THE TAINT (2011)- A FILM GUTTER REVIEW

75 mins, USA, Dir. Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson

There are lots of films that I look forward to watching here at Film Gutter, and there are those that are simply random 'stumble across' numbers. When I saw The Taint, it occurred to me how criminally little of Troma's work I had reviewed – from memory it may only have been Combat Shock, which is a film I have a really soft spot for – so I figured it was about time I tried to rectify that situation, starting with one of the more recent offerings from the B-movie giant. I expect this is the sort of realisation that might well spur a host of new reviews, but we'll see – I often just follow my heart when deciding what to review next. I’d love to say there’s a long-term strategy, but I’d be lying through my teeth…

Anyway, let's come back to The Taint, a low-budget 2011 offering exploring the story of Phil O'Ginny (a play on the word philogyny, which is relevant to the story, trust me) as he stumbles through a nightmarish wasteland caused by tainted water. The water itself causes men to go insane,  brutalising and killing any women that they encounter – a sort of cheaper, sleazier version of The Screwfly Solution if you would. That reminds me, The Screwfly Solution is great. You should go and check that out.

Phil is determined not to drink any of the water, and when he meets Misandra he is determined to ensure her safety. It's a tale of survival without too much of an end goal, which somewhat holds it back – there's nothing much by way of a grand scale, so the final product feels a bit aimless and grubby.

There are some interesting moments throughout the film, and the odd scene where it really comes to life – there are some good moments of drama when Phil and Misandra meet some of the more dangerous individuals within the story, and the backstory of how 'the taint' itself occurs is interesting – if weirdly presented – and adds something to the message about sexism and mysogny that happens within the story.

It's one of those movies that I ultimately feel could have been a bit more – in the line of reviewing I'm more than happy to concede that there are plenty of limitations in terms of budget and such in many of these independent films, and The Taint does a decent enough job on the whole. However I think where it is flawed is the fact that it wears its message a bit too much on its sleeve – especially with its denouement – and the plot is maybe a little too light to really leave a lasting impression. It could easily have said more by being a bit more ambitious in the narrative sense, so for me there's that vague feeling that this could have been more than it was.

RATING: 5/10. Right down the middle for me on this one – when I weighed up the pros and cons on this one I felt it was the fairest mark I could come up with. It does some interesting stuff in its short timespan, and if you like Troma at large you’ll probably get something out of this one. But the missed opportunities here prevent this one from reaching too high on the scale, so it’s a bang-average 5/10.

There are certainly moments and scenes that work well within The Taint, and the acting and effects are perfectly adequate for what the movie is out to achieve. However the overriding impression is that it could have achieved more – it's not exactly angling to be a post-apocalyptic masterpiece, but even with its distinctly tongue-in-cheek tone it could have aimed somewhat higher. I'd say it's worth a watch if you like the work of Troma and that ilk of film, but not something that I would consider unmissable.