one), and a few others over the decades.
So, all in all, Rotgut is a bit of a drag but pays off in the end (aside from the ridiculous tagged on conclusion that threatened a sequel which never happened). Camp Motion Pictures are known for stuff like this, check the huge trailer reel on the extras. Go in expecting stupid hokey trash and that’s what you’ll receive.
I have added an extra point to my score below simply because Angry Johnny and the Killbillies are hard boiled into the soundtrack. Had they appeared, this would have been a solid 4 or 5.
Directed by: Billy Garberina
Written by: Devin O’Leary
Produced by: Craig A Butler
Cinematography by: Vince Nardi
Music by: Angry Johnny and the Killbillies, Paul Amos
Edited by: Craig A Butler, Sarah Northrop
Special Effects by: Hank Carlson, Dayan Morgan-Sylvaen, Jiji Hise, Daylyn Kira, Daniel Luke Fitch
Cast: Jeremy Owen, Megan Pribyl, Eric Bodwell, Aaron Worley, Merritt C Glover, Whitney Moore, Billy Barberina, Charlie Dearing, Paul Alsing
Year: 2012
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Runtime: 1h 40min
Distributor: Camp Motion Pictures
Official Website: rotgut.weebly.com
