The Horror Show
Jug Face
Directed by Chad Crawford Kinkle
Months ago, I decided to search for a list of recent “unknown” horror films. Jug Face was on that list. I looked up a summary and decided that it could be worth my time. I spent more time than I’m proud of trying to find a way to watch this movie. Now I’m kicking myself because it’s currently available on Hulu. I certainly enjoyed this movie but I wasn’t in love with it either.
In the deep woods, there is a cult of hillbillies who worship a muddy pit. The pit sends visions to the chosen sculptor, Dawai. While under the influence of the pit, he sculpts a jug with a face on it; this person is to be sacrificed to the pit. In return, it will heal its followers and keep them free of disease. Ada, daughter of the cult leader, discovers that she is the next jug face. Its not like her life could get any tougher. I mean, she’s in an incestuous relationship with Jessaby, her brother, she’s pregnant, she’s been entered into an arranged marriage, and everyone thinks she’s been fooling around with Dawai. In fear, she hides the jug. The pit is enraged. It starts killing the locals but punishes Ada by forcing her to view the killings through the creature’s eyes. A ghost dubbed “the shunned boy,” stalks her and warns Ada that she cannot escape her fate. The boy also reveals that her grandfather hid a jug face, an act in which the town did not forgive him for. He was poisoned and left unable to take care of himself. Ada convinces Dawai that they need to flee for the life of her baby. This movie had one of those endings that can leave a viewer disappointed. It makes the viewer question if the ride was worth it in the end?
Now, if you don’t want spoilers I would recommend skipping this paragraph because I would like to talk about the ending. Ada died because she didn’t want to be responsible for any more deaths. This ending was a major disappointment but unfortunately, it was a necessary one. The entire movie Ada was trying to escape her responsibilities and was set free at every turn. She was caught stealing, she was engaged, was pregnant, and she was in an incestuous relationship. The person who caught her stealing didn’t confront her, her fiancé died, she lost the baby, and her brother died. Even though she was free of one responsibility the repercussion was much worse. By the end of the film she’d had enough. She didn’t want to be the death of Dawai. She stopped running from her community and accepted her fate with open arms. You can’t run away from what you are. If she had successfully escaped, she wouldn’t have learned this lesson.
My real problem with this movie wasn’t the ending. It was the shunned boy. He was little more than a plot device. He appeared halfway through the movie just to explain what was going on. The worst part was that he didn’t reveal any new information relevant to the plot. The only bit he dropped on us was her grandfather’s back-story. Other than that, he didn’t do anything that her grandfather couldn’t have done. In fact, if her grandfather could talk, the shunned boy would have been irrelevant. They could’ve used the shunned boy as an outside source of information on the pit. He could’ve hinted at the origins of the pit or its motives. If they gave away more than a hint the mystery would’ve been ruined. (Throwing us a bone would’ve been awesome though.)
My favorite part about this movie was the pit. It was mysterious and ominous. The opening credit sequence loosely gave us a small back-story on the pit. We never saw what was in the pit, and that’s what makes it scary, the fear of the unknown. We don’t even see it kill. We just saw through the creature’s eyes while it struck. Then, the remains were discovered leading back to the pit. It was very Lovecraftian in these regards. That’s my favorite type of horror. I just like letting my imagination fill in the blanks. We have no idea if the pit was a demon, ghost, angel, deity, or alien even. For all we knew there was nothing in the pit and it just somehow physically manifested itself. I personally like to imagine that it was a cosmic entity beyond the comprehension of man. We can never see something scarier than what we’ve already imagined. That’s what was so awesome about this creature (or whatever it was).
Jug Face was a bit pessimistic but I liked it. I thought the acting was fantastic. I wouldn’t be surprised if these actors were actually hillbillies. Lauren Ashley Carter and Sean Bridgers both return from The Woman. Bridgers’ role in Jug Face was quite different from that in The Woman. Going from a psychopathic abusive father to a sympathetic friend, it really spoke towards his acting ability. Carter played, ironically, a pregnant teen in The Woman. In Jug Face, she has a fire in her and is more capable of taking charge than in The Woman. This change allowed her to successfully carry Jug Face on her shoulders. She was even willing to go topless in this movie, which took dedication. It was not a disappointment. I recognized that Jug Face was a good movie, but I couldn’t get past the cheesy plot device. The end of the movie can leave some people unhappy, I know it did me. If you can look past it though, then definitely watch it. It won’t be free on Hulu forever!
Billy Wayne Martin, HMS
The Horror Show Menu.