"COLD WALLET" (2025) Is A Winter Thriller That's Pure Fire! (REVIEW)

Macabre Daily lives in a world of make-believe horror. Psychotic masked slashers bent on babysitter brutality, love it! Endless varieties of vampires; old, young, hot, gross, you name it, we’ll take it. Werewolves in the throes of carnivorous lunar activities, can’t get enough. Even the occasional Chupacabra has a special place in our cryptid-loving heart. We happily take them all in, yes, please, and thank you. But you mention cryptocurrency and our blood runs cold. Nothing scares us more than this bizarre, seems like make-believe, “Wait…is someone called “TIG BIDDIES 69” in charge of running this whole thing.” world. It was only a matter of time before crypto seeped into mainstream cinema. Director Cutter Hodierne brings our worst moolah nightmares to life in the wickedly clever heist thriller, “Cold Wallet” from Well Go USA. Presented by Steven Soderbergh (always a sign you’re in good hands), the film is an engaging mix of blue-hued, winter noir, loser buddy comedy, and layer upon layer of incredibly poor decision-making. This movie sits comfortably alongside films like “A Simple Plan” (1998),” The Ice Harvest” (2005), and “The Lookout” (2007). Read on for the details on why you should add this to your watch list this month.

SYNOPSIS:

After losing everything in a cryptocurrency scam run by deceased billionaire Charles Hegel (Josh Brener), a ragtag team of vigilante Redditors; Billy (Raúl Castillo), a townie loser who’s desperate to provide a better home and paternal connection for his young daughter (Joanna Sylvie Weinig), Dom (Tony Cavalero), Billy’s best friend, and pacifist (maybe?) martial arts instructer whose motivation for tagging along is to save his dojo, and Eva (Melonie Diaz) a fellow investor and hacker who let’s Billy in on the fact that Hegel is alive, vulnerable, and hiding out in his Berkshire mansion. They attempt to kidnap the kingpin who screwed them over, but when the home invasion takes a turn for the worse, they become victims in a sadistic game.

WHAT WORKS: 

Let’s start with director, Cutter Hodierne, who gets incredible performances from his cast. It would be easy to lean into stereotypes or caricatures in a film like this, but the characters feel real in their desperation and impulsiveness. It’s these “grey” areas in a thriller that add the most depth. What works so well here is that the audience is immediately on board with the trio breaking into a mansion to get some sort of compensation for their massive losses. Throughout the arc of the film, whatever nobility attached to this act erodes to the point where you’re unsure whose allegiance you side with. Full disclosure, you’re never on the side of the billionaire. Those days are long gone, if they ever existed at all. This is a small film with no more than four primary characters, but Hodierne makes it feel more significant in scale in almost every way. He’s aided admirably by cinematographer, Oliver Millar, particularly with the woodland shots that convey a striking sense of loneliness and dread that’s matched by the escalating desperation of the trio’s rapidly devolving situation.

Castillo does a fantastic job carrying the emotional weight of the film. Initially winning the audience over as a down-on-his-luck Father, he soon reveals himself to be way out of his depth. The performance changes in tone as it becomes clear he knows little, if anything, about what’s really happening and his erratic decisions put everyone in jeopardy. Cavalero, solid as always, knows just how much humor and pathos to add to a scene. His Dom, is the tragic heart of the film. Diaz has the challenging role of exposition provider, but handles it with ease. She’s the only one who truly understands what the score is here, how to best handle it, and when they’ve passed the point of no return. These characters represent a lot of what we’re seeing these days. Desperate people with a marginal understanding of a complex situation, acting on emotion rather than intelligence, making rash decisions that will affect them in ways they never imagined. This is a very “of the moment” film, but it works on a pure entertainment level as well, making the viewing experience more enjoyable.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK:

The title. Few people who see this film will likely know what a cold wallet is (a USB drive that stores private keys offline, making them almost impossible to hack), and once it’s explained, it doesn’t get any clearer. The casting of Brener as Hegel seems like a miss. Brener is fine in the role but lacks the physicality to match Castillo and Calalero in alpha gamesmanship. Because of this, you never feel any true danger or peril in the abduction. However, these are small nitpicks that don’t detract whatsoever from the enjoyment of the film.

SUMMARY:

“Cold Wallet” is the kind of small, well crafted thriller we can’t get enough of. Incredibly well-made and well acted, with an ending that truly satisfies, this is the kind of film you can’t wait to turn others onto. Spread the word.

Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following Macabre Daily on Instagram, Facebook, and BlueSky!