Review of Cheap Thrills (2013) by Tony B — 28 Mar 2014

I saw CHEAP THRILLS last night! In case you've never heard of it, Cheap Thrills is a black comedy thriller directed by horror journalist turned director E.L. Katz. The film stars Pat Healy and Ethan Embry as two old friends who, while commiserating over their extreme financial woes, meet a rich, thrill seeking couple, played by David Koechner and Sara Paxton, that derive enjoyment from making wacky bets involving risky dares and large amounts of money. The night starts off light and fun but as the evening wares on and the stakes become higher, both the ties of friendship and the limits to which each will go to make quick cash and tested to the breaking point.

I was thoroughly impressed with this movie. It's exceptionally well acted with Healy, Embry and Koechner playing their respective roles famously. For having a budget of less than $20k it is truly amazing to see how well this movie is made. Hats off especially to the art direction and cinematography in this movie which is all aces as it uses color and lighting very uniquely to give Cheap Thrills a dark and sickly cool look. Ultimately I really enjoyed this film and despite maybe not having the best ending in my opinion, it's still damn good movie which should be seen. Cheap Thrills gets a 4...out of 5.