Cheap Thrills - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Cheap Thrills



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
First-time director E.L. Katz’s Cheap Thrills may very well be his magnum opus, despite moving on to direct bigger and better things over the years (albeit only in small bits, as he has really only dabbled in a few TV shows and a couple of other movies in the last year or so). I remember being absolutely clueless about the subject matter when a buddy of mine brought over his DVD copy of this film years and years ago. I was a bit bored, he whipped it out and said, “Check this out”, and voila. I ended up feeling absolutely revolted in a completely positive way. As a fan of exploitation films and horror films in general, I’m a bit jaded. I’ve seen it all, watched it all, and been turned off by it all. But I came out of that viewing of Cheap Thrills absolutely disgusted by what I just watched. And that is a compliment, as it takes a LOT to truly curl up my lip at something. Which meant I had to watch it again. Then again, with the Blu-ray from Draft House a few years ago, and finally again tonight. And I have to say, this film still disgusts me in all the right ways. And by that I mean, it’s got enough weirdness, vileness, and general craziness that I STILL feel something every time I watch it. And I still don’t know whether I like it or not. I just know that it’s one of the weirdest films I’ve ever seen that isn’t a mind-trip type film. It reminds me of Game Night with Jason Bateman, combined with elements of Fear Factor, if it were directed by Eli Roth. And that is about as bizarre a combination as mixing anchovies with chocolate ice cream and ground beef.

In premise, Cheap Thrills is ridiculously simple. Craig Daniels (Pat Healy) is a regular guy with a wife (Amanda Fuller) and a 15-month-old son. He’s a bit of a pushover by all estimations (it’s never really said, but heavily intimated in the first 10 minutes of the film) and has given up on his dream of writing. Instead, he barely makes ends meet by changing oil at the local pump and go. But reality is, he’s on the verge of losing it all. They got an eviction notice that morning, and by the evening, Craig was fired from his job. Stumbling out to the bar to drown his sorrows before heading home, Craig runs into his high school buddy Vince (Ethan Embry). The two of them reminisce about old times, and are about to head home when Vince drags him into having a couple of drinks with a stranger and his wife. Turns out said stranger is a rich dude named Colin (David Koechner) who is taking his wife Violet (Sara Paxton) out for a night on the town for her birthday.

One thing leads to another, and soon the guys are making stupid bets with each other (you know, who can hit the center of a dartboard with one shot, who can get a girl to slap him in the face, that type of thing), and while Craig is not exactly that type of person, he DID just lose his job today. But before you know it, everyone is back at Colin’s house for a few party favors, and after a few more bets, the real story comes out. Colin and Violet aren’t doing this out of being drunk party goers. They have a more twisted plan for the night. Take out two losers who reek of financial issues and pit them against each other, amping the bets up to higher and higher stakes with a pile of cash as the final prize. Thing is, said two losers, we have to do whatever twisted things Violet and Colin think up to win it. And before long, Craig and Vince are slicing, dicing, defecating, and doing whatever twisted thing they’re forced to do in hopes of making that big score at the end of the night.

Now you’re asking yourself. What big message is at the end of it all? Well, there really isn’t. E.L. Katz has crafted a film that is part horror, part thriller, and part raw 1970s exploitation film all at once. The only redeeming thematic message of the film is what two desperate people will do to make a quick buck. How much they will debase themselves for that chance at a quick payday to turn their lives around. But in reality, this is a grungy, nasty, horrific bit of filmmaking that hits all the right levels for a sleaze fest. And in that aspect, it succeeds in spades. I still don’t know whether I like it, but I give E.L. Katz credit for making a film that actually made me think and FEEL something that I hadn’t expected to going into the original (and subsequent) viewing. It simply is a fascinating bit of art that is not going to be for everyone. At time its a simple drama, and at times it borders on comedic horror in ways that oddly fit together.




Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Shot via Arri Alexa cameras in 2013, Arrow Video's new presentation is extremely cryptic about its source, outside of stating that it was supplied by Drafthouse Films / Giant Pictures. Which makes me assume that there was no need for remastering, but rather they are using a master given to them by Drafthouse that was likely the very same master used for the 2014 Blu-ray from Drafthouse. That being said, I’m pretty sure that’s accurate, as the results seem very similar to what I remember of the old Drafthouse disc. The image is clean, with moderate noise spikes during the middle of the night in really dark areas. Colors are grim and muted, with a little pop here and there from the white of the poodle or the maroon of Vince’s shirt. Blacks are kind of grungy in some areas, with heavy mahogany tones when everyone gets back to Colin’s place. It’s not an overly pretty film, but this is a pretty faithful replication of what I saw years ago.









Audio:

And just like the video score, I’m 99% certain that this is simply a port of the 5.1 track from the Drafthouse release. And just like the video score, it sounds good, but never really excels due to the low fidelity of the source material. Simply put, this is a very talky affair, with mild ambiance in the bar, but not a lot happening outside of that. There are a few spurts of surround action later on with gunshots, the slamming of a meat cleaver, and the burst of punk rock used for the score. Dialog is rendered cleanly and clearly with no signs of any distortion or issues, and there are even a few moments of LFE coming out of nowhere. It’s not a fantastic mix, but it’s one that is solid considering what they were going for.









Extras:

• Brand new audio commentary by film critic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
• Audio commentary with director E.L. Katz and actor Pat Healy
• With Friends Like These, a newly filmed interview with director E.L. Katz and producer Travis Stevens
• Money Talks, a newly filmed interview with actors Pat Healy, Ethan Embry, David Koechner, and Sara Paxton
• Double Down, a newly filmed interview with writers Trent Haaga and David Chirchirillo
• Ketchup, Cheese, and (Fake) Blood, a newly filmed interview with special effects/make-up artist Hugo Villaseñor
• Vital Heat: The Making of Cheap Thrills, an archive featurette
• Cheap Thrills at Fantastic Film Festival 2013, an archive featurette
• Theatrical trailer
• Cheap Shots, a gallery of photos taken by Sara Paxton's character, Violet, as seen in the film
• On-set production photos
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde
• Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde
• Collectors' booklet featuring new writing on the film by Heather Wixson and Matt Donato

Final Score: ​

Cheap Thrills is oddly harmonic for being such a discordant type of film. E.L. Katz obviously has his roots in the horror genre (he made his career being a horror writer in the industry), but he also has a sense of reverence in how he treats the film, despite it being an exploitative type flick. Everyone in the film has their own motivations and reasons for doing what they do, but they’re shown throughout the film rather than dumped on you in exposition. Cheap Thrills has ALWAYS made me think, although I don’t always like what I think about when I do. And that is a compliment in and of itself after you’ve seen enough cliche films over the years. Arrow’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds very similar to the Drafthouse Blu-ray from years ago, but the extras are out of this world great. My recommendation is going to be “check out the trailer, see if it piques your interest, but be warned. It’s gonna get crazy”. Fans will love the Blu-ray release from Arrow, while newbies will likely want to rent it.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Pat Healy, Ethan Embry, Sara Paxton, David Koechner, Amanda Fuller
Directed by: E.L. Katz
Written by: Trent Haaga, David Chirchirillo, Roald Dahl
Aspect Ratio: 2.45:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow Video
Rated: NR
Runtime: 87 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: January 27th, 2025

Recommendation: Very Good Watch