Cold in July- 2014. Michael C Hall, Sam Shephard, & Don Johnson. 8/10
Hidden gem from 9 yrs ago. Just when you think you know which way this movie is going, it throws you a curve ball halfway through that turns the story in a completely different direction. Hall plays an ordinary family man that accidentally kills a home invader one night. He is cleared by local police who declare it was in defense of family. Then the dead man’s lowlife father(Shepherd) comes looking for revenge for killing his son by threatening Hall’s son.
Hall gets evidence that the man he killed wasn’t the father’s son, and a conspiracy begins to brew. This is when Don Johnson appears as a PI hired by the vengeful father to get to the bottom of things. The investigation then takes an unexpected turn that rallies all 3 men together to come to a closure.
I’m not going to spoil the event that changes everything, including the tone of the movie, but let me just say that when it happens, you’ll know it. It is so disturbing, and well done, that you feel the emotion and rage of the 3 participants involved. That is good directing by Jim Mickle.
This is Don Johnson’s best role I have seen from him in a very long time, but all three actors do their job well. Highly recommend if you like Independent films that are a bit gritty and have an effective twist in plot.