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

Craig (Pat Healy) is 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 runs into an old friend (Ethan Embry). The 2 are roped into a round of drinks by a charismatic and obscenely wealthy stranger (David Koechner) along with his mysterious wife (Sara Paxton). The couple engages the pair 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.

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The eviction notice on Craig's door reveals that his landlord's name is Melisa Jusufi. Melisa Jusufi is the name of the Production Designer for this 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

Featured in Half in the Bag: Cheap Thrills and the Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

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Soundtracks

The Flashlight
Written by: Louis Nevins
Performed by: Fumes
Courtesy of: Big Muddy Records

User Reviews

Entertaining but Somewhat Disturbing

Out of the four characters in Cheap Thrills I only recognised one of them, David Koechner (Champ from Anchorman). I went into watching this knowing very little about the film; I had a vague understanding of the storyline but that was about it.

Cheap Thrills is classed as a dark comedy, I would disagree with this, there are a few chuckles along the way but in my opinion it is far from a comedy. It's a dark, disturbing and very tense film which makes the viewer feel quite uncomfortable at times.

Craig and Vince are old friends who have lost contact and bump into each other in a bar. Craig has been sacked that day and Vince is also struggling for cash. They get invited over by Colin; A millionaire who is out celebrating his Wife's birthday. He flashes the cash straight away, buying a $300 bottle of Tequila and handing out Cocaine like its candy. He starts by offering Craig and Vince money for fun things such as 'first one to down their shot' or 'talk to the girl at the bar'. They then leave the bar and go back to his place and his dares start to get much more dark and disturbing.

David Koechner plays his character really well. At the start of the movie I couldn't help see him as Champ from Anchorman, but as the movie progresses he really comes into his role and before long you forget he ever played Champ! His character comes across as very friendly and likable but there is always a nervy feeling, like he could do anything at any moment, he is very intense & Koechner is extremely convincing in playing him.

The divide between filthy rich and poor is huge and this movie makes it its aim to show you this. The millionaire takes advantage of his two 'guests' and plays to their desperation for his own twisted pleasure. A man, who has it all, still wants more and is willing to throw hundreds of thousands of dollars to play with two people desperate for cash. The view from Craig and Vince is also a simple one, how far would you and how low would you go if big bucks were being offered to you.

This movie certainly isn't ideal family viewing; there is sex, drugs, violence and some disturbing scenes. I did find it somewhat entertaining, I probably wouldn't view it again but I don't regret watching it. With a short run time of just under 90 minutes it did a good job of gripping me and giving me the experience that was intended by the creators.

7/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 March 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cheap Thrills

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,638, 23 March 2014

Gross USA:

$59,424

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$59,424

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