We at Cinema Blend love it when life imitates art, from Bat Kid to actual Jurassic parks, and the promotional campaign for E.L. Katz’s darkly comedic thriller Cheap Thrills certainly qualifies. It is about as over-the-top as marketing gets. The film revolves around a series of increasingly sordid bets that David Koechner’s affluent character Colin tasks Vince (Ethan Embry) and Craig (Pat Healy) with, as the prize money for winning each bet steadily increases. And much like that scenario, the cast and crew have been doing some pretty horrible things to themselves as a way of rewarding those who are trying to get the movie seen by more people.
Case in point: in the video seen above, Drafthouse Films founder Tim League is offering anyone who didn’t like Cheap Thrills a full refund and the chance to slap him square in the face. To prove his word, the cameraman then knocks the bejesus out of him, and it’s hilariously shown in slo-mo to drive the cheek-wiggling point home.
But that’s far from the most painful thing that these guys are willing to do, as evidenced by the film’s website. Here, they've set up a list of ten dares that Embry, Healy, League and producer Travis Stevens will perform as long as audiences continue to spread the word about the film’s VOD release, which hit a week ago on March 21. So far, they’ve gone through seven of the dares, with the eighth recently reached. For the first, Healy posed Burt Reynolds-like, nude on a rug. You can amusingly glance at it and quickly look away here.
Très sexy, non? Just be lucky I’m not showing you some of the other vids, including the guys drinking a bottle of A1 Steak Sauce, taking a shot out of a shoe, and drinking beer until one of them pees in their pants. I’m pretty sure all of these stunts would make for excellent DVD features. Next up is an "extreme tequila shot" and eating a pizza full of ghost peppers. Having had those in my mouth before, I am NOT jealous of them. But I totally want to see it happen.
Take a peek at the newest trailer below and go watch Cheap Thrills. You might not win any money doing it, but you’ll certainly feel like you’re worth more after it’s over.
