Cheap Thrills (2013)

A scheming couple put a struggling family man and his old friend through a series of increasingly twisted dares over the course of an evening at a local bar.

Director:

E.L. Katz

Writers:

David Chirchirillo, Trent Haaga

Stars:

Pat Healy, Ethan Embry, Sara Paxton

9 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Pat Healy	...	Craig Daniels
Sara Paxton	...	Violet
Ethan Embry	...	Vince
David Koechner	...	Colin
Amanda Fuller	...	Audrey
Laura Covelli	...	Caryn the Bartender
Todd Farmer	...	Security Guard
Elissa Dowling	...	Tweaker
Eric Neil Gutierrez	...	Enrique
Ruben Pla	...	Doug
Claudia Salinas	...	Stripper
Brighton Sharbino	...	Luann
Eli McLaughlin	...	Keenan

Storyline

Cheap Thrills follows Craig (Pat Healy, Compliance), a struggling family man who loses his low-wage job and is threatened with eviction. In an effort to delay facing the music at home, he heads to a local bar and encounters an old friend (Ethan Embry, Empire Records). The two friends are roped into a round of drinks by a charismatic and obscenely wealthy stranger (David Koechner, Anchorman 2) along with his mysterious wife (Sara Paxton, The Inkeepers). The couple engages the two friends in a series of innocent dares in exchange for money over the course of the evening, with each challenge upping the ante in both reward and boundaries. It seems like easy and much needed money, but the couple's twisted sense of humor pushes just how far Craig and his friend are willing to go for money and cheap thrills. (c) Drafthouse

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Plot Keywords:

extramarital affair | adultery | unfaithfulness | sex | masturbation | 

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Taglines:

What doesn't kill you makes you richer.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 March 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apuestas perversas

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,638, 23 March 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$59,379, 11 May 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Artists Alliance,Snowfort Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Spain this film was only released in two theaters (in Madrid at Artistic Metropol for two days and in Barcelona at the Cinemes Girona for 12 days) and only in subtitled versions (in Barcelona with Catalan subtitles).

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Goofs

When Vince is challenged to hold his breath, after Craig speaks to Audrey on the phone Colin announces that Vince's time was 1 minute, 59 seconds. Later, when Vince asks what his time was, Colin says his time was 1 minute, 58 seconds. A difference of one second is significant in the context of the challenge.

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Connections

Referenced in Filmbarátok Podcast: Episode #1.65 (2015)

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Soundtracks

A To B
Written by: Martin R. Klingman, Victoria Cecilia & Timothy Reiss
Performed by: Gliss
Courtesy of: Modern Outsider
By arrangement with Sugaroo!

User Reviews

Great surprise

I have to admit I didn't feel attracted either by the poster or the plot summary. Yet the experience was thrilling and full of surprises: the acting of the four protagonists is excellent and I enjoyed it all the way. Also, although the genre of psychological thriller is not my cup of tea, the director did a great job creating a disturbing atmosphere sustained by a very good script, good dialogues and deep human characters. The first work of Katz as a director is, in my opinion,a successful debut: the movie is filmed with great sensibility and the art in general is perfectly in tone with what we feel from the very beginning.

Highly recommendable, no doubt.