Nonureva Really Surprised!

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

classicsoncall It's not often one comes across a film that's entirely original in concept, so that's the starting point with this one. You have to wonder what kind of twisted mind comes up with these things, but you have to admit, the story line is unpredictable and shocking, with two of the principal characters involved in an expanding high stakes game that threatens to turn deadly at any turn. What intrigued me was the dynamic that developed between long time buddies Craig (Pat Healy) and Vince (Ethan Embry) when the prize money offered by Colin (David Koechner) began to escalate. They begin to turn against each other, to the point of negotiating the payoffs in order to gain a seeming advantage with their benefactor. Vince in particular couldn't handle the early successes of his rival, and it was disconcerting to see him resort to some of the tactics he thought would gain him an advantage. What's never made clear is how Colin ever acquired so much money that he treated it like water; that might have added another dimension to the story. Along with wife Violet's (Sara Paxton) seeming disregard for everything going on, the film moves along to a point of no return that turns both players into monsters, no longer capable of making rational judgments because of their lust for money. If your tastes go for the outlandish, this might be the flick for you, best summed up by coke snorting Vince when things start to get really hairy - "This is some weird-ass sh.., man!" I think you'll come to the same conclusion.

SillyGayBoy I saw this after watching Nerve and 13 Sins due to similar concepts.For different reasons this one I loved and hated at the same time.I love the concept. It's simpler then other films like this. Someone is paying people for dares and... that's all I'll say.The acting and writing is well done.I like the indie and original film style.However I will say I ended up feeling terrible about picking this to watch with a sensitive significant others and it just got too dark for my taste.I have watched, and maybe looked away from parts, of many horror movies, depending on what it was.This just got too gross for me and I regretted watching it. Next time I come across something this sick I am using the fast forward button.

SnoosReviews 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

begob I loved the premise - you get it straight away, like a good short story, and settle in for the ride. The first half was amusing. The guy throwing the money around was played really well, and the two losers upped their mutual distrust into contempt at just the right pace.But no comedy for me in the rest of the film. It was tense, although I think they got the finger and the dog the wrong way round. Plus the dog story was daft - the choking on the finger didn't "go down" well.After the attempted robbery it lacked any real menace from the rich couple. The husband lost his lethal charm, the wife never seemed more than a nice girl having a wild night. They had to have an underlying weirdness, but in the end they seemed like the normal ones. Maybe that was the point, but if so I don't understand it - is being rich to be in the right? Maybe they're part of CNBS's dwindling audience.Good entertainment, but could have been crazier.