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.
Boasting a denouement that is particularly sharp, Cheap Thrills plays like a drug-fuelled Coen Brothers flick with a hint of early Sam Raimi.
Events quickly escalate into extreme territories and the result is a tour-de-force of twisted brilliance.
A grimly funny social allegory that doesn't pull a single punch.
Well-acted and watchable, then gruelling and ghastly.
A smart, thought-provoking little morality tale.
Verdict: Twisted comedy thriller.
This gory supremely dark comedy is an impressive debut feature by a director who may have just come up with the ultimate TV reality show format. Just pray it doesn’t get made.
The results aren’t pretty, but there’s a sly intelligence underscoring the gross-out fun that makes this a deeper and darker film than expected.
Cheap Thrills delivers, but can it break out of the genre ghetto?
The script is smarter than the premise sounds, with writers David Chirchirillo and Trent Haaga dispensing enough information to make victims both sympathetic and despicable, the instigators charismatic and sinister.
The film is sadistic and frequently very nasty but it does provide some truly jaw-dropping moments.
You can take the result as either smart satire or sick schlock – frankly, it works on both scores.
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Friday June 13, 2014, until Monday June 16, 2014. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
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