‘Terroir’ Turns the Vineyard into a Killer Playground

A vineyard holiday turns deadly in Terroir, a new horror short blending wine tasting, revenge, and razor-sharp wit. Written, directed, produced and edited by filmmaker Casey Rogerson, the 13-minute horror comedy is making its way through a packed October festival circuit, with screenings confirmed at Screamfest in Los Angeles, the New York Shorts International Film Festival, the San Diego International Film Festival, and the Vancouver Horror Show.

Described as ‘Scream meets Sideways’, Terroir follows a young wine critic, played by Madison Hu, who reluctantly returns to a French vineyard one year after giving it a scathing review. Hoping to mend relationships with the owners, she instead finds herself stalked by a masked killer with a taste for revenge. As the bodies begin to pile up, what starts as a weekend of reconciliation soon ferments into blood-soaked chaos among the vines.

Hu, a rising star with over a million followers on social media, is known for The Brothers Sun, The Boogeyman, and Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark. Her quick-witted screen presence brings balance to the film’s shifting tones of tension and comedy. She is joined by Leenya Rideout as the intimidating vineyard matriarch Madame Laurent, Naomi Rubin as one of the ill-fated friends, João Santos as Madame Laurent’s son, and John R. Howley as a fellow guest caught up in the violence.

Rogerson, currently a directing fellow at the American Film Institute Conservatory, developed Terroir while studying at Columbia University, combining his love of horror cinema with a satirical look at the world of wine criticism and creative ego. His background in New York theatre and comedy lends the film a distinctive energy, heightened by its meticulous editing and rich visual palette.

In addition to its festival run, Terroir will be screened throughout October at Amalthea Cellars in New Jersey as part of a series of wine tasting and film events – a suitably atmospheric venue for a film about deadly viticulture.

Terroir screens at the New York Shorts International Film Festival on Sunday, 12 October at Cinema Village, with the same-day Screamfest showing at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. It then heads to San Diego International Film Festival on 16 and 19 October, before appearing at the Vancouver Horror Show on 17 October.

Terroir trailer