Texas Killing Fields (2011)

In the Texas bayous, a local homicide detective teams up with a cop from New York City to investigate a series of unsolved murders.

Director:

Ami Canaan Mann

Writer:

Don Ferrarone

Stars:

Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Worthington	...	Mike Souder
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	...	Brian Heigh
Jessica Chastain	...	Pam Stall
Chloë Grace Moretz	...	Little Ann Sliger
Jason Clarke	...	Rule
Annabeth Gish	...	Gwen Heigh
Sheryl Lee	...	Lucie Sliger
Stephen Graham	...	Rhino
Corie Berkemeyer	...	Shauna Kittredge
Trenton Perez	...	White Kid (as Trenton Ryan Perez)
Maureen Brennan	...	Mrs. Kittredge (as Maureen A. Brennan)
Tony Bentley	...	Captain Bender
Becky Fly	...	Neighbor
James Landry Hébert	...	Eugene (as James Hébert)
John Neisler	...	DPS Officer

Storyline

Souder, a homicide detective in a small Texan town, and his partner, transplanted New York City cop Detective Heigh, track a sadistic serial killer dumping his victims' mutilated bodies in a nearby marsh locals call 'The Killing Fields'. Though the swampland crime scenes are outside their jurisdiction, Detective Heigh is unable to turn his back on solving the gruesome murders. Despite his partner's warnings, he sets out to investigate the crimes. Before long, the killer changes the game and begins hunting the detectives, teasing them with possible clues at the crime scenes while always remaining one step ahead. When familiar local girl Anne goes missing, the detectives find themselves racing against time to catch the killer and save the young girl's life.

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Plot Keywords:

place name in title | multiple murders | based on fact | abusive parent | torture murder | 

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Taglines:

Once in... There's no way out.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language including some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 2011 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

The Fields

Filming Locations:

Amite, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$8,772 (USA) (14 October 2011)

Gross:

$45,282 (USA) (11 November 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anchor Bay Films, Blue Light, Infinity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In preparation for their roles, Sheryl Lee and Chloë Grace Moretz spent time in a rehabilitation center for drug addicts.

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Goofs

Little Anne is seen grooming her hair, which has a slight waviness to it, but after her mother kicks her out, Little Anne is then seen at a convenience store, hair straight and brushed through.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dispatcher: 7-Ida-06 over at Hal's Tire Shop. There's been a break-in.
Det. Mike Souder: 06 en route to the tire shop...

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.14 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"When The Blaze is Blue"
Composed by Patrick Ferris
Performed and Arranged by The Americans

User Reviews

Underrated and Gritty Detective Story

In Little Texas, Texas, Detectives Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) are investigating a series of murders of women by a serial-killer. When they leave the crime scene where a body was found, Brian brings the girl Ann Sliger (Chloë Grace Moretz) that is on probation to the house of her dysfunctional family and delivers the neglected Ann to her careless mother.

Then they are called by Detective Pam Stall (Jessica Chastain), who is Mike's ex-wife, to help her to investigating a case of missing woman, but the case is outside their jurisdiction. However, they join Pam in her investigation while the family man Brian tries to help Ann and protect the girl against the abusive friends of her mother. Mike follows a clue that leads to two local criminals while Brian follows a different line of investigation and finds that the bodies were dumped in an area called "The Killing Fields". When Ann is kidnapped by the serial-killer, Brian seeks her out alone in the dangerous land.

"Texas Killing Fields" is an underrated and gritty detective story. The screenplay could be improved since the situation of two different groups of killers is confused but later the plot becomes clearer and the viewer is able to understand the big picture.

The locations in the bayous show an American reality that is not well- explored in Amereican films.The cast has great actors and actresses and the performances are excellent. Ami Canaan Mann is the daughter of Michael Mann and this is her second feature. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Em Busca de um Assassino" ("Chasing a Killer")