Review of Cold in July (2014) by Colin W — 11 Jun 2014

With the spirit of John Carpenter and David Cronenberg, director Jim Mickle skillfully works up palm-sweating tension with Cold In July. Set in 1989 East Texas, Cold In July is an electrifying thriller that holds you tight like a vice.

Mickle (We Are What We Are) and co-writer Nick Damici take Joe R. Lansdale's novel and whip up a batch of suspence taht is nerve-shattering. Michael C. Hall is all slow burn as Richard Dane, a mild man with a mullet who sells frames in order to support his wife (Vinessa Shaw) and their son.

He's not a guy you expect to shoot and kill a home invader, but he does just that. Afterwards the town sees him as a hero. At first he likes the attention, until Ben Russell (an outstanding Sam Shepard), the father of the man Richard shot, shows up looking for payback.

Then it turns out that the man Richard shot may not have been who the local cop told him he is. That's when Richard and Ben start snooping around with Jim Bob Luke (Don Johnson), a Houston-based private eye and part-time pig farmer who rides a Caddy he loves to call 'red bitch'.

Johnson is superb in the role, stealing the whole movie, But whoel Hall and Shepard are just as terrific, helping to deconstruct the concept of manhood. Aided by Jeff Grace's synth score, Cold In July is one to make you squirm.