Taylor Sheridan once directed a horror flick as favor to a friend, but he really shouldn’t have — here’s why
From writing to acting, Taylor Sheridan is a man of many talents, but he may still have some skeletons in his closet. After initially trying his hand in the acting department, Sheridan turned to screenwriting and found major success. Sheridan soon made his directorial debut with the 2017 crime thriller 'Wind River,' but in reality, he had already kicked off his directing journey with a low-budget horror movie in 2011. Sheridan rarely talks about it, and the fact that it doesn't even have a critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes helps explain why.
In 2011, Sheridan made his directorial debut with a horror film titled 'Vile.' The plot of the movie followed a group of friends who are tricked into a brutal experiment after stopping to help a woman at a gas station. They're soon taken captive and forced to endure extreme physical pain over 22 hours so that a chemical released in the brain under duress can be harvested, per ScreenRant. Despite being credited as the director, Sheridan later distanced himself from the project.
In an interview cited by Rotten Tomatoes, he referred to it as a "bad horror movie" and clarified it wasn't his own creation, saying, "A friend of mine raised—I don't know what he raised, 20 grand or something—and cast his buddies and wrote this bad horror movie that I told him not to direct." Sheridan further added, "He was going to direct it and produce it, and he started and freaked out and called and said, 'Can you help me?" I said, "Yeah, I'll try." Sheridan then admitted, "I kind of kept the ship pointed straight, and they went off and edited and did what they did. I think it's generous to call me the director. I think he was trying to say thank you in some way."
Sheridan also added that the experience was more of a learning opportunity than a passion project, saying, "It was an excellent opportunity to point a camera and learn some lessons that actually benefited me on Wind River." This clarifies why Sheridan does not refer to 'Vile' as his directorial debut because he did not write, cast, or originally plan to direct the film. But when his friend panicked mid-production, he stepped in and ended up with the credit. Notably, the plot was panned by both critics and audiences.
Additionally, 'Vile' has no critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and only a 30% audience rating, with many criticizing its messy plot and frustrating ending, per Fandom Wire. When comparing 'Wind River,' Sheridan's official directing debut, with 'Vile,' it is evident that the Jeremy Renner starrer has a classic Sheridan aesthetic, where a dark, compelling mystery full of sharp dialogue and intense personal involvement takes center stage. 'Vile,' on the other hand, is best seen as a 'gory footnote' before the real showcase of his talents. Even though it wasn't great, 'Vile' still got a Blu-ray release, probably because Sheridan’s name became famous later with shows like 'Yellowstone.'