The Price We Pay Review- Ultra Gory, Guerilla Filmmaking At Its Best

When you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Although even the most diehard fans of their careers would argue this isn’t always true, The Price We Pay is the rare example of a love of craft coming through on screen. The action/horror/comedy that refuses to be defined is destined to become a cult classic revisited in years to come by returning viewers looking for a laugh and new ones wanting to be surprised.

When everyone is having fun, you can feel it in films. There’s something magical that happens that elevates the movie from perfunctory camera work and acting to campy genius and stylish direction. The Price We Pay, directed by Ryûhei Kitamura(The Midnight Meat Train, Downrange) and written by Christopher Jolley, is one of those films. From beginning to end, it is nonstop fun. Between the unexpectedly effective direction and camera work and the disgusting practical effects, there is a lot to like about this movie which clearly understands its audience and what they want.

When a pawn shop robbery goes poorly, a trio of criminals take a hostage and make a run for it. Alex, Emile Hirsch(The Immaculate Room, The Autopsy of Jane Doe), playing way off type, and his brother Shane (Tanner Zagarino), along with Stephen Dorff’s(Blade) Cody, are in trouble. Making matters worse, down on her luck, Grace(Gigi Zumbado, Run Sweetheart Run) was in the wrong place at the worst time. The group finds themselves at a remote farmhouse, hoping to hole up for the night and regroup. Unfortunately, this farm is cultivating more than crops, and things quickly spiral way out of control. In a race for survival, Grace must decide how far she will go to save her own life.

Hirsch is a standout, playing to the extremes of the script. Alex is a bad guy with odd physical ticks and a desire to shoot first and talk later. His manic energy fills his scenes with a rabid electricity mirrored by the people he has inadvertently come up against. Hypnotic chemistry draws you in despite being annoyed by all of them. There’s a satisfaction in what happens to Alex that shouldn’t be as enjoyable as it is. Yet there it is. In full technicolor glory, as the blood splattered, my fist pumped, and a harsh chuckle choked forth. Hirsch’s commitment to his over-the-top performance makes up for some of the leaner parts of the script.

This Grindhouse-style film mixes all the best elements of blood-splattered effects, larger-than-life characters, and B-movie hijinks to keep you rocked back on your heels. That off-balance feeling permeates most of the movie and wrings wry laughs when you probably should be horrified, but such is the nature of these types of films. It’s the kind of movie you keep expecting national treasure Danny Trejo to jump out of a trunk or from behind a locked door with a grin and a chainsaw. It’s silly and doesn’t take itself too seriously but still manages to be a pretty wild ride.

Sometimes these films can so devolve into ridiculousness that the horror is lost in a pool of fuscia-hued viscera and barb-wired bats. Although barbed-wired does make a meaningful appearance, that is worth the price of admission in the final act; nothing ever goes so far as to take us out of the story. The Price We Pay treads a fine line, never skirting too far into the absurd to obliterate the fear. It is a delicate balancing act you don’t expect in a film that is so obviously self-aware.

The film is helped by a fantastic real-life farm in New Mexico that is lit and shot to make the most of the weird space and harsh corners. Frequent collaborator cinematographer Matthias Schubert(Downrange, The Shed) knows his way around tight spaces and uses clever camera trickery to ratchet up the tension to coincide with the action. The end result is a bonkers product reminiscent of some of the greats like Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The twist isn’t as surprising as the former, and the scares are not as scary as the latter, but Kitamura’s movie forges a new space in horror that allows for levity and fear to coexist.

The aforementioned twist is forecast early by a seemingly unrelated prologue, but the set does all the heavy lifting, so you are surprised even when you know what’s coming. As the sun-drenched shots of sweaty brows give way to darkened underground hallways and later neon-lit spaces, we follow anxiously as our crew gets what is coming to them. It’s a curious kind of morbidity that plays well with the central theme. Karma is a bitch.

It’s that kind of film for lovers of this roller coaster ride style of filmmaking that finds art in the absurd and amusement in the mayhem. The chaos that ensues in the final act makes every moment of the setup worth it. So go in cold and watch with friends because The Price We Pay is definitely a party movie. It’s on VOD everywhere right now and in select theaters on January 13th, 2023. It is getting its UK digital release on October 16, 2023.