Cold in July (2014)

When a protective father meets a murderous ex-con, both need to deviate from the path they are on as they soon find themselves entangled in a downwards spiral of lies and violence while having to confront their own inner psyche.

Director:

Jim Mickle

Writers:

Nick Damici, Jim Mickle

Stars:

Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson

1 win & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vinessa Shaw	...	Ann
Michael C. Hall	...	Dane
Ken Holmes	...	Burglar
Nick Damici	...	Price
Brogan Hall	...	Jordan
Rachel Zeiger-Haag	...	Valerie
Lanny Flaherty	...	Jack Crow
Kristin Griffith	...	Kay
Happy Anderson	...	Ted
Sam Shepard	...	Russel
Kris Eivers	...	Detective
Joseph Harrell	...	Officer Kevin
Joe Lanza	...	Officer #1
Soraya Butler	...	Female Officer
Wyatt Russell	...	Freddy

Storyline

A terrified man Richard (Michael Hall) accidentally shoots a burglar inside his house. He is assured by the cop (Nick Damici) that it was purely self defense n the burglar was a wanted fella. Richard shaken by the experience n not proud by the incident, visits the cemetery on the burglar's burial day n gets confronted by Ben, a paroled convict n the dead burglar's dad. Ben indirectly threatens and praises Richard's family pic which he saw in the newspaper. The cops cant arrest Ben as he hasn't done anything n cant give Richard official police protection..

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | neo noir | blood | blood splatter | murder | 

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Taglines:

How many men can one bullet kill?

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

As they adapted the novella, they realized that their faithful scripts were much too long, which did not do justice to the novella's pacing and length. Eventually, they were able to edit it down by removing unnecessary dialog that could be replaced through body language. Changing the time period was never considered, as Mickle considered the themes of masculinity and manhood to come from a previous era that would not work in a more modern setting.

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Goofs

When Jim Bob shows his private investigator ID, there is no photo, and it bears no resemblance to a Texas private investigator ID, which includes a photo (and did in 1989).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ann: [urgently whispering in the dark] Richard. Richard.
Richard Dane: [stirring awake] Yeah?
Ann: I think I heard something.
Richard Dane: [runs to a box in the closet and shakily loads his gun] Stay here...

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Connections

Referenced in La noche de...: La noche de... Frío en julio (2018)

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Soundtracks

Back Of My Smile
Written by Kasey Lansdale
Performed by Kasey Lansdale
Courtesy of Blue Siren Records

User Reviews

Dirty, seedy, pulpy, campy.... Awesome!

This dirty little piece of Texas pulp rides the fine line of art of trash with brilliant composure as its dark script teases you with how far it'll go. The seed is planted when an everyman kills an intruder in his home, and the story spins wildly out of control from there. The story moves forward at a brisk pace and never looks back. Sure that means there are as many holes as there are unanswered questions, but such is the case with pulp. You gotta live in the now, man. In the end, I'm still not sure how to process what I've seen, and I've gained no further insight or knowledge about myself, the world, or humanity. And I wouldn't have it any other way

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 December 2014 (France)

Also Known As:

Cold in July

Filming Locations:

Kingston, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$40,317, 25 May 2014

Gross USA:

$427,418

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,547,630

Company Credits

Production Co:

BSM Studio, Backup Media, Bullet Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1