- Rebecca Romijn is Hunted in ENDANGERED SPECIES [Trailer]
- Emilia Clarke vs The FBI in ABOVE SUSPICION [Trailer]
- Emilia Clarke vs The FBI in ABOVE SUSPICION [Trailer]
- Ben Wheatley Returns with IN THE EARTH [Trailer]
- Ben Wheatley Returns with IN THE EARTH [Trailer]
- Josh Hartnett is Memorable in Drug Drama INHERIT THE VIPER [Review]
- Cube Meets Saw in MEANDER Trailer from Mathieu Turi
- EIFF 2019: ANIARA is a Deeply Haunting Sci-Fi Experience [Review]
- BERLINALE 2021: TIDES Comes After Hell [Trailer]
- EIFF 2019: ANIARA is a Deeply Haunting Sci-Fi Experience [Review]
- Re: Occupation, Australian Sci Fi movie
- Slice of Life, Blade Runner inspired short
- Is Snowpeircer a sequel to Willy Wonka?
- Re: Yesterday
- Re: Yesterday
- Yesterday
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Don't Mess With the SCAVENGER [Trailer]
- BERLINALE 2021: TIDES Comes After Hell [Trailer]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- A Comet Destoys Earth in GREENLAND Trailer
- Interactive WAR OF THE WORLDS Adaptation Out Now!
- 8K Trailer for Train to Busan Sequel PENINSULA Drops Hard!
- Making a Bomb Shelter in a Funhouse is a Bad Idea in IMPACT EVENT [Trailer]
- Retro Slave: FOX's Post-Apocalyptic Sitcom WOOPS!
- TRAIN TO BUSAN Sequel PENINSULA Gets a Teaser Trailer
- New on Blu-ray and DVD for March 11, 2020
- The Apocalypse Kills Women in ONLY [Trailer]
- SATOR is a Welcome Addition to the Folk Horror Canon [Review]
- Women in Horror Month: NEAR DARK
- SOUTHLAND TALES: The Cannes Cut [Review]
- A Woman's Mind Unravels in BIGHT HILL ROAD [Review]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
- TIFF 2020: NEW ORDER is Brutal, Violent & a Must-See [Review]
- TIFF 2020: ENEMIES OF THE STATE, Or Are They? [Review]
- TIFF 2020: HOLLER Explores Life in a Dying Town [Review]
- MONSTER HUNTER Coming for Christmas [Trailer]
- Lynne Ramsay Set to Direct Stephen King Adaptation [News]
- Split Personality Thriller MINOR PREMISE Coming Soon [Trailer]
- Who Hunts Who in HUNTER HUNTER? [Trailer]
- SKYLINES Is Coming! [Poster Premiere]
- Enter for Your Chance to Win a Blu-Ray Copy of 2067 [Contest]
- Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival Returns with In-Person Event [Line Up]
- Family Drama & Creature Feature. WHAT LIES BELOW Brings Both? [Trailer]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- Producer Adrienne Biddle on Horror, Working with Bryan Bertino & Their Latest THE DARK AND THE WICKED [Interview]
- Joe Manganiello is a Washed Up Superhero in ARCHENEMY [Trailer]
- Nightstream Horror Festival Launches Next Week [Lineup]
- 2067 Director Talks Inspiration, Environment & Time Travel [Interview]
- THE STRANGERS Director Returns with THE DARK AND THE WICKED [Trailer]
- Michael Shannon is Crime Boss in ECHO BOOMERS [Trailer]
- Hair Extensions Get Horrific in BAD HAIR [Trailer]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- VIFF 2020: Sobriety, Reintegration & Telekinesis Come Together in THE CURSE OF WILLOW SONG [Interview]
- VIFF 2020: Revenge Thriller Re-Examined in VIOLATION [Interview]
- VIFF2020: Director Loretta Todd on the Making of Her Debut Feature MONKEY BEACH [Interview]
Jack In
Latest Comments
Latest Forum Posts
PA News
Latest Reviews
Older News
Crew
Marina Antunes
Editor in Chief
Vancouver, British Columbia
Christopher Webster
Managing Editor
Edmonton, Alberta
DN aka quietearth
Founder / Asst. Managing Editor
Denver, Colorado
Simon Read
UK Correspondent
Edinburgh, Scotland
Rick McGrath
Toronto Correspondent
Toronto, Ontario
Manuel de Layet
France Correspondent
Paris, France
rochefort
Austin Correspondent
Austin, Texas
Daniel Olmos
Corrispondente in Italia
Italy
Griffith Maloney aka Griffith Maloney
New York Correspondent
New York, NY
Stephanie O
Floating Correspondent
Quiet Earth Bunker
Jason Widgington
Montreal Correspondent
Montreal, Quebec
Carlos Prime
Austin Correspondent
Austin, TX
Latest news







Just about everybody has at some point or another been propositioned "I'll give you (insert some amount of money) to do (something bizarre, or most likely disgusting)", and it's a good life lesson, really; it teaches us the true value of money. I mean, what difference does it make if you have fifty extra dollars if you also have a fresh case of dysentery or a concussion? But, if you're a married man with a new baby, an unemployed wife and an eviction notice on your door, you perhaps can't afford to be as picky. "Cheap Thrills", the debut feature from director E. L. Katz, is a fantastic new comedic thriller that takes the idea of the disgusting dare to some pretty grueling extremes, and shows just how hard it is to make easy money.
Tight and minimal, the story follows Craig (a freakin' excellent Pat Healy), whose life as a poor, married man in a single income home would be bad enough, but today he's just lost his job as a mechanic and has no idea what to do next. He hits the local bar and runs into his old high school chum Vince (Ethan Embry), and the two of them compare notes as to just how different they've become over the last five years. Craig is so desperate at this point that he asks Vince, who hurts people for money, if there's an opening in his decidedly seedy line of work, but Vince tells him he's just not made of the right stuff. Enter Colin (David Koechner) and his wife Violet (Sara Paxton), a couple so rich that they bet on just about everything, and when they invite Craig and Vince to hang with them immediately offer them money to slam shots. When the four of them retire to Colin's apartment to keep the party going, the dares steadily escalate, going from funny to creepy to lethal.
This is one of those movies that's put together so well, written so tightly, that a reviewer has to make every effort to pimp the achievement while remaining spoiler-free, and with a pic like this the surprises really do help to make the movie. Contained and very much like a stage play in scope, "Thrills" stakes everything on two key elements, its plot and the cast, and both are phenomenal. All four leads are recognizable faces, perhaps comedian Koechner most of all, and the script gives them a chance to both play to their strengths and really stretch their dramatic legs.
Healy, a character actor who can do the put-upon everyman like nobody's business, has started to really pick up some accolades since his work in "The Innkeepers" along with co-star Paxton, and the two of them end up in vastly different territory this time, Paxton in particular clearly relishing the chance to play an aloof vamp. Embry, who really impressed me as the tortured cop in "Brotherhood", is so effective as a scary good ole boy that it actually took quite a few minutes to recognize him, and I hope he continues to explore much darker material from here on out as he's got a knack for it that I never could have predicted. And Koechner, holy crap. While his role as the boisterous ringmaster gives him plenty of opportunities to goof off much like he does in pretty much every Will Ferrell movie, there's a sinister undercurrent, a sociopathic streak that makes this one of his most memorable roles to date. Everybody's really turning on the darkness with this one, and there's not a weak link in the bunch.
Essentially a two-location show, "Cheap Thrills" channels the kind of energy that distinguishes such stage-to-screen adaptations as "Wait Until Dark" and "Deathtrap", and like those films milks its premise by steadily ratcheting up the stakes and tension. "Thrills" is an original work, as far as I know, and it would be really interesting to see a stage version result; it's that good, and could be an annual showcase for a new roster of actors ready to show their stuff.
Most of all, Cheap Thrills is exactly the sort of film that film festivals crave, a low-budget gem that turns its limitations into assets and tells its story so well that we can remember almost every moment, but still want to see it again. A dark, canny little b-movie masterpiece.
You might also like





