Cheap Thrills, film review: A sadistic, nasty film with some truly jaw-dropping moments

(15) E L Katz, 88 mins. Starring: Pat Healy, David Koechner, Ethan Embry

Not so funny games: Pat Healy and Ethan Embry in EL Katz's tense and extreme 'Cheap Thrills'

E L Katz's film delivers exactly what the title promises. It is a very bloody, very violent fairground ride of a movie that ratchets up the tension as its two hapless anti-heroes compete desperately for money. Craig (Pat Healy) is a family man with crippling debts.

Vince (Ethan Embry) is the old pal he goes out drinking with. There follows a grim Walpurgisnacht as they're lured into a game of macabre one-upmanship by a wealthy, thrill-seeking couple (Sara Paxton, David Koechner).

The dares start innocently but grow more extreme. The flashes of humour are deceptive. We soon realise, just as Craig and Vince do, that the games are in deadly earnest.Cheap Thrills is making observations about the huge gap between rich and poor in modern day US society.

The social and political comments are secondary to the Grand Guignol thrills. The film is sadistic and frequently very nasty but it does provide some truly jaw-dropping moments.