''Transpecos'' is a 2016 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Greg Kwedar, and written by Kwedar and Clint Bentley. The film stars

Johnny Simmons Johnny Simmons is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Dylan Baxter in ''Evan Almighty'' (2007), Chip Dove in '' Jennifer's Body'' (2009), "Young Neil" Nordegraf in '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'' (2010) and '' Scott Pilgrim Takes Of ...

Gabriel Luna Gabriel Luna is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider on the ABC action superhero series '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2016–2017), Tony Bravo on the El Rey Network drama series ''Matador'' (20 ...

, and

Clifton Collins Jr. Clifton Craig Collins Jr. (born June 16, 1970) is an American film and television actor. He is a Primetime Emmy Award, Independent Spirit Award, Satellite Award, and four-time ALMA Award nominee, and a Screen Actors Guild Award winner. Prior t ...

as border patrol agents who encounter a Mexican drug cartel. The film premiered at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

on March 13, 2016. The film was released on September 9, 2016, in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films, LLC is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. Th ...

Plot

Three agents (Benjamin Davis, Lance Flores, and Lou Hobbs) find some drug evidence in a car at a desert checkpoint, which reveals an insidious plot in their organisation. They set out to uncover the truth by putting their life on the line.

Cast

as Benjamin Davis *

as Lance Flores *

as Lou Hobbs * Will Brittain as Agent Hendricks * Alma Martinez as Marisa *

David Acord David Acord is an American sound editor and voice actor best known for his contribution as a supervising sound editor of the 2015 film '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens''. Acord received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing a ...

as Dispatch 700 * Oscar Avila as Mexican Leader * Alex Knight as Man in Car * Jake Lockett as Agent Jaeger * Lora Martinez-Cunningham as Agent Lupo * Robert Douglas Washington as Young Agent * Sam Adler as Family Man *

Ralph Alderman Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

as Chief Carter * Clint Bentley as Agent Mike Billings * Caroline Derpienski as Caroline * Cesar Lopez as Boy in Road * Jesus Mayorga as Jiminez * Alma Martinez as Marisa

Release

''Transpecos'' received its world premiere at

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

on March 13, 2016. Shortly after,

acquired U.S distribution rights to the film, with a planned fall release.

Reception

The film was met with positive reviews from critics. John DeFore of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote: "Artfully made but wholly accessible for a mainstream audience, it features strong performances but no names in the cast who'll draw attention on their own." DeFore went on to single out the performance of Gabriel Luna, writing: "While all three performances are on target, the film belongs to Luna, as Flores scrambles to mislead the bosses he wants to alert until he and Davis can somehow fix this botched smuggling run." Kahron Spearman of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'' wrote: "With nail-biting precision, Kwedar has crafted ''Transpecos'' into a diamond."

References

External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, transpecos 2016 films 2016 thriller films American thriller films American independent films Films shot in New Mexico Samuel Goldwyn Films films 2016 independent films 2010s American films Films scored by Bryce Dessner