''Spiked'' is a 2021 American drama film written and directed by Juan Martinez Vera and starring

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an Irish-American actor. He made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984), and has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), '' Stakeout'' (1987) ...

. It is inspired by events in the life of Arizona-based newspaper publisher Joseph Soldwedel, who serves as an executive producer.

Plot

John Wilson is a newspaper publisher in a small U.S./Mexico border town who denounces the abuse of power by local law enforcement. Wilson has been at it for years and has made more than a few enemies and stepped on more than a few toes. Following the killing of an immigrant worker, an incident that the police are unwilling to do anything about, the newspaper publisher and his team take on the plight of the family and of the community to find those responsible and bring them to justice. At every turn, his efforts are thwarted by an uncooperative police chief who seems to have her own agenda. Matters escalate when John succumbs to a mysterious illness that threatens his life and his investigation.

Cast

as John Wilson * Deirdre Lovejoy as Chief Collins *

Danay García Danay Aguilar García (born July 5, 1984) is a Cuban-American actress, producer, director, dancer and model. She is best known for her roles as Sofía Lugo on Fox's drama series ''Prison Break'' (2007–2009) and Luciana Galvez on AMC's horr ...

as Diana * Carlos Gomez as Mike * Wendy Makkena as Margaret * Walter Belenky as Bradford
Sean Dillingham
as Chuck * Lovensky Jean-Baptiste as Ricky

Production

Principal photography occurred near

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

in August and September 2019. The indie film stars

, best known for his role on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

series “ Elementary.” Quinn delivers an outstanding performance as John Wilson, a character inspired by real-life events surrounding Arizona-based newspaper publisher Joseph Soldwedel. Soldwedel’s experience fighting injustices as a longtime newspaperman helped lend authenticity to the film, and his financial support gave birth to the project. Soldwedel and his son Brett served as the film’s executive producers

Release

Gravitas Ventures Gravitas Ventures is an American film distribution company owned by Shout! Studios. The company was founded by Nolan Gallagher in Los Angeles in 2006, and moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to Cleveland in 2019. It focuses on the distribu ...

acquired North American distribution rights to the film in February 2021. The film was released on VOD on March 26, 2021.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 9051162 American drama films American films based on actual events Films shot in Tucson, Arizona Films set in Arizona 2020s English-language films 2020s American films