Cold in July

Movie review by
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media
Cold in July Movie Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 18+
(i)
Crime thriller is brilliantly twisty but gruesomely violent.
  • R
  • 2014
  • 109 minutes
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Parents say

age 14+
Based on 1 review

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Cold in July
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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

Positive Messages

The story begins with characters trying to do the right thing and discovering that, in certain situations, there's no right thing to be done. Nothing much is learned. The good guys might have rescued some helpless victims, but only after a vicious bloodbath.

Positive Role Models & Representations

The main character, Richard, is a genuinely good guy who tries to do the right thing throughout the movie. He has a conscience that won't let him rest until he's sure he's helped all he can help and until justice is done. Unfortunately, he ends up participating in a senselessly bloody climax; the point is to try to rescue some innocent people, but many others die in the process.

Violence

The main character shoots a burglar; blood sprays all over the walls and seeps into a couch. (The good guys are shown trying to clean it up.) A child is briefly in peril. The climax contains a very bloody shootout, with several people being shot (or stabbed); there are gushes of blood, and several people die. A video is shown of two men sexually abusing a young woman, and then -- off screen -- beating her in the face with a baseball bat. Viewers mainly see the reactions of the people watching the video, as well as hearing sound effects. A man is nearly killed on the train tracks, and two men dig up a coffin; the gruesome corpse is shown in detail (its fingers are chopped off). There's a brief, violent fight with punching and kicking, a car crash, and a fire.

Sex

Fairly brief scene of a topless woman. A married couple is shown being affectionate with each other, kissing and cuddling. An older man is briefly seen flirting with a younger woman. A "sex" tape is partly shown, with two men asserting themselves sexually upon a younger woman (see violence section).

Language

Very strong language includes several uses of "f--k" and many more uses of "s--t," plus "goddamn," "damn," "bitch," "ass," and "hell." "God" and "Jesus Christ" are used as exclamations. A character has a license plate that reads "RED BTCH."

Consumerism

Lone Star beer is prevalent in this movie, close to feeling like an advertisement. An 1989-era Apple computer can be seen on a desk.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

The characters drink a lot of beer. The morning after the shooting, the hero goes to a restaurant and orders a beer. (The waitress asks, "it's a little early, isn't it?" and he replies, "Not today.") In one scene, the main character comes home drunk and makes a joke about it to his wife. A man is injected with a hypodermic needle in one brief shot.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Cold in July is a crime thriller based on a novel by cult author Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-Tep). It has some incredibly bloody shooting scenes, plus fighting, stabbing, etc. But the most brutal part is a video that depicts men sexually assaulting a woman and then bashing her head with a baseball bat. The video is only partly shown on screen, but the reactions on the faces of the characters watching it tell the whole story. Language is strong, with uses of "f--k," "s--t," and "bitch." There's one short scene of a topless woman. Characters drink a lot of beer throughout the movie -- always Lone Star brand -- and sometimes get drunk. The movie could pick up a cult following (certainly fans of TV's Dexter will want to see Michael C. Hall in this role), but the graphic material makes it only for mature viewers.

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User Reviews

  • Parents say
  • Kids say
Adult Written byparker john 15 December 18, 2014
age 14+

amaing

brilliantly written and keeps you entertained every minuite definitely watch this its a must see
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What's the story?

In East Texas, 1989, family man Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall) wakes one night to find an intruder in his house. He loads his father's pistol, his finger slips on the trigger, and the perpetrator is dead. Life starts to go back to normal, until the victim's father, Ben Russell (Sam Shepard), starts hanging around, making indirect threats against Richard's young son. Things turn even weirder when Richard spots a mug shot and realizes that the man he killed isn't who the cops say he is. Worse, the cops seem to want Ben dead rather than in prison. To find out what's going on, Richard and Ben form a truce and call upon an old friend of Ben's, private detective Jim Bob Luke (Don Johnson). With luck, this mismatched trio can get to the bottom of things.

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Is it any good?

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.

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Talk to your kids about ...

  • Families can talk about Cold in July's brutal violence. What effect does it have? Does it cross the line? Who determines where "the line" is? How does its impact compare to what you've seen in horror movies?

  • Richard always tries to do the right thing but ends up in a huge bloodbath. Is he still trying to do the right thing? Is he a role model? What does he learn? What's accomplished? Is it worth the price paid?

  • Characters drink a lot during this movie. What's the appeal? When characters say "I need a beer," do they really "need" it?

  • Did the movie surprise you with its twists and turns? What did you expect would happen, and how did the movie turn out differently? Does it play upon your expectations?

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Movie details

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