Humans behaving badly: FAVOR + CHEAP THRILLS offer blueprints for recession-era storytelling

FAVOR is Paul Osborne's self-released thriller-cum-dark comedy, about a typical suburban yuppie who calls on a childhood pal for the ultimate favor. Complications ensue, and the thriller premise reveals a social satire core that skewers materialism, conspicuous consumption, and the growing divide between Haves and Have-Nots. It's not a perfect film, the ending in particular stands out as weak, but FAVOR is a good example of how a low-budget film be fascinating: by putting enough work into the screenplay that the themes and plot twists become the "sizzle." Rent or Buy FAVOR on iTunes

FAVOR suggests if you scratch a successful yuppie, you'll find a terrified, panicky animal— E.L. Katz's CHEAP THRILLS goes even further, suggesting fear is how we stay low in the food chain while the 1% amuse themselves with our pain. Pat Healy plays an everyman (it's easy to imagine him as FAVOR's hero ten years ago) who stops in a bar for a much-needed beer, runs into an old pal making ends meet as a small-time criminal, and ends up in an escalating series of dares and stunts for a coke-addled rich couple. Healy is great, David Koechner will likely never get a better role, and Ethan Embry (remember him?!) is unrecognizable as Healy's ne'er-do-well pal. If I see a movie I like more in 2014, this is gonna be a great year for film.  Rent or Buy CHEAP THRILLS on iTunes

THE TAKE-AWAY— Both FAVOR and CHEAP THRILLS have a cast of 5-6, take place in 3-4 locations, and have Ø special effects, car crashes, or aliens. Yet you can't turn your eyes away. Why? Because there's almost nothing more watchable than humans behaving badly. Likewise, both are clever using the universality of money (stress) to keep us relating and engaged even as the stakes escalate past all standards of sanity. New Orleans indie cinema doesn't need to fall back on "genre" elements (eg. vampires, T&A, etc) if it has a smart screenplay that understands the entertainment value of people at their worst and the universality of the pressures that make them so.

Housekeeping— on the Top Ten list, I replaced JFK with Eddie Jemison & Sean Richardson's THE KING OF HERRINGS, which is playing next week at Indywood. JFK will definitely make the "Next 20" list, which I will post soon.