Chateau Sauvignon: Terroir, from the USA, was the second short film shown at Horror-Rama. It starts with a teenage boy named Nicolas working in a winery when a black SUV pulls up with potential customers asking if they’re still open. The son wants to let them in but his father wants to send them away, painting a picture of his abusive nature towards Nicolas. He defies him anyway by giving them a wine tasting. He even does it for free. On top of that, both men must help take care of their terminally ill mother/wife. This sets up the dynamics of the family-owned and operated business.

Written and directed by D. M. Night Maire, he creates an atmosphere that supplies creepy world-building showing off the fog-laden, isolated winery and the accompanying estate where they live. It’s reminiscent of the classic Universal Monster movies. It has some impressive wide shots revealing the beautiful setting with great use of colour. The impressive gore effects are another plus but things do get problematic because some framing and camera angle choices are distracting. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s happening because the unnecessary shaky cam effect is used too much. It’s not a very well-rounded story that feels incomplete lacking character development and it has a confusing resolution.

Michael Lorz plays Nicolas. He acts well in the role of a damaged, shy, polite, timid person with likeable qualities. His performance shows the complexity of his complicated character. Sean Weil is Patrick, his father. He’s good too as the malicious antagonist. Unlike his son, he has no redeeming qualities. Pooya Mohseni only appears briefly from time to time as the mother/wife but her noteworthy performance is still commendable.

Overall, it starts strong but gets muddled along the way. The character’s motivations are unclear. I have so many questions about so many things without giving anything away. I’d recommend this to horror aficionados because while the writing feels rushed and some directing choices are bizarre, the terrific acting and gore effects elevate it making the flaws more forgivable. And remember, those aren’t red wine stains.

6 out of 10