Texas Killing Fields

In her second feature, director Ami Canaan Mann attempts to parlay screenwriter Don F. Ferrarone's gruesome crime melodrama into a stylish exercise in nail-biting suspense. The story is inspired by a real-life mystery: the discovery of the corpses of more than 50 victims of sexual assault in marshes alongside a stretch of the I-45 highway, 30 miles south of Houston, Texas, since 1969. Ferrarone's fictionalization follows familiar conventions of television crime procedural dramas and chase-filled action films, as Mann works in a genre mastered by her father, director Michael Mann, who produced this effort. Unfortunately, the results are seldom entertaining.

In the otherwise sleepy burg of Texas City, a serial killer is apparently on a rampage, raping and murdering women, then dumping their bodies a short distance from the highway. Homicide detective Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) and his gruff new partner, Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a cop transferred from New York City, team up to catch the sadistic killer. The partners search for clues following the murder of a troubled teenager (Chloë Grace Moretz), the neglected daughter of a smarmy alcoholic, Lucie (Sheryl Lee). Meanwhile, Souder's ex-wife (Jessica Chastain), a detective from a nearby jurisdiction, enlists the cops' help in finding a missing woman suspected of being a victim of the killing spree. The elusive psychopath turns the tables on the officers and begins stalking them. Two creepy pimps (Jason Clarke and Jon Eyez) become suspects, while other sleazy characters, such as one of Lucie's bed partners (Stephen Graham), lurk around, acting suspiciously.

Chastain turns in fine work in a relatively brief role. Worthington and Morgan come across as more workmanlike than inspired, playing mostly clichéd characters. Moretz earns empathy in her supporting role.

Ferrarone, a former Drug Enforcement Administration worker and a technical adviser on crime films, lends an air of authenticity to the police investigations. In its best moments, the film evokes the appropriate noir-inspired chills, but the pace too often lags. Stuart Dryburgh's dark cinematography is moody and has the requisite gritty feel. But the narrative lacks focus and originality, which is surprising considering that the real-life mystery sounds so intriguing. An extended chase scene is a standout. Yet, all in all, this feels like a been-there-done-that affair.

Genre: Crime drama
Directed by Ami Canaan Mann
Written by Don F. Ferrarone
Starring Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain, Sheryl Lee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Annabeth Gish, Stephen Graham