Parents' Guide to

Cold in July

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Crime thriller is brilliantly twisty but gruesomely violent.

Movie R 2014 109 minutes
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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

age 14+

amaing

brilliantly written and keeps you entertained every minuite definitely watch this its a must see

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

Genre director Jim Mickle generally makes horror films with a touch of realism; here, he ingeniously takes a classic crime story and adds elements of horror. Based on a novel by cult author Joe R. Lansdale, this turns out to be his best movie yet, a twisty, brainy, patient thriller with guts and imagination, as well as a few big laughs. Rooted in genuine human curiosity and empathy, it quickly and easily gets under your skin.

Mickle establishes a credible atmosphere, captured in wide swatches that seem to have all the time in the world; the camera gets many tasty little details. He also makes sure the late-1980s era gets a nod with a John Carpenter-like synthesizer score and the occasional hair-metal song. But best of all are the trio of performances by Dexter's Hall, a wounded Shepard, and a cocky, scenery-chewing Johnson. Vinessa Shaw is likewise excellent as Hall's wife, lending real gravity to that relationship.

Movie Details

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