Blu-ray review: Cold in July (2014)

If you aren't already familiar with the filmmaking tandem of Jim Mickle and Nick Damici, please allow us to enlighten you as to who these boys are:

Mickle (Director) and Damici (Writer/Actor) are the duo responsible for giving us such Genre fare as Mulberry St., Stake Land (review HERE), the remake of We Are What We Are (review HERE), and now, Cold in July.

Over the course of four films, these two have developed a distinct rhythm together, and each film that they've made has gotten better and better to the point where now we're actively awaiting their next project.

Cold in July is a very nuanced Crime Thriller that hearkens back to the days of early 90's noirish efforts like Romeo is Bleeding, Hard Eight, or even Fargo. Then again it also feels a lot like newer movies such as A History of Violence, or even Memento. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang?

I don't know why we feel the need to always draw comparisons between newer films and the like-minded ones that have come before it; maybe that basis of comparison acts as a barometer of sorts, letting us know what we can expect both in terms of style and quality?

I guess the point we're making is that Cold in July is a comfy movie, in that it reminds us of so many other hard-boiled tales of crime and revenge that we've grown to love over the years, and we really like being comfy.

Awoken in the middle of the night by the sounds of an intruder rummaging around his living room, Richard Dane runs a comb through his power-mullet and heads out to confront them, gun in hand. Then he shoots the guy. When the Police arrive, they tell him that he did a good job, because he was just protecting his family, and this is Texas!

SECOND AMENDMENT, SON!

Feeling bad about killing someone, Richard heads to they guy's funeral where he is confronted by Ben; the intimidating father of the guy he just killed. Ben also happens to be an ex-con who looks like he's no stranger to killing people himself, and it quickly becomes apparent that he's not happy with Richard for killing his boy. This leads to Ben making a veiled threat against Richard's son, which freaks him out even more than he already is.

YEAH, OUR MONEY'S ON BEN TO WIN THIS ONE.

After an intense cat-and-muse game between the two fathers, which Richard's young son is helplessly caught in the middle of, both of them come to learn that it may not have been Ben's son that was killed after all. Ben calls in his P.I. friend, Jim Bob (remember, this is Texas), who confirms that it was indeed not Ben's son that Richard shot, which means that for some reason the Police lied to Richard, and that someone has a lot of explaining to do.

SONNY CROCKETT IS STILL A BADASS.

From this point on, Richard, Ben, and Jim Bob team up to find out where Ben's son is, who they guy was that Richard shot, and who's behind the whole thing. Far be it from us to spoil what happens here, but suffice it to say that the Dixie Mafia is somehow involved in all of this, and that the business of making snuff movies is apparently a tough one to survive in.

ROLLING THREE DEEP... BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THEY REALLY NEED.

Cold in July is about as good as a Revenge Thriller can hope to be. The thing that struck us most about the movie was how retro the whole thing felt; if we didn't know better, this movie could have easily been made in the late 80's or early 90's and not felt a bit out of place. When White Lion's "Wait" began to play over the closing credits, our hearts absolutely skipped a nostalgic beat.

We loved the way that it starts off as a move where an ordinary guy is forced to take drastic measures to protect his family from a vengeful career, and then changes gears to see both of them join forces to exact revenge on even badder guys. The way the story unfolds, it leaves us as an audience in a totally different place than we thought it would. It's a twisty plot which makes for an unconventional, and fun ride.

BOTH WERE ON HIT TV SHOWS BASED IN MIAMI. COINCIDENCE? WE THINK NOT.

As great as its writing and direction is, Cold in July is also anchored by some equally great performances which really provide the movie's lifeblood. It's hard for us to say which one of Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, or Don Johnson did the best job with their roles here, because we were enthralled by each of their performances equally, if for different reasons. If we had to pick one though, we'd probably say that Don Johnson stole the show for us; he's a far better actor than most people probably give him credit for, and he's downright brilliant in this movie. It's really hard to ignore the gravitas that Sam Shepard brings to this move though, and likewise, the quirky skill of Michael C.Hall.

Some of the movie's best moments were due to the stoic presence of Sam Shepard's Ben and Don Johnson's Jim Bob alone, with perhaps the best scene in the movie containing no dialogue whatsoever; with just a look, a nod, and complete silence, the trio of Hall, Shepard, and Johnson said more than they ever could have with words.

This really isn't the kind of movie that will get a lot of consideration come awards time, which is a shame, because the performances by its trio of antiheroes is truly inspired. These boys put on a clinic in this one.

SO DAMNED GOOD.

We'd also be remiss if we didn't mention how great this movie's score was. When the first notes of synthesized bliss began to play, we immediately thought "wait, did John Carpenter score this thing!?" The music of Cold in July is its own character, and it definitely added a unique element to the proceedings.

SAM SHEPARD COULD GO AHEAD AND STAR IN A SEASON OF TRUE DETECTIVE ANYTIME HE LIKES, AND WE'D BE FINE WITH THAT. HE COULD BRING DON JOHNSON ALONG FOR THE RIDE TOO, AND THAT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER.

It's not going to be for everybody, but Cold in July was most definitely for us. Its slick and gritty story, along with three fantastic performances, served to thrill us in all the right ways, like few other movies in 2014 have. Cold in July is a buy for us, and it's definitely worthy of a buy/rental for most other Genre fans.

Bottom line is, don't miss this one.

A

Cold in July is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD.

We can't talk about this movie without mentioning how great Vinessa Shaw was in her role; sure, she's  gorgeous and all, but she's also a pretty good actress, and she held her own amidst all of the testosterone-fueled craziness of this movie.

Also, she's gorgeous.