Cold in July

2014 • 110 minuuttia

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On a sweltering Texas summer night in 1989, husband and father Richard Dane (Dexter's Michael C. Hall) awakens to the sound of a burglar breaking into his home. In a panic, he shoots the intruder dead—but this nightmare is only just beginning. Although he's hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family's safety when the burglar's ex-con father, Ben (Sam Shepard), rolls into town; hell-bent on revenge. However, not all is as it seems. Misled by the cops and desperate for answers, Richard embarks on an increasingly berserk, bloodstained quest to discover what really happened that night. The plot twists pile up faster than the body count in this blistering mystery of vengeance and vice, directed by Jim Mickle (Stake Land, We Are What We Are) with scene-stealing performances from Sam Shepard and Don Johnson as a pair of Texan badasses. Based on the novel by Joe R. Lansdale.

Arviot ja arvostelut

This is a solid crime mystery thriller. Strong likeable performances especially from Sam Elliott and Don Johnson. There's some nice twists and turns in the story. And the time period doesn't feel manufactured it feels & looks like the late 80s you buy it. There's a nice build up to the bloody violent climax. Top-notch indie film worth checking out.

I love books and I really love Joe R. Lansdale. This novel was very compelling and it was rewarding to work out the characters' motivations. By comparison, the film was acccurate, well-directed and length appropriate, but some of the underlying motivational insight was lost. However, I thought Sam Sheppard was superb. Don Johnson's character was reigned in to a degree and I blame this more on directing than the script or his acting ability; he was made for this role. Michael C. Hall did well breaking away from his Dexter persona and he performed convincingly.

I enjoyed this movie, but to me it has a huge hole in the plot. I can't for the life of me understand why the cop tries to kill Ben, when he's going to be sent back to jail anyway. I kept waiting for the movie to somehow re-weave the cop into the story but it never came.