Cheap Thrills Blu-ray Review

E.L. Katz’s Cheap Thrills is a sick, twisted little indie thriller that gleefully pushes the envelope while keeping audiences hooked and guessing until its pitch-black finale. Built around a deceptively simple premise and a clever, escalating structure of shocking dares, the film delivers one of the more uncomfortably entertaining rides in recent genre cinema.

Struggling everyman Craig (Pat Healy) hits rock bottom on the same night he loses his job, facing eviction with a pregnant wife and child already waiting at home. A chance encounter at a dive bar with old acquaintance Vince (Ethan Embry) and a lavishly wealthy, bored couple Colin and Violet (David Koechner and Sara Paxton) leads to an increasingly deranged game of provocative and immoral dares for Craig. What starts as harmless (if bizarre) bets for quick cash spirals into something far darker, more visceral, and morally corrosive as the stakes rise and the “thrills” grow cheaper and bloodier by the minute.

E.L. Katz’s Cheap Thrills is a sick, twisted little indie thriller that gleefully pushes the envelope while keeping audiences hooked

Katz’s direction is uneven at times as tonal shifts between comedy and cruelty feel a touch clunky and the pacing occasionally sags, but the film’s raw energy and merciless script more than compensate. The real engine here is the quartet of lead performances, which carry the freight brilliantly as the sinister game they play takes them down a moral quagmire.

Healy brings a heartbreaking everyman desperation that makes his moral compromises feel tragically plausible. Koechner is a riot as the crude, unpredictable instigator, while Embry and Paxton are chillingly effective as bystanders who treat human suffering like premium entertainment. Their chemistry crackles with uneasy tension, selling every escalating humiliation and atrocity.

What makes Cheap Thrills linger is its nasty intelligence. It’s not just schadenfreude or torture porn. This is a savage satire on class, human cruelty, and how quickly desperate people rationalize the unthinkable when money is on the table. The structure of dares keeps you off-balance, constantly wondering how far it will go and what anyone will actually do. By the time the credits roll, Katz has delivered a lean, mean gut-punch that feels both inevitable and shocking.

Without diving into spoilers too much, Cheap Thrills is not for the squeamish and there is one decidedly over-the-top moment in the final act which may deeply offend pet lovers. This movie is not for the faint of heart.

The 2.40:1 presentation by Arrow Video utilizes the same high-quality transfer as the original 2014 Blu-ray release by Cinedigm, delivering a razor-sharp image free of any noticeable flaws or artifacts. Shot on ARRI Alexa cameras and finished with a strong Digital Intermediate, the 1080p encode preserves exceptional clarity and fine detail throughout. The 2013 production runs an uncut 87 minutes in decent AVC.

Facial textures, clothing fabrics, and the grimy surfaces of the dive bar and cramped apartment interiors pop with impressive resolution, while the naturally clean video remains intact and organic rather than overly filtered or smoothed.

Colors lean toward the sickly and desaturated palette that perfectly matches the film’s seedy, morally decaying tone. Skin tones stay convincingly realistic and never overly polished, while contrast is punchy enough to deliver solid depth without sacrificing shadow detail. Blacks are rich and inky during the nighttime exteriors and dimly lit interiors, with no crushing or banding issues.

The AVC encode holds up strongly even in challenging low-light sequences, resulting in one of the most technically impressive transfers for a micro-budget indie thriller of its era. Minor compression noise is essentially absent, making this a reference-level presentation for the material.

This is a rock-solid video transfer that lets the film’s raw, uncomfortable visuals shine without technical distraction. The biggest issue in the picture quality lies in the source material – the early 2010s digital color grading already feels dated with its drab primary colors and sickly yellow-green push.

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix delivers clear dialogue and effective use of surrounds for the escalating tension and sudden bursts of violence. The score’s sleazy, propulsive electronic undercurrent from composer Mads Heldtberg (You’re Next) comes through with decent separation, while ambient bar noise and the uncomfortable silences land with impact.

It’s not a demo-worthy track, but the audio serves the dialogue-driven thriller perfectly.

Optional English SDH subtitles play in a white font inside the scope presentation.

Arrow Video issues Cheap Thrills on Blu-ray as a one-disc limited edition, adding new special features on top of the previous ones pulled from the 2014 Blu-ray edition by Cinedigm. If you own the original Blu-ray, key differences are a new round of interviews with the four primary cast members and a dry academic commentary. If that doesn’t interest you, Arrow Video’s edition probably isn’t worth a buy. Fans of the movie will find plenty to chew on regarding the performances and the script’s dark humor.

A reversible sleeve offers original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde. Inside is a double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sister Hyde. The included collectors’ booklet has new writing on the film by Heather Wixson and Matt Donato.

Like the original Drafthouse Films BD, Arrow’s BD is coded for Region A.

Audio Commentary by film critic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas – This is a new discussion by the veteran of many Arrow and genre releases. She’s not my cup of tea as her commentaries come from one, very limited perspective.

Audio Commentary with director E.L. Katz and actor Pat Healy – A solid discussion between the director and lead actor pulled from the original BD.

With Friends Like These (19:00 in HD) – A newly filmed interview with director E.L. Katz and producer Travis Stevens.

Money Talks (36:35 in HD) – A newly filmed interview with actors Pat Healy, Ethan Embry, David Koechner, and Sara Paxton. Makes me wonder how much each participant demanded in cash for giving these new 2026 interviews.

Double Down (19:08 in HD) – A newly filmed interview with writers Trent Haaga and David Chirchirillo.

Ketchup, Cheese, and (Fake) Blood (11:47 in HD) – A newly filmed interview with special effects/make up artist Hugo Villaseñor.

Vital Heat: The Making of Cheap Thrills (39:47 in HD) – An archival featurette from the first BD.

Cheap Thrills at Fantastic Film Festival 2013 (06:09 in HD) – An archival featurette from the first BD.

Theatrical Trailer (02:28 in HD)

Cheap Shots (00:15 in HD) – A gallery of photos taken by Sara Paxton’s character, Violet, as seen in the film.

On-set production photos (00:20 in HD)

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided by the label for review. This has not materially affected DoBlu’s editorial process. For information on how we handle all review material, please visit DoBlu’s about us page.