Cold in July (2014)
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A man's accidental shooting of a burglar sets off a violent chain of events involving a vengeful father and a mysterious private investigator.
The story
In 1989 Laborde, Texas, Richard Dane accidentally shoots an intruder identified as a wanted felon. Shaken by the event, Richard is soon accosted by the man's father, Ben, a paroled convict who makes veiled threats regarding Richard's son. When the Danes discover their home has been broken into, they are placed under police protection. However, the situation escalates when Ben is discovered hiding in the house's crawlspace. After Ben is apprehended in Mexico, Richard begins to notice disturbing discrepancies regarding the identity of the man he shot, leading to a tense investigation into a deeper conspiracy.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1989 Laborde, Texas, Richard Dane accidentally shoots a burglar, Freddy Russel. Richard is soon confronted by Freddy's father, Ben, a paroled convict who threatens Richard's son. After the family is put under police protection, Ben is found hiding in their crawlspace, knocks out a guard, and kidnaps the boy before being caught and taken to Mexico. While at the station, Richard notices that the man on the wanted poster for Freddy Russel looks different from the man he shot. After witnessing the police treat Ben with suspicious violence, Richard saves Ben from a train. The two exhume Freddy's grave and confirm the body is not Freddy's. A private investigator, Jim Bob Luke, reveals that Freddy was involved with the Dixie Mafia and may have been placed in Witness Protection. They discover Freddy is alive in Houston under a new name and find snuff films featuring him. Ben, enraged by his son's actions, resolves to kill him. They track Freddy to a remote mansion where they find him making another snuff film. During a violent confrontation, Jim Bob Luke is killed, and Freddy shoots Richard and Ben. Ben finally shoots his son in the head before dying from his own wounds. Jim and Richard set the mansion on fire and escape.
- First release year
- 2014
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jim Mickle
- Writers
- Nick Damici · writer; Jim Mickle · writer
- Cast and characters
- Michael C. Hall · Richard Dane; Sam Shepard · Ben Russel; Don Johnson · Jim Bob Luke; Vinessa Shaw · Ann Dane; Nick Damici · Ray Price; Wyatt Russell · Freddy Russel; Lanny Flaherty · Jack Crow; Rachel Zeiger-Haag · Valerie
- Genres
- Southern Gothic; crime thriller; independent; neo-noir
- Themes
- masculinity; revenge; conspiracy
- Tone and mood
- tense; seedy; gruesome; pulpy
- Premise and plot tags
- Southern noir; vigilante; crime; mystery
- Source material / true-story basis
- novel Cold in July by author Joe R. Lansdale
- Content notes
- sex crimes; prostitution
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews, being described as a rewarding, tense, and gripping thriller with a seedy tone and memorable performances, though some critics found the plot machinations tiresome or the genre shifts confusing.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 84% · review count: 116; Metacritic · score: 73 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Production trivia
- Production did not begin until seven years after Jim Mickle read the novel.; Filming took place over 25 days in the Hudson Valley area of New York.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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