Cold in July (2014)

At its best, Cold in July recalls the neo-noirs of the great John Dahl, especially his delirious Red Rock West starring Nic Cage and the Hoppmeister. Sadly, however, this is a rather amateur effort, and while an entertaining flick, really does not live up to its potential. Richard Dane is an ordinary small town businessman living in East Texas at the end of the 1980s, but his idyllic life is shattered when one night he kills a home intruder who turns out to have been unarmed. Disturbed by his taking of another life, Dane retreats into himself, but the man's father wants revenge, and soon Dane is caught up in a web of bizarre plot twists and nightmarish terror. But the elements here just never add up, and the plot twists often wind up creating plot holes that are never filled in. The central mystery that plunges Dane into the unknown is never solved, or even mentioned again after the halfway mark, and the twists seem to exist more for shock value than anything else (snuff films have become a particularly popular motif in contemporary cinema, but Thesis is the only film that gets it right). There is also a curious lack of suspense here, almost as if the plot developments are forced as opposed to progressing naturally. It really kind of limps. The cast members, however, all give great performances, especially Sam Shephard as the brooding, nothing-to-lose Ben. But good performances are not enough to save what is a mess of a film. I do not doubt that director Jim Mickle has talent, but he needs to step up his game.