Imagine the state of mind of a fraught family man who loses his low-wage day job and receives a threat-of-eviction-notice on the same day. He’s also an unsuccessful wanna-be- writer, so he knows what it feels like to dream and never get what you want.
In E.L. Katz’s Cheap Thrills, this man, in order to postpone confrontation with his wife, kills time at a bar, where he fortuitously runs into an old friend. When they start catching up with their lives, a charming and well-off stranger and his young and gorgeous wife invite them to some drinks. It’s the woman’s birthday and they want to have fun.
Thing is, their idea of fun is that the two friends take up a series of dares, harmless ones at first, yet more and more dangerous and violent as the evening unfolds. Therefore, each new challenge comes with a bigger reward. And while the stressed out family man is the one in dire need for money, his friend is not doing very well either. At any rate, they are both willing to play ball. If they only knew how far (and low) the couple’s sick sense of humour will make them go...
Pat Healy plays Craig, the family man; Ethan Embry is Vince, his friend; David Koechner is Colin, the filthy rich dude; and Sarah Paxton plays Violette, his wife. They are arguably the main reason to see a film that doesn’t really fulfill its premise and yet it’s not a complete mess either. Their performances are persuasive, bringing about unexpected nuances and steering the story forward with more ease than the script itself.
If the story told in Cheap Thrills is to reach a real climax, the suspense and emotions of each new dare should escalate nonstop. The problem is they don’t. During the first three or four times tension is sustained, but halfway through the film the narrative begins to wear thin. You already know it’s just a matter of outdoing the previous challenge. If no surprises are thrown into, the game is bound to become repetitive.
And while considering that the two friends need the money, some dares are so dreadful that they should call for more transcendent motivation. But these characters don’t have other motivations. So at times they seem to be moderately psychotic, which they are not.
Then there’s the tone, which oscillates from black comedy to satire, from horror to drama, back and forth. Mostly thanks to the actors’ expertise, the fluctuation is often well tuned, but when it’s not you can’t help feeling that the scene belongs to a different movie.
On the plus side, the fact that the friends play the game out of their free will rather than be forced to do so makes it all the more unusual. Forget the run-of-the-mill conflict between victims and victimizers. There are no bad guys here, only a sadistic couple that happens to be loaded, sordid, and yet friendly, in their own way. In any case, the two friends are victims of themselves.
As expected, as the dares get gorier, Cheap Thrills turns into an accomplished take at the subgenre accurately labelled “torture porn.” It’s entertainment, but it’s good entertainment for horror fans.
PRODUCTION NOTES
Cheap Thrills (US, 2013) Directed by E.L. Katz. Written by Trent Haaga, David Chirchirillo. With Pat Healy, Sara Paxton, Ethan Embry, David Koechner, Amanda Fuller, Laura Covelli. Cinematography: Andrew Wheeler, Sebastian Winterø. Editing: Brody Gusar. Music: Mads Heldtberg. Produced by Snowfort Pictures / New Artists Alliance. Running time: 88 minutes.
