CHEAP THRILLS dvd

What would a desperate man do for money?  This is hardly a new theme for movies, but it's tackled with brutal simplicity in Cheap Thrills, a brutal, often funny movie about those need money playing games to entertain those who have it.

Craig Daniels (Pat Healy) is a family man -- wife, young daughter -- who wanted to be a writer but would up as an auto mechanic.  Craig and his family are facing eviction, but while he's hoping to get a raise, he winds up downsized instead.  Craig heads out to a bar to drown his sorrows, and he runs into Vince (Ethan Embry), an old friend Craig hasn't seen in five years.  Vince works as the muscle for bookies and knows something about violence and people who are desperate.

Their salvation or damnation comes from Colin (David Koechner) and Violet (Sara Paxton), a married couple out celebrating Violet's birthday.  Colin is a loud, obnoxious hedonist, snorting coke and doing whatever he wants; Violet is withdrawn, barely noticing anything except when she's taking pictures of whatever interests her.  And while they're making bets with each other, they quickly decide to include Craig and Vince in their games.  The bets start relatively small, but soon grow into hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  They also grow more disgusting and dangerous, illegal and violent.  And as the night becomes morning and the booze and drugs flow, things between Craig and Vince become more strained and they compete for the money they both urgently need.

Cheap Thrills could almost be a play, with its focus almost entirely on the four main characters.  It could also have wound up as a simplified "the rich are bad, the struggling are good" polemic.  Instead, the movie occupies the space between horror and drama as we see two different people in need gradually devolving as they start turning on each other as they keep doing whatever they have to for that money Colin casually tosses around as his whims hit him.  The cast is quite good (especially Koechner, stepping out of his usual comic roles to deliver some real menace), the action remains tight, and the movie manages to be suspenseful and entertaining.  Cheap Thrills doesn't have the most original premise, but it delivers its good with some bloody gut-punches.  (DVD extras include commentaries and making-of features.)

Overall grade: B

Reviewed by James Lynch

THE INNKEEPERS dvd

The search for proof of the paranormal has been the subject of many horror movies -- but few have taken as low-key an approach as writer-director Ti West in The Innkeepers.  This horror movie has a small cast, a minimum amount of special effects and costuming -- and unfortunately, not that many scares.

The Yankee Pedlar Inn is nearing its end.  Not enough customers stay there, and after the current weekend it will close its doors for good.  Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) are the only two employees left, dutifully checking the few remaining guests in and out and bringing them clean towels.  They have a different priority, though: Find and document proof of the paranormal at the Inn, so Luke can post it to his website (that so far only has a video of a door "mysteriously" closing).  They want to do a room-by-room sweep of the Inn before it closes, especially since there are legends that Madeline O'Malley was murdered there in the early days of the Inn.  But with Luke's pessimism, Claire being easily startled (and then going for her inhaler), and their camera broken (so they can only try for audio proof), they're not the most dynamic of investigators.

But as Claire and Luke chat, idly investigate, and swap shifts, strange things happen.  Claire keeps hearing noises and almost seeing things.  Their latest guest is Leanne Rease-Jones (Kelly McGillis), a former actress and current spiritualist who senses restless spirits in the Inn.  Will Claire and Luke find the proof they seek before the Inn is gone?  And what if the proof they seek turns out to be malevolent?

Much as I like horror that relies more on atmosphere and plotting than gore and special effects, The Innkeepers goes too far in the opposite direction.  The scares are few and far between, relying on some very rudimentary movie monsters and the frequent combination of a swell of music and a camera zoom-in.  The characters of Claire and Luke are paper-thin : We know nothing about them outside their hotel job and ghost-hunting hobby.  There are a few tense moments as the characters wander the dark, deserted halls of their Inn, but overall The Innkeepers doesn't do enough with its minimal approach to horror.  (DVD extras are the basics: a behind-the-scenes feature and two commentaries.)

Overall grade: C-
Reviewed by James Lynch