Cheap Thrills (2013) Directed by E.L. Katz

This is a wickedly fun movie and a good execution of a good concept!

To be perfectly honest, the concept isn't all that original and I for instance have seen it being used in multiple different horror movies already but it still manages to work out as something original and fresh within this movie. It's of course because this is not a horror but a...well, dark comedy probably would be the best way to describe it as. It's not the 'laugh-out-loud' type of comedy but more of the 'I-don't-know-how-to-feel-at-this-awkward-and-uncomfortable-scene-so-I'm-Just- going-to-laugh' kind of comedy (yes, that's really a sub-genre...). It's more a subtle type of movie, that isn't necessarily going for laughs but plays things more straight and slowly and subtle creates some more and more crazy and awkward situations for the movie its two main characters. It's neither a totally ridicules or very realistic movie. It's somewhere in between the both; ridicules with its situations and developments but realistic with its characters and way of storytelling.

And a reason why the characters really do work out well within the movie and its story is of course due to the acting. It's a movie with only a handful of different characters in it but that's also all that this movie needed really. The four main actors (Pat Healy, Ethan Embry, Sara Paxton and David Koechner) did a more than great job to keep things going and constantly interesting, fun and engaging to watch. The characters all feel like real persons, which does make them pleasant to watch and follow around. Besides, because the characters all feel like real persons, it also isn't too hard to know and understand what they must be going through their minds, which is part of the reason why the movie feels like an engaging one to watch. It's not a movie that constantly has to explain and lay everything out, simply because there is absolutely no need for it. The movie allows things to develop and progress on its own, without having to fall back too much on film-making- and storytelling clichés. It knows when to push things and when to simply allow things to happen and develop on their own.

It's all part of the reason why this is a very pleasant and entertaining movie to watch. It goes crazy at the right moments but always manages to pull you right back in again as well. It's thanks to the subtle approach to the storytelling and way how the story is constructed. I loved how things slowly developed and got more and more out of hand. It's really part of the fun of the movie. You always know that, no matter what, the next thing is going to be even more crazy than the one thing that you have just seen. It keeps things constantly interesting and fresh to have to watch.

It's also a movie that definitely works on some more dramatic and personal type of levels. This makes the characters more interesting as well as -again- more human and realistic ones. But really, you can also simply choose to just have some fun with this movie and get entertained by it, without ever having to think too hard about things.

I'm definitely glad I finally watched this movie.

7/10

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