A superb modern thriller in the ultra-hardboiled Jim Thompson mould, in which a trio of criminals, wanted for a brutally murderous drugs heist, converge on a small, quiet Arkansas township where the local cop, treated with contempt by the LA officers in charge of the case, looks forward to a High Noon-style showdown. The asides on racial and sexual inequality are made subtly and succinctly; the performances and pacing are nigh perfect; the violence is explicit, disturbing but never gratuitous; a find out more...

A small town West Texas cop starts a sado-masochistic relationship with a sultry hooker. This, though, is a prelude to a series of killings as the town has its dirty secrets and the psychotic copper his own childhood traumas to cope with.
This is not the first film adapted from the work of pulp crime fiction writer Jim Thompson, but this stylish, downbeat, violent, noirish, period piece, serial killer movie is one of the best. find out more...