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Cheap Thrills
R2 - United Kingdom - Koch Media Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (24th July 2014). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** From the team that bought us You're Next. Unemployed and down on his luck, Craig (Pat Healy) finds himself drowning his sorrows in an attempt to forget the mounting debts threatening to tear his family apart. When a chance meeting with an old friend (Ethan Embry) leads to one drink after another; the pair find themselves drawn into an innocent game of dare by a thrill seeking couple with money to burn; Violet (Sara Paxton) and Colin (David Koechner). As the night progresses both Vince and Craig become the victims of their own greed, as the initially fun game escalates into something far more sinister. When the money is on the table, how far will two friends go to ensure their futures? What doesn't kill you, makes you richer.
Video
Koch Media bring "Cheap Thrills" to DVD for UK audiences in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The transfer is anamorphic, but unfortunately it is a NTSC->PAL conversion, unlike Koch Media's standard PAL German release. The most unfortunate thing with this NTSC->PAL transfer, is that we unfortunately get quite a lot of combing and interlacing. This is mostly noticeable during scenes where the characters make sudden movements, but it is obvious enough to become rather distracting. For a good example of these problems, you only need to see the early scene when Healy and Embry are talking to each other in the bar, before they meet Paxton and Koechner. The colour palette is very dark (except for a couple of contrasting items such as Paxton's white dress), in the same tone as the locations (a dive of a bar, poorly lit home) and the story. Blacks are deep, but do exhibit some minor crush on occasion, and some of the shadow details appear lost. Other details are good, though not great, with facial close-ups the strongest part of this transfer. There are no signs of damage to be concerned with such as scratches or dust. I think that had this been a standard PAL transfer and not a NTSC conversion, it could have resulted in a huge improvement to picture quality. The film is uncut, and runs 87:12.
Audio
Koch Media have provided us with a single audio option here; English Dolby Digital 5.1. It's quite a basic track which is more than adequate, but could certainly be improved upon. The surrounds are mainly used by the score provided by Mads Heldtberg (You're Next, Excision), though the occasional environmental noise also sneaks in. The LFE is well utilised with low-key rumblings based around the bass from the music playing in Koechner's/Paxton's house. Dialogue is generally quite central, though there is a little channel separation. Directionality is technically good, but is quite flat. There are no signs of damage to the audio such as drop outs or scratches, and volume levels are consistent throughout. Subtitles are available in English for the hard of hearing and are optional.
Extras
Just a start-up trailer for "Magic Magic" (1:53).
Overall
Dark and twisted, I had an absolute blast. This is a great entry into the genre, and the twists are great. Unfortunately, the disc itself is lacklustre.
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