How far would you go to take care of your family, for a quick buck that could provide financial stability? Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Cheap Thrills is a film about desperation in two men. Framed as a “comedy thriller,” E.L. Katz’s film debut is a pulpy, late-night thriller that will attain a cult following. However, will that sense of appeal attract the average moviegoer? Read on and find out.
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Cheap Thrills
Director: E.L. Katz
Rating: N/A
Release Date: February 21, 2014 (Movies on Demand), March 21, 2014 (Limited)
Craig (Pat Healy) is an aspiring writer facing financial troubles with his wife and young son. After finding an eviction notice and being laid off from his auto shop job, he decides to drown his sorrows at a local bar. There, he is reunited with an estranged old friend, Vince (Ethan Embry). As they catch up, they attract the attention of a married couple, Colin (David Koechner) and Violet (Sara Paxton). The couple offer low-risk dares to Craig and Vince for a few hundreds of dollars, but as the night goes on, the dares become riskier… and the money greater. Exactly how far would the two old friends go for the promise of a new life?
The four characters play specific archetypes that help move the film along. Craig is the desperate lead audiences hope to empathize with; Vince is the down on his luck, selfish ne’er do well; Colin is the abundantly rich instigator; Violet is the mysterious, silent fourth party. However, unlike other thrillers that lack any real empathy or humanity, each character displays some level of decency. For example, while Colin is the main proprietor pushing Craig and Vince to embarrass and demoralize themselves (and each other), he still has a set moral line that he won’t cross. At the same time, as the bets become larger, Craig and Vince’s levels of morality are slowly stripped away. The real question, then, is the money enough to lose yourself and your humanity?
Unfortunately, Cheap Thrills doesn’t answer this question. While there are shallow hints at the cost of Craig and Vince’s sacrifices, it’s never fully analyzed. As a pulp thriller, this is somewhat acceptable; it would just have added an extra level of depth to a film that, for better or worse, is perfectly summarized by its own title – Cheap Thrills is nothing more than that. With such a promising premise, the film falls flat and doesn’t live up to its potential.
One of the largest reasons for the film falling short is the film’s tone. Even though it’s branded as a “comedy thriller” and there are a few light-hearted moments, any sense of comedy is gone by the wayside. Rather, the film is built up with more and more exploitative scenes of desperation, culminating in a really dark ending. While this will attract horror fans, it didn’t work for me. If the tone were more in line with a dark satire or had something “extra,” I think I would have been more receptive to the film.
As I insinuated earlier, Cheap Thrills is nothing more than its title. There will be scenes that’ll make you cringe, and horror/thriller/gore fans will love them. However, if you’re looking for something with much more substance, you’ll be better suited looking elsewhere.