''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 (born November 28, 1986) is an American former 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) ...

, Gabriel Luna, and

Clifton Collins, Jr. Clifton Craig Collins Jr. is an American actor. After starting in 1990, with small roles in film and on television, Collins gained attention for his performance as Cpl. Ramon Aguilar, a prisoner "serving" under an imprisoned general played by R ...

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

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

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 theaters 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 without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Cast

as Benjamin Davis * Gabriel Luna as Lance Flores *

as Lou Hobbs *

Will Brittain Will Brittain (born August 10, 1990) is an American actor. He has had roles in the films ''A Teacher'' (2013), ''Lila & Eve ''Lila & Eve'' is a 2015 American crime drama film directed by Charles Stone III and written by Patrick Gilfillan. The f ...

as Agent Hendricks * Alma Martinez as Marisa

Release

''Transpecos'' received its world premiere at

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

on March 13, 2016. Shortly after, Samuel Goldwyn Films 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 demogr ...

'' 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