When I discover a film I feel is really special in some way, I usually drag as many people to the theater as possible to see it with me before it’s banished to the streaming realm forever. I’m always excited by the challenge of choosing people I’m sure will enjoy it as much as I do, but I’m not always right.

With Under the Skin (2013), I had about a 50% success rate with people either really loving it or really hating it. With Let the Right One In (2008), I hit a near 100% success rate with the only complaint being having to read subtitles (which is clearly not a complaint about the movie and says more about the viewer). With Blue Ruin I hit my first home run (did I use that sportsball metaphor correctly?). Now, I’ve only shared it with about 4–5 people, but across the board everyone really loved the movie.

Director Jeremy Saulnier needs to write the handbook for making great films on a small budget. The budget for this film was around $420,000, which is just remarkable. I’ve never made a film, but this just seems like an impossible challenge. I’d love to know how they pulled it off. I’m so glad they did.