Cheap Thrills

Saw this at SXSW and I must admit it was very well done. This won the Audience Award for the Midnighters at the festival and it is wholeheartedly deserved. The film is a hybrid genre film with a constantly shifting tone of hilarity, drama, thrills, and extremely dark themes.

The story follows everyman Craig (Pat Healy, who should finally get some deserved recognition for his extremely demanding role in this) who is down on his luck after having a really bad day. He hits the local bar on the way home from work and sees an old high school buddy (Ethan Embry, in an against-type role that completely works) and the two meet up with a strange couple that wants to have a drink with them (David Koechner and Sara Paxton, who are both deliciously hilarious and mysterious). The four then have what can only be described as a truly horrific night and that is all I really want to say about it because the less you know the better. The concept of the film is laid out easily and quickly, which is developed fully throughout the film as the stakes are raised higher and higher with every passing minute.

I must say that I was very happy to see the movie take so many risks. The content of the film is definitely not for the faint at heart, but if you like envelope-pushing pieces than this is the film for you. Im sure this will divide audiences, but the theater I was in had a great energy and made the film really fun to watch. The director EL Katz introduced the film and told the audience that "it is okay to laugh." After seeing the film, I understand why he said that. There are so many uncomfortable, cringe-inducing moments in the film that the only thing to do is either to curl up in the fetal position or laugh your head off. I had no clue where it was going and the final image in the film will go down as a classic final shot. It is perfection.

People will be definitely talking about this one. It is highly entertaining, the performances are excellent, the writing is tight, and the content of the film is entirely original and unpredictable. I actually saw it twice during SXSW and it was even better a second time. Tons of twists and turns, so please DO NOT spoil it for yourself. Go into it with little knowledge and enjoy the twisted mayhem.

Pat Healey of The Innkeepers fame plays a family man and blue collar worker who receives an eviction notice and is laid off on the same day. On the way home, he runs into an old friend at a bar, and the two of them run into an eccentric rich couple played by David Koechner and Sara Paxton (again of The Innkeepers) who propose a twisted series of games for money at their private residence.

To compete against each other for large rewards, Craig and Vince engage in more and more disturbing acts of depravity, self-mutilation and moral bankruptcy.

This is a shocker, and a hard-to-watch one at that. What keeps it bearable is that it's a very FUNNY shocker, particularly with Koechner providing most of the black comedy.

Ultimately this is an allegorical haves-and-have-nots tale that looks at the lengths people will go to in the name of financial desperation. The climax is disturbing and had me doing some sharp self-reflection. Not bad for a first-time director and a tiny budget.

A dark, sadistic debasing experience in how low desperate people are willing to go to, ironically, raise themselves out of their dire life situation. This is a disturbing, yet compelling watch and draws parallels in how quickly society would collapse without order and is extremely depressing in that this kind of 'entertainment' is not something that would be discounted in a future society. We already have TV shows where people eat strange animal parts in the name of entertainment. It is depressing that this is a possible future game show in the making. All that said it is well acted and very hard to turn away as each dare gets becomes more extreme with a brutal finale. Well done to the director for keeping a realism to the film without wandering into fantasy.

I haven't felt this bad at the end of a movie since REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. This film, from E.L. Katz, is the ultimate feel-bad movie of the year. Believe it or not, I mean this all as praise. CHEAP THRILLS is a movie that drives its point home like a nail to the head. It's a dark comedy, emphasis on the dark, that aims to sensationalize the perceived apathy of the upper class to the suffering of the lower class, going so far as to take perverse joy in it. I never recall laughing over the course of the movie, but there were a few chuckles scattered amongst the groans and cringes. It opens on the worst day of Craig Daniels' (Pat Healy) unfortunate life. He wakes to an eviction notice posted to the door of the apartment where he lives with his wife and baby, and he's fired from his menial job at an auto shop later that afternoon. While he's drinking his problems away at a seedy bar later that night, he's reunited with an old friend, Vince (Ethan Embry) who earns a living rough housing gamblers to collect on debts. The night shifts in an interesting direction when they meet Colin (David Koechner) and his wife Violet (Sara Paxton), out on the town to celebrate Violet's birthday with some harmless. Colin and Violet enjoy betting each other on the pettiest of prospects (i.e. how a bar patron chooses to ogle the bartender), and they see an opportunity to have some fun with Craig and Vince. It starts simple…who can drink their shot of tequila the fastest or who's willing to slap a stripper on the butt… but, as the night goes on, the game grows more sinister.

CHEAP THRILLS wears its message on its sleeve. It's a frightening glimpse at the power of money and the lengths some will go to get it, but it's also a statement on what passes for entertainment now. The first point is the most blatant, as it's basically the premise of the movie. Colin and Violet are filthy rich. We don't know how he acquired his money; we just know he's got $250,000 chilling in an unlocked safe in his office for the sole purpose of blowing on his wife's birthday. Money is nothing to these people. But for the common man (in this instance, Craig and Vince), money is everything. Craig has a family to look out for and every cent earned goes toward securing their future. Vince is a thug who'd made some poor choices and sees a chance at a better life. At first it's all a game, but then it all goes south and the greed takes hold. Meanwhile, Colin cheers them on like a man watching the latest UFC fight at the local bar and Violet…well…Violet's chilling. She says very little over the course of the night but it quickly becomes apparent that there's something disturbing under her gorgeous visage. She's calm and collected, often seeming disinterested in the events unfolding around her. Again, it's all a game to these two and Violet shows a chilling disconnect from Craig and Vince's pain.

But, really, the audience isn't much better. The premise of CHEAP THRILLS reminds me a lot of modern culture's obsession with reality television. Average people are paraded about and put into often uncomfortable situations with the promise of potentially walking away with a nice chunk of change. People have no problem going on national television for the amusement of others to chow on bull testicles or knock themselves around in some bizarre obstacle course for the chance at wealth. Well, it's no different than what Craig and Vince endure in CHEAP THRILLS. Colin and Violet aren't any better than the general reality TV audience except, you know, their pretty evil. Things get insane here. This is definitely not a film for the feint of heart. I'm not the queasy sort of dude but there was some stuff here that had me gritting my teeth. This movie is determined to show the ugliness of greed and how it corrupts even the best intentions. This becomes apparent in the final third of the movie when it's obvious there isn't really a "good" guy anymore. We essentially start rooting for Craig. He's the family man who needs the money to give them a life but, by the end, he's just as ruthless as Vince. If anything, Vince is the less sympathetic character but retains the most humanity in the final moments. CHEAP THRILLS is a punch to the gut with a cast of characters that's impossible to associate with and it leaves a sour taste in your mouth when the end credits roll, but it's an entertaining funhouse mirror of a movie that goes off the rails to reflect some of the darkest elements of our culture.

Out of the four characters in Cheap Thrills I only recognised one of them, David Koechner (Champ from Anchorman). I went into watching this knowing very little about the film; I had a vague understanding of the storyline but that was about it.

Cheap Thrills is classed as a dark comedy, I would disagree with this, there are a few chuckles along the way but in my opinion it is far from a comedy. It's a dark, disturbing and very tense film which makes the viewer feel quite uncomfortable at times.

Craig and Vince are old friends who have lost contact and bump into each other in a bar. Craig has been sacked that day and Vince is also struggling for cash. They get invited over by Colin; A millionaire who is out celebrating his Wife's birthday. He flashes the cash straight away, buying a $300 bottle of Tequila and handing out Cocaine like its candy. He starts by offering Craig and Vince money for fun things such as 'first one to down their shot' or 'talk to the girl at the bar'. They then leave the bar and go back to his place and his dares start to get much more dark and disturbing.

David Koechner plays his character really well. At the start of the movie I couldn't help see him as Champ from Anchorman, but as the movie progresses he really comes into his role and before long you forget he ever played Champ! His character comes across as very friendly and likable but there is always a nervy feeling, like he could do anything at any moment, he is very intense & Koechner is extremely convincing in playing him.

The divide between filthy rich and poor is huge and this movie makes it its aim to show you this. The millionaire takes advantage of his two 'guests' and plays to their desperation for his own twisted pleasure. A man, who has it all, still wants more and is willing to throw hundreds of thousands of dollars to play with two people desperate for cash. The view from Craig and Vince is also a simple one, how far would you and how low would you go if big bucks were being offered to you.

This movie certainly isn't ideal family viewing; there is sex, drugs, violence and some disturbing scenes. I did find it somewhat entertaining, I probably wouldn't view it again but I don't regret watching it. With a short run time of just under 90 minutes it did a good job of gripping me and giving me the experience that was intended by the creators.

7/10