I have been forcing myself out of the usual genres and releases that I would typically watch as of late. Discovering a few recent films I knew I wouldn't enjoy a whole lot, and still giving them a chance as to broaden myself a little more. Growing a little tired of hunting for arthouse films and only watching what I would consider to be good. I remember in the past I would watch everything and anything. Not really caring as to whether it was good or not, but still finding a way to enjoy the time spent. While not all films are worth that time spent, in my case it has felt a bit necessary to escape the restrictive shackles I have placed upon myself, ultimately leading to me watching less and less over the recent months due to an overly indecisive and picky nature.
The Price We Pay is one of three films I have decided to check out in the past week. A relatively new release that caught my attention with some of the cast. Interested in the title itself and the synopsis which seemed to take the idea of a highly dangerous robbery going wrong, leading to things only getting worse for a group of people that ultimately deserve whatever it is they have coming. An interesting take on something that seemed a bit like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That old horror trope of teens getting caught up in the isolated parts of the country and discovering an evil they cannot escape from; though in our case here, our cast of unfortunate individuals are criminals. A simple setup that takes something already established and tries something not too different but still a bit new with it.
My interest in the horror and thriller genres is, well, nonexistent for the most part. I don't like modern horror titles, nor do I typically like over the top action and violence. But The Price We Pay almost felt old. Dated in its approach, but in a positive way that allowed for it to distance itself from modern titles and seem like a more simple bit of fun to make that took influence from the greats of the past, though not turning out great itself.
The Price We Pay has a relatively short runtime, allowing it to jump pretty quickly into the story it aims to tell. A group of individuals attempt to rob a store at the same time I women attempts to pay off her debts to its owner. Things go south and the woman and group ultimately have to flee the scene, running off to the countryside to escape the heat that inevitably would follow as a result of the way things went. Stopping off at a farm, they make the excuse that they need a place to crash for the night as travellers passing through, though the criminals have a particularly mean nature to them, making their curiosity ultimately lead to their demise. Roaming through the location and exploring things they shouldn't, leading to a much more sinister series of events.
It's a very simple structure, and one that doesn't really steer too far from it. The story remains its central point throughout with very little attention to its characters and their stories, but that hardly ever really comes to matter. We are not supposed to care for these characters at all, if anything we are led to appreciate what happens to them and to some degree the film questions the idea of morals. Do these people deserve what's happening? Are the sinister events taking place actually a benefit to society? These questions come up briefly, but are enough to make a clear point to us as the audience that makes us satisfied with how things are going. I didn't feel that I needed to know more or less throughout the film. It certainly does what it needs to, and even clearly had its fun towards the end as the gore and violence takes a bit of a crazy direction.
It has a very indie film feel to it in the way that gore and violence take reign. Things are a bit silly and definitely crazy, but it has its own appeal in the way that it does things different to films of its type. Rejecting the victimisation of its characters being picked off one by one and instead has you curious as to who is more crazy. Though the film still has weaknesses. Some of the performances aren't great. One of which seems stiff, inexperienced, and as a result not all that convincing. But I was capable of overlooking it due to the relatively thin time they had on screen. The next disappointment is typical horror film tropes that you come to expect. Victims returning to the scene of action rather than escaping despite having many chances to do so. A cliche ending that doesn't really answer much but doesn't really mean anything either. Though at this point you don't really care since the film has done what it intended, having told its quick story and given you the action you expected to see, alongside makeup and physical effects that I actually enjoyed and found quite impressive for a film of its size. Certainly putting some other larger budget horrors to shame where they otherwise would have approached the use of special effects. This is where the film seems like it pulled inspiration from the classics. Not trying to be scary, not really falling into a modern thriller category, but having a lot of fun with just a handful of ideas neatly placed together.
Also evident in its use of limited space. Mostly taking place within a very small set of locations, with some good set design and lighting that made things look stylistic and cinematic. With a simple directing setup where the camera isn't doing anything all that creative most of the time, but still taking advantage of the usual techniques. But nothing will stand out and really put you in a state of awe. It does what it has to to tell the story, but I can't fault it on that. It did it effectively and not much else was needed.
Perhaps the film is worthy of a viewing a bit closer to Halloween. In fact I'm surprised it wasn't released during that time, where it may have had a better chance at finding an audience due to its themes. You might enjoy it a bit more during that Halloween atmosphere, and a little less during the month of January.
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