Cold in July (2014)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Richard Dane	Michael C. Hall	½
Ben Russell	Sam Shephard	½
Jim Bob Luke	Don Johnson	½
Ann Dane	Vinessa Shaw
Ray Price	Nick Damici
Freddy Russell	Wyatt Russell
Jack Crow	Lanny Flaherty

Review

Although Cold in July opens as a run-of-the-mill 1990s psycho killer thriller, and certainly plays on suspense at least as diligently as those films did, it soon becomes clear that there's more to writer/director Jim Mickle and writer/actor Nick Damici's story than what first meets the eye. The basic human emotions explored here are well-known in this genre – it's all about fear, revenge and shame – but the realization of the story has quite a bit of innovation and flair, and through Sam Shephard's wonderful character also a deep sadness. Granted, the introduction of Don Johnson's loudmouthed private detective reverts it all to more genre-familiar territory, but Mickle follows up and follows through with his main thematic dilemma in the film's rather powerful ending.