Vile is a 2011 American horror film directed by Taylor Sheridan in his directorial debut and starring Eric Jay Beck, April Matson, Akeem Smith, Greg Cipes, Maya Hazen, Heidi Mueller, and McKenzie Westmore. It follows ten kidnapped captives who have 22 hours to mount an escape from a locked room, and must endure excruciating pain in order to win their freedom. It premiered at the Film4 FrightFest on August 26, 2011 before its wide release in the United States on June 24, 2012.
The film opens with a man enduring gruesome torture, setting a dark tone. Later, four friends, including Nick and his pregnant wife, unknowingly get involved in a twisted game after helping a stranded woman at a gas station. They wake up tied in a house, learning they're part of a sinister experiment. The game demands extracting a brain chemical through pain within 22 hours.
As tensions rise, internal conflicts emerge, leading to intense physical torture and unexpected alliances. Nick, driven by vengeance, unravels the dark secrets behind the sadistic game. The climax reveals the orchestrator's identity, and Nick seeks justice for the atrocities. The ordeal's aftermath leaves scars, both physical and emotional, as Nick emerges as the sole survivor.
Taylor Sheridan, who went on to write Sicario and Hell or High Water and write and direct Wind River, is credited as director on the film. However, he does not consider the film his directorial debut, stating in a 2017 Rotten Tomatoes interview: