Chateau Sauvignon: terroir Review

Every year, we receive hundreds of submissions for the upcoming film festival. I’m never quite certain how the overall festival will take shape or which films from the current slate of submissions will make the final cut. The title to “Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” was the first thing that grabbed me. It was an unconventional title for horror film fare. “Chateau Sauvignon” sounds like a French art film about wine, but the word “terroir” hints at something dark beneath.

“Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” opens in an idyllic setting, a winery and tasting room flooded with the warmth of dying summer light. It seems inviting, that is, until one moves in closer to witness the state of disrepair and decay slowly overtaking the winery. A storm cloud rolls in chasing away the remaining rays of sunlight and brings with it a promise of darkness.

“Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” is a short horror film about Nicolas and his family’s efforts to run their winery. Nicolas assists his father and the great lengths he will go to to care for his ailing mother. The winery is warm and inviting, but also quiet and desolate. Seemingly far removed from society and its ills.

Nicolas is fully engaged in the task of caring for his ailing mother and producing the yield provided by the family’s dying business. Heavy tension hangs in the air between Nicolas and his stern father, Patrick, who keeps the business running under strict boundaries. Nicolas goes against his father’s wishes by welcoming in a pair of travelers, Katherine and Anthony, come to celebrate Anthony’s acceptance to medical school.

Nicolas offers the visitors a taste of their wine and a closer look at the secrets contained within the dark recesses of the vats inside Chateau Sauvignon.

Director D.M. Night Maire deftly creates a simple horror short film that he lovingly describes as a slasher film. The short film avoids a lot of the standard slasher fare and tropes and instead offers a glimpse of psychological depth and weight before opening the doors to what lies hidden beneath that welcoming exterior.

The performances from the cast remain strong and convincing from Sean Weil as the disapproving father, Patrick, to the earnest young Nicolas, played by Michael Lorz. The film is told in a straightforward manner that follows Nicolas and his daily efforts to care for his family and please his disapproving father.

The lighting offers warmth when needed and drops into deep chiaroscuro shadows when the tension rises. The soundtrack lets the life and sounds of the winery populate the soundscape and brings Chateau Sauvignon to life with a constant thrum of decay creeping across the setting. “Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” is a short horror film about Nicolas and his family’s efforts to run their winery. “Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” keeps its runtime and storytelling taut at just over thirteen minutes. The dialogue is almost wordless at times and the director lets the events of the film unfold while we watch along helplessly.

“Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” features strong believable performances, gorgeous lighting, and a simple premise that helps brew horror in a landscape caught in the final gasps of its death rattle. The FX on display proved gruesome and convincing enough to garner the “Bloody Best FX” award in this year’s Mad Monster Film Fest.

“Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” marks its director, David M. ‘Night’ Maire, as a young filmmaker to watch. He remains engaged in multiple projects from his home in New York and his short films show a promise that hopefully points to a long and fruitful career as a maker of fear films. For more information on “Chateau Sauvignon: terroir” and David M. “Night” Maire please visit his website at dmnightmaire.com and airebedd.com