For Forbes, Mark Hughes ranked Cold in July, Jim Mickle’s adaptation of the Joe R. Lansdale novel, as one of the best movies of the summer.

Cold In July — Easily the most “indie” of the smaller counter-programming films on this list, and a very welcome summer surprise. Feeling like an early Coen Brothers movie adapting an Elmore Leonard novel, it’s actually directed by Jim Mickle and based on Joe R. Lansdale’s book of the same name. Featuring a top-notch cast and a story that suddenly pivots into a completely different, unexpected story you don’t see coming, Cold in July was a tense dramatic thriller for adults in the middle of blockbuster season driven by a lot of effects-laden escapism. Not that such escapism is bad, and indeed several such films are on this list; but it’s always great to see films willing to take a chance on decidedly non-Summer-blockbuster tales, and in fact go outside the box of typical summer counter-programming. It’s one of my favorites of the year, and the sort you rarely see these days.

Read the rest of Hughes’ selections at Forbes.

The movie tie-in edition of Cold in July is currently available from all finer outlets.

Cold in July the movie, starring Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down), and Don Johnson (Miami Vice), is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Book cover design by Elizabeth Story.