Starring: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson
One night in Texas, framestore owner Richard Dane (Hall) grabs his gun to fend off an intruder (Ken Holmes). Startled, Richard shoots the unarmed burglar and kills him but escapes prosecution due to self defence. The dead burglar is identified as Freddy Russell and following the shooting, Freddy's regularly-incarcerated and estranged father Ben (Shepard) stalks the Dane family for revenge. However, a case of police corruption and concealed identities cause Richard and Ben to put aside their differences and work together to solve the mystery.
Adapted from a Joe R. Lansdale novel written in 1989, this film adaptation of Cold In July keeps the story statically within 1989 and bringing with it elements reminiscent of 80's thrillers, largely succeeds in providing an engaging, entertaining and tense thriller.
Cold In July doesn't really have a main plot element that the film revolves around. Instead the story shifts from one plot point to the next. What starts as an exploration of guilt and paranoia backed up by an exploration into the mentality of the deep south when it comes to defence changes to a story on police corruption and further on to a story of vigilantism which unfortunately means that certain aspects of the plot seem to go unresolved.
However, there is still plenty to enjoy with this movie. In recent years, there's been something of a wave of popularity for thrillers reminiscent of the 80's work of the likes of Michael Mann; Drive being a particularly prominent example. Cold In July definitely steps into that world. The soundtrack thrums and buzzes to a synth-score heavily reminiscent of John Carpenter. In fact, with Michael C. Hall's rugged reluctant action hero character and Sam Shepard's brilliant turn as a silently determined dangerous man, it wouldn't be hard to see Carpenter regulars Kurt Russell and Donald Pleasence in those respective roles. Don Johnson, reminiscences of Miami Vice at the ready, backs up the central trio as a larger-than-life urban cowboy private eye who provides occasional comic relief to good effect.
As thrillers go, Cold On July isn't amongst the most brutal and uncompromising the genre can throw at you, but it does throw in some rather tough sequences from time to time. The acts perpetrated by various characters can often cross a line into being profoundly disturbing and the scenes of violence may be a bit much for some prospective viewers. In fairness, Cold In July may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the filmmakers know the audience that this will sell the best to and caters to it accordingly so if the film intrigues you from this review, then you shouldn't be dissapointed.
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