Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and Cinedigm, in partnership with leading Movies on Demand distributor iN DEMAND, announced today the acclaimed comic thriller Cheap Thrills will be available exclusively on the Movies On Demand platform of Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks cable systems beginning February 21st, prior to its March 21st theatrical & digital VOD release. Cheap Thrills joins a select few titles to receive pre-theatrical debuts exclusively on cable. To celebrate this VOD release, the studio has released six new posters, one of which is a comic-inspired one-sheet designed by Johnny Ryan, and 10 images from this dark comedy, which you can check out below.
Cheap Thrills was acquired by Drafthouse Films, in partnership with Snoot Entertainment, following its world premiere at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival where it won the "Midnighters Audience Award." Cinedigm holds rights to the home entertainment distribution rights, including DVD, Blu-Ray, VOD and digital platforms. The directorial debut from E.L. Katz, Cheap Thrills has been hailed as "a black comic masterpiece...brilliant and furious piece of filmmaking" (Drew McWeeny, HitFix) while First Showing says Cheap Thrills is "a dynamite charge of fun."
Drafthouse Films COO James Emanuel Shapiro had this to say in a statement about the VOD release.
"We're delighted iN DEMAND championed an early release of Cheap Thrills and we are thrilled to be unleashing E.L. Katz's uniquely thrilling film to a cable audience of millions around the country. They're in for a wild ride."
Erick Opeka, SVP of Digital Distribution for Cinedigm released his own statement.
"One of our core missions as a company is to find new audiences for great films. We're excited to partner with iN DEMAND on this innovative release strategy that gives tens of millions of cable viewers a chance to see Cheap Thrills first."
iN DEMAND's Emilio Nuñez, SVP, Movies & Original Programming, spoke about the buzz Cheap Thrills has been receiving in his statement.
"Cheap Thrills is just the kind of critically acclaimed film that we are looking to premiere exclusively for our cable audiences. The film has been picking up awards and generating a lot of buzz on the festival circuit and we want to serve film lovers with an early opportunity to screen this movie at home. We are also very pleased to be partners with Drafthouse and Cinedigm on this special deal."
Synopsis
Cheap Thrills follows Craig (Pat Healy, Compliance), 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 encounters an old friend (Ethan Embry, Empire Records). The two friends are roped into a round of drinks by a charismatic and obscenely wealthy stranger (David Koechner, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues) along with his mysterious wife (Sara Paxton, The Innkeepers). The couple engages the two 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.