Taylor Sheridan made his directorial debut with the extreme horror movieVile, but here’s why he disowned the final product. Sheridan has become one of the great success stories of the last decade, where he made the transition from little-known character actor to the showrunner behind countless hit movies and shows.
Sheridan’s list of movie and TV creditsincludesYellowstone,Wind Riverand theSicariomovies. Actors and filmmakers are practically lined up around the block to work with him, and his prolific work ethic means there’s rarely a shortage of new Sheridan material.
Much of Sheridan’s output feel like modern-day Westerns, withYellowstoneand its many spinoffsbeing a prime example. One genre he’s definitelynotknown for is horror, despite the factTaylor Sheridan’s first directing credit was 2011’sVile.
Taylor Sheridan Rejects His Directing Credit On The Poorly Received Horror Movie Vile
The success of movies likeSawandHostelduring the 2000s unleashed a wave of “extreme” horror films, which dialed up the violence and torture all the way to 11. Sheridan was a jobbing actor during this period, making guest appearances on series likeNCIS: Los AngelesandVeronica Mars.
His biggest acting gig was playingDeputy Hale onSons of Anarchy, and around this time,Sheridan was asked by a friend to help out on his horror filmVile. This sees a group of friends kidnapped and being given a tight time limit to fill a vial attached to their skulls with a fluid only produced during extreme pain.
Vileisn’t the worst of theHostelwannabes that came during this period, but it’s still a scuzzy, unpleasant watch.It feels utterly unlike anything else in Sheridan’s filmographytoo, which is why it’s kind of fascinating that it’s his first directing credit.
Vile’sproducer, Eric Jay Beck, later co-wrote two episodes ofYellowstone.
However, he rejected this credit during a Rotten Tomatoes interview, with Sheridan revealing he madeVilesolely as a favor. His friend Eric Jay Beck was the producer and director of the film, but ran into trouble once production began.Beck reached out to Sheridan for help, who came onboard as something of a ghost director.
Sheridan says Beck gave him theViledirecting credit as a way to “say thank you” for his efforts, but that it would be “generous” to label him as the actual helmer. He also has no illusions about its quality, callingVilea “bad horror movie.”
Taylor Sheridan “Kept The Ship Straight” On Vile
Sheridan doesn’t discount his experiences on the 2011 horror, though. He claims the production was a great opportunity to get time behind a camera, and “learn some lessons that actually benefited me.” He does push against the notion that he was the creative vision behind the project.
I kind of kept the ship pointed straight, and they went off and edited and did what they did.
A hallmark of Sheridan’s work is that he writes everything he directs and is heavily involved in every aspect of the production. That wasn’t the case onVile, wherehe was a helping hand helping a friend see a low-budget budget production to the finishing line.
Again, this would account for why the movie feels like such an anomaly in Sheridan’s career - despite technically being the film that launched his career. Again, it’s not the worst from the extreme horror boom, butthere’s a reasonVileis little remembered outside its link to Sheridan.
Sheridan Has Called Wind River His True Directing Debut
What really kickstarted the Sheridan empire were his acclaimed screenplays forSicarioandHell or High Water, which both very much carried his modern Western stylings. Their success also gave him the chance to direct his next movieWind River, starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen.
After dismissing hisVilecredit in the aforementioned Rotten Tomatoes chat,Sheridan stated, “I would say [Wind River] is my feature debut.“This tracks, given that the 2017 film features most of his themes and trademarks, including characters dealing with trauma and violence inside indigenous communities.
It also features a couple of ferocious action sequences.Wind Riveris an excellent place to start for those trying to get into Sheridan’s workand is one of the best thrillers of the 2010s.
Vile Is Absolutely Nothing Like Taylor Sheridan’s Other Work
Sheridan has established such a formula that it’s bizarre to look back onVileas the start of his directing career. On a basic level, the film succeeds in its goal of making viewers squirm as the main characters inflict gruesome torture on themselves, but it all feels very hollow.
2011
2017
Those Who Wish Me Dead
2021
Vile’scharacters aren’t especially likable, and the whole thing is so unrelentingly grim that it’s not much funto watch. TheSawmovies may have put an increasing emphasis on creative traps and gore, but they at least had some thematic concerns on their minds and featured veteran actors like Tobin Bell or Donnie Wahlberg.
Vilehas nothing deeper to say than “Wow, pulling out fingernails really stings!” If nothing else, the production gave Sheridan a chance to get familiar working with actors and setting up shots.Sheridan’s move to disown the horror film has less to do with feeling embarrassed and more to do with the fact it isn’t trulyhis.
He didn’t writeVile, edit it or help with the post-production, and it carries almost none of his trademarks. Again, it’s not the worst example of its kind, but, understandably,Taylor Sheridanisn’t pointing to it as a career highlight either.
Vile
Cast
Vile is a 2011 horror thriller that follows a group of strangers trapped in a house with no escape. Each person is fitted with a device that collects brain chemicals produced when in pain, forcing them to inflict harm on themselves and others to secure their freedom.
