Cheap Thrills, 2013.
Directed by E.L. Katz.
Starring Pat Healy, Ethan Embry, Sara Paxton, David Koechner and Amanda Fuller.
SYNOPSIS:
Determined to drown his sorrows Craig heads to a bar where he runs into old friend Vince. Things then go from nostalgic to crazy when the duo hooks up with a wealthy couple out for a good time and Craig and Vince turn out to be their entertainment for the evening.
Just how far would you go to get some money to provide for your family? That’s the question that is posed to down on his luck Craig (Pat Healy) as he wakes up one morning to discover that he and his wife and young child have been served their eviction notice. Worse still, his job is downsizing and lays him off. With no where to turn, he goes to a local bar where he runs into old school friend Vince (Ethan Embry) and the pair start to reminisce about old times. The night starts to turn strange however when a wealthy couple (David Koechner and Sara Paxton) start to give the pair dares and tasks in exchange for cash. What starts out as a bit of fun soon turns into a deadly game of escalating and violent proportions.
Made for $100,000 and shot in 14 days, Cheap Thrills is quite simplistic in its execution, setting the film in just a few locations with only four core actors, but this actually works in its favour. The closed environment makes the film feel incredibly claustrophobic and its simple plot will keep you guessing as to just what the next task will be – and, more importantly, how bad it will be for them.
Pat Healy is excellent as a man on the edge of desperation and you feel genuinely bad for him as he’s put through these torturous trials. Likewise Ethan Embry is great as Vincent and two have an interesting dynamic that makes you question why there were ever friends in the first place. It’s a very clever ploy by writers Trent Haaga and David Chrichirillo as they drip feed in more information about their school days and their true feelings towards each other as the film progresses. Koechner and Paxton are both fun with their roles with Koechner having a blast as the eccentric millionaire who has more money than sense.
The film has a very dark sense of humour and it never fails in its attempts to shock its audience. It’s probably not as depraved as it could have been, but it gets the balance between stomach churning horrific sights and black comedy. Many people will shy away from certain tasks, but the majority of them are played for laughs – even if they are uncomfortable ones. It all builds to a pretty shocking conclusion that is edge of your seat stuff.
Sadly however, the film’s pacing doesn’t always work for the simple plot. There are a lot of games and it’s always fairly tense, but it almost feels like Cheap Thrills would have worked better as a short film rather than being a feature. Even though it only has a 85 minute run time.
Cheap Thrills has a dark heart and a morbid sense of humour, but it works on so many levels. It plays like a cross between 13 Games of Death and a Tales From The Crypt episode called Cutting Cards and it’s thoroughly entertaining. It’s not perfect and it has its problems, but there is a lot to like about it if you like your comedy slightly less fluffy.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of Flickering Myth’s Podcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published August 26, 2013. Updated November 7, 2019.
