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A brilliant but underseen thriller movie is airing on TV tonight

Published 11:53 28 Apr 2026 BST

Updated 11:53 28 Apr 2026 BST

Stephen Porzio
A brilliant but underseen thriller movie is airing on TV tonight

Homemovies & tv

Starring Dexter actor Michael C. Hall, the film's great cast and twisty screenplay make it well worth seeking out.

Our TV movie pick for tonight (Tuesday, 28 April) is Cold in July, a brilliant if underseen 2014 crime thriller.

Based on the novel of the same name by acclaimed cult writer Joe R. Lansdale (The Thicket), the film centres around an ordinary Texas man in the 1980s named Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall, Dexter) who accidentally shoots an intruder in his home.

Already shaken by the experience, he is soon visited by the dead man's father, Ben Russell (Sam Shepard, The Right Stuff), who seeks revenge against Richard's family.

Ben's vengeance plan is complicated, however, when he realises there was more to the initial burglary than meets the eye and when a private detective (Don Johnson, Knives Out) shows up asking questions.

Cold in July Trailer

Co-starring Vinessa Shaw (Eyes Wide Shut) and Wyatt Russell (Thunderbolts*), Cold in July was directed by Jim Mickle (In the Shadow of the Moon, Stake Land).

We'd urge fans of crime thrillers to seek out the hidden gem film, thanks to its atmospheric Texas setting, its terrific trio of lead performances, and its unpredictable and twisty story.

Holding an 84% Rotten Tomatoes score, Cold in July is airing on TV tonight/tomorrow morning on the channel Legend at 1.15am.

It's also available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play and the Sky Store.

Here are the other movies on TV tonight:

Armageddon - Comedy Central - 9pm

Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck are blue-collar deep-core drillers sent by NASA to stop a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with Earth in this hugely entertaining sci-fi disaster flick.

The Italian Job - Sky One - 9pm

Not the classic Michael Caine-led '60s heist flick, but the decent 2003 remake with Charlize Theron, Jason Statham and Mark Wahlberg.

Murder on the Orient Express - Film4 - 9pm

Kenneth Branagh directs and plays the lead role of gentleman sleuth Hercule Poirot in this adaptation of Agatha Christie's iconic train-set mystery novel.

D-Tox - Legend - 9pm

Sylvester Stallone headlines this snowy murder-mystery.

The Hunter's Prayer - Legend Xtra - 9pm

Avatar’s Sam Worthington plays a conflicted hitman helping a young woman to avenge the death of her family in this 2017 action thriller.

Creed III - ITV4 - 9.30pm

The most recent entry in the long-running Rocky sports franchise.

The Power of One - Legend Xtra - 10.55pm

Stephen Dorff, Morgan Freeman and Daniel Craig (in his film debut) star in this 1992 drama about an English boy growing up in ’30s and ’40s South Africa.

Criminal - Legend - 11pm

A forgotten 2016 sci-fi action thriller with a star-studded cast, which includes Kevin Costner, Gal Gadot, Gary Oldman, Ryan Reynolds and Tommy Lee Jones.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande - Film4 - 11.15pm

This well-liked comedy drama explores the relationship between a retired school teacher (Emma Thompson) and a young sex worker (Ireland’s Daryl McCormack).