Cult Movie Challenge 2018 | 44/52 | Vinegar Syndrome
The first phase is hallucinogenic. The second phase is glandular. The third phase is UGHGHGHHH
Vimuville, a chain of health spas, has released a sample of a new “Body Drug” in the Homesville suburb of Melbourne. Ryan, an employee for Vimuville, has discovered that the drugs are having unintended side effects. But when Viuville manager and Ryan’s lover, Shaan, finds out, she doses him before he can leave to warn another family.
When Ryan stops at a gas station, he finds his body revolting against him. He drinks detergent off the shelf to slow what he knows is coming. His throat rips, and he jumps in his car. He tries to document what he’s learned as the police chase after him for speeding. He crashes into a van on Pebbles Court and flies out the window. Tenticles climb out of the hole in his neck and sprawl across his face, but disappear when the police arrive.
Detectives arrive on the scene to question the residents about what they’ve seen. They find his recording and can’t make heads or tails of it. Resident Paul Matthews goes to the airport to meet someone. While there, he starts to see strange people with unusual deformities who subsequently disappear.
The film follows the residents of Pebbles Court as the vitamins start to take effect, all while Shaan orchestrates the whole affair. And also some other weird stuff. Will someone be able to stop Shaan in time, or are they all doomed to a fate like Ryan’s?
While Street Trash did a similar approach with experimenting on people and watching them die in gross ways, I found that one harder to stomach because it targeted unhoused people. Here, with the focus on suburbanites, its satire becomes more apparent.
That said, the movie still upsets me with its fixation on “ugliness,” presenting minor characters with physical defects as though their appearance alone warrants laughter or disgust.
The film doesn’t have much of a coherent structure, since it was initially intended as an anthology. As a result, the film sometimes feels like it’s often going for vibes over narrative. The film manages to coalesce the threads in the end, even if it doesn’t quite add up.
Still, this movie has moments that feel singular in their weirdness. So, despite this being total nonsense, I kind of like this one.
Stray Thoughts / Spoilers
- The hallucinogenic aspect makes the movie hella trippy.
- Whoo boy, this one is gross, dude! I didn’t expect the movie to be this sharp or the effects to look this good.
- Writer/directors Rod Bishop and Phillip Brophy were in an art punk band, so they also did the score for this movie, and it rips!
- I love the way Aussies say “dickhead”