Cheap Thrills
Dir: E. L. Katz
2014
****
E. L. Katz's twisted comedy thriller is a hard one to categorize. It's not really a comedy, or a horror and although it is a thriller, it's unlike most thrillers I've ever seen. This makes for an original movie and it should be rewarded accordingly. E. L. Katz gets his ingredients right. The characters are all very well constructed and the actors are a clever mix of cult and quirky performers and each is perfect in their respective roles. The story will lead you one way, perhaps because you think you know what to expect based on other films but nothing is ever expected and you will not find yourself shouting at the screen either because never do the characters miss the obvious, the script keeps things out there but always believable. There is something quite cynical about the conclusion that I really like, if you think that it could never happen then you'd be wrong, in fact stranger things have happened. That's the scary part really, maybe it already has, maybe even several times. Very clever writing and about as cult as it gets.