Jug Face

(2013) ***1/2

Not to be confused with Jughead, Archie’s affable best pal, Jug Face is about a creepy backwoods, impoverished community where rednecks make moonshine and eat road kill while adhering to cult-like religious doctrine.  This little paradise is protected by a strange entity called “the pit”.  While the pit has healing powers it also requires occasional human sacrifice which is determined by whatever visage the town potter carves onto a jug whenever he falls into a trance.

Ada, already having a bad day due to a looming arranged marriage to an ugly oaf and from discovering that her brother impregnated her, learns that she is the next Jug Face.  Stealing and hiding the jug deep in the woods Ada attempts to escape her fate by pretending that it does not exist.  Disastrous results ensue.

This Southern Gothic hillbilly tale is a slow burn with a sympathetic protagonist and a Wicker Man feel.  Like other Gothic tales there are occasional splashes of violence however Jug Face is more about dread and fate than gore.  Like “We Are What We Are”, Jug Face challenges predetermination and our desire for individuation.