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

Complete credited cast:
Pat Healy	...	Craig Daniels
Sara Paxton	...	Violet
Ethan Embry	...	Vince
David Koechner	...	Colin
Amanda Fuller	...	Audrey Daniels
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
Butch	...	Cutie

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 | Horror | 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 a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), Pat Healy revealed that he and Ethan Embry did not get along throughout production but later made amends and respect each other after finishing the film.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie, we see Craig draining the oil from a car. He unscrews the sump plug and black, used motor oil flows from the sump. In the next shot, from another angle, the oil continues flowing, but it's visibly new, clear motor oil.

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Connections

Features The Reef 2: High Tide (2012)

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Soundtracks

Digital
Written by: Trools
Performed by: Trools
Courtesy of: 808-Playtime

User Reviews

A funny, brutal shocker

Pat Healey of The Innkeepers fame plays a family man and blue collar worker who receives an eviction notice and is laid off on the same day. On the way home, he runs into an old friend at a bar, and the two of them run into an eccentric rich couple played by David Koechner and Sara Paxton (again of The Innkeepers) who propose a twisted series of games for money at their private residence.

To compete against each other for large rewards, Craig and Vince engage in more and more disturbing acts of depravity, self-mutilation and moral bankruptcy.

This is a shocker, and a hard-to-watch one at that. What keeps it bearable is that it's a very FUNNY shocker, particularly with Koechner providing most of the black comedy.

Ultimately this is an allegorical haves-and-have-nots tale that looks at the lengths people will go to in the name of financial desperation. The climax is disturbing and had me doing some sharp self-reflection. Not bad for a first-time director and a tiny budget.