100 Proof (film)

February 2026 January 2025 100 Proof 100 Proof (VHS cover).jpg Jeremy Horton Jay FairesGeorge Maranville Jeremy Horton Pamela StewartTara BellandoJ. S. JohnsonMinnie Bates YancyJim Varney Michael Mossier Harold Jarboe George Maranville 1997 94 minutes United States English 100 Proof is a 1997 American independent Southern Gothic thriller film written and directed by Jeremy Horton.A a none Shot on location in Kentucky, it is based on the true story of a killing spree that took place in Lexington in 1986.Alspector, Lisa http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/100-proof/Film?oid=1062901 100 Proof Chicago Reader 26 October 1985 2010-02-26 June 9, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110609011448/http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/100-proof/Film?oid=1062901 dead Two women, LaFonda Fay Foster and Tina Hickey Powell, murdered five people in the real-life incident.O'Shea, Kathleen A. (1999). Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900–1998, pp. 183–87. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood. 0-275-95952-XOrtiz, Brandon http://www.kentucky.com/2008/07/18/464327/no-trend-seen-in-drunkenness-defense.html 'Drunk Defense' Works in Two Big Cases Lexington Herald-Leader 2008-07-18 2010-02-26 The film's supporting cast includes Jim Varney, who portrays the drunk, violent, incestuous father of one of the two women at the center of the story. Varney's role is radically different from the humorous Ernest P. Worrell character for which he was best known.Leydon, Joe https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117432607.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 100 Proof Variety 1997-03-02 2010-02-26 2008-12-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20081224080359/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117432607.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 dead Plot Close friends Rae and Carla live an impoverished life in a quiet, depressed Southern town. They pay for their drug and alcohol habits through odd jobs, grifting, and occasional prostitution. Rae has a disturbing encounter with her abusive, alcoholic father at a local bar. The two friends then head out to the countryside to score some cocaine and a brutal cycle of violence ensues. Cast Pamela Stewart as Rae Tara Bellando as Carla Jack Stubblefield Johnson as Arco Minnie Bates Yancy as Sissy Larry Brown as Eddie Kevin Hardesty as Roger Jim Varney as Rae's Father Loren Crawford as Trudy Joe Ventura as Ted Warren Ray as Tommy Jeff Lycan as R.T. Bobby Simmons as Toby Peter Smith as Fryman Buck Finley as Chester Joe Gatton as Owen Reception The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1997 and was released commercially that September. Variety reviewer Joe Leydon applauded the acting—particularly that of Stewart and Varney—and called the film a "diamond in the rough, or at least a shiny bit of jagged rhinestone." Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the film's "integrity" and authentic depiction of poverty and violence, but found it difficult to take: "The film's crudeness works in its favor ... [it] has the look, texture and loose-jointedness of a semi-improvised home movie. Nothing is really explained. You are just plunked into the middle of this infinitely sullen slice of life. It isn't long before the characters' boredom and accumulated hostility begin to seep into you. But beyond an appalled sense of pity, it is impossible to feel much for them. You just want to get out of there as quickly as possible."Holden, Stephen https://www.nytimes.com/library/film/proof-film-review.html '100 Proof': Sullen Slice of Sullen Lives The New York Times 1997-09-24 2010-02-26 Ken Fox of TV Guide viewed it as both "grueling" and admirable: "The film attains the dirty, hyperrealism of a reality based cop show, but with a surprising touch of quiet compassion. ... In the end, the violence isn't cleansing, redemptive or empowering; it's just pitiful and very nasty."Fox, Ken http://movies.tvguide.com/100-proof/review/132519 https://web.archive.org/web/20090131074449/http://movies.tvguide.com/100-proof/review/132519 dead January 31, 2009 100 Proof: Review TVGuide.com 2010-02-26 Notes A a none Credits are per Screen World 1998 (1999) by John Willis and Barry Monush, p. 170. New York: Applause. 1-55783-342-7. References External links 0124268 100 Proof 100_proof Category:1997 films Category:1997 independent films Category:1997 thriller films Category:American independent films Category:American thriller films Category:Films set in the United States Category:Films shot in Kentucky Category:Thriller films based on actual events Category:1997 English-language films Category:1997 American films Category:English-language independent films Category:English-language thriller films Category:Films set in Kentucky Category:Culture of Lexington, Kentucky Category:Southern Gothic films