Cheap Thrills
dir. E.L. Katz · 2013
Craig, a desperate family man, finds himself in a bar with an old friend, where a wealthy stranger proposes a series of increasingly twisted dares for cash. As the night unfolds, the stakes rise, revealing the dark corners of human nature and the lengths to which people will go when pushed to their limits. Watching it feels like a rollercoaster ride through moral ambiguity, where laughter and horror intertwine in a gripping exploration of desperation.
Craig (Pat Healy) is a struggling family man who loses his low-wage job and is threatened with eviction. In an effort to delay facing the music at home, he heads to a local bar and runs into an old friend (Ethan Embry). The 2 are roped into a round of drinks by a charismatic and obscenely wealthy stranger (David Koechner) along with his mysterious wife (Sara Paxton). The couple engages the pair friends in a series of innocent dares in exchange for money over the course of the evening, with each challenge upping the ante in both reward and boundaries. It seems like easy and much needed money, but the couple's twisted sense of humor pushes just how far Craig and his friend are willing to go for money and cheap thrills.
Talking points
- the ethics of desperation
- the influence of wealth on morality
- the nature of friendship under pressure
- societal views on risk and reward
