NR, 88 min.
Director: E.L. Katz
Writers: David Chirchirillo,
Trent Haaga
Starring: Pat Healy, Ethan
Embry, Sara Paxton, David Koechner
E.L. Katz’s “Cheap Thrills”
is a very dark movie indeed. It involves a man played by Pat Healy, whom horror
enthusiasts might remember from Ti West’s “The Innkeepers”. He finds himself in
a desperate financial situation. He has a new child and has just received an
eviction notice on his apartment door. He loses his job and finds himself in a
bar where he runs into an old friend. They share a few drinks and are asked to
share a few more by an eccentric couple who seem to have money to spare.
After a time the couple
brings them back to their house overlooking the Valley and the couple proposes
a game where the two men must compete for money by doing whatever they are
asked by the couple. Katz’s script is very convincing in establishing how the
men feel desperate enough to accept this offer. It helps that the couple has
already paid up on a few bets that seemed off hand at first.
As I said, and can’t iterate
enough, this is some very dark stuff. There was a moment when I had trouble not
skipping ahead to a less disturbing scene in the movie. His cast is very well
chosen and plays their roles well. Sara Paxton, who plays the woman, is also
from West’s “The Innkeepers”. While David Koechner—better known for his comedic
roles in movies like “Anchorman”—plays the man of the couple. He’s a good
choice here, since his almost buffoonish nature makes it seem like he’s not
really capable of really harming these men. Koechner always seems to carry an
air of concealed intelligence beneath his buffoonery, and it serves the film
well here.
Warning! In case you didn't catch it in the review, this is some very dark stuff, so even the trailer is only for adults.
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