Texas Killing Fields (2011) User Reviews

Underutilisation of a great cast.

[thefilthpig · 6/10 · 26 November 2011]

With a great cast list, I jumped at this film with enthusiasm. This was met with a complete underutilisation of some of my favourite actors. For what it was Jeffrey Dean Morgan played his limited role well, Sam Worthing over acted his role making him less convincing and Chloe Moretz was vastly underused.

The plot is difficult to follow and some scenes seem completely unnecessary and others feel as though there needs to be more detail. The story overall suffers from a lack of telling and too much showing. The main plot itself was rather predicable and ultimately let me shaking my head in disapproval. Putting this aside there were some parts of the film that made it interesting and the overall story was good in premise.

I suppose I don't want to hate this film, because it has so much potential. It left me feeling disappointed, but as a point of reference of something done badly that could be brilliant, this is the perfect case.

Disjointed and disappointing

[rutietooty · 5/10 · 25 November 2011]

I was very excited to see this film when I heard they were making a movie based on the true events in 'the Texas killing fields'. I thought it might be reminiscent of 'Zodiac' which was superbly done (in my opinion).

I really wanted to like this movie. It has good actors, and the chance of a great storyline. Unfortunately, that did not help this movie in the least.

First of all, the storyline is confusing. It seems as if we (the audience) are dropped into the middle of a situation and forced to figure out where we are, what's going on etc...

The main characters who are the detectives- Det. Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) and Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) seem to have a history together, but what it is, I have no idea. The storytelling (again) is so poor and disjointed that we (the audience) are left to ponder that situation as well. Quickly, we are also introduced to a little girl named Anne (Chloë Grace Moretz), who actually does the best acting of anyone in the entire film.

Now, I am getting myself confused just writing this review. Back to the point...I found this movie confusing, disjointed, lacking a clear direction. I could barely understand a word that came out of Sam Worthington's mouth because his fake southern accent was...criminal. ;-) The story left so many holes, no real explanations of the horrors that have and continue to go on since the 1970's. It just did not tie everything in together in a logical sense.

I saw on CBS, that the real detectives that have been working this case, hope that with the release of the movie 'The Texas Killing Fields' some new leads will come to light. After seeing this movie, I highly doubt that, which really is a shame.

Should you watch this movie? Well, I wouldn't, but I know you will be curious to see it just like I was.

Underrated and Gritty Detective Story

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 16 April 2012]

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")

Dang. It wasn't THAT bad!

[Gladys_Pym · 7/10 · 13 November 2011]

OK.

Mumbling, yes. about as much as Run Baby Run. Archetypal characters, well, tick, but then this is the US.

Personally, I liked it. I didn't expect to, but it was OK. They did a 'Coen brothers-y' thing, not really explaining the back story.

OK. Maybe the two male leads have similar attitudes to women and to their abusers as I do, so maybe that biases me, but I don't think that's all.

I think this has a body. Brains, guts, and a spine. The minor parts are well cast and directed, and the three leads rock.

I'm a bit surprised how slated this has been on IMDb.

I liked it, OK? So sue me....

Strange (happenings)

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 23 May 2012]

The movie itself is really on the verge of being really good. But it never quite reaches that top. Still it is a wonderful acted and photographed movie. The story keeps you on your toes (or the edge of your seat from time to time), though you sometimes wish there would be a clearer and easier to follow narrative. On the other hand you could argue that that is the strong point of the movie.

Being based on real events, this obviously had some high expectations to fill (read there was some notion from the real detectives, who were hoping to get new clues on happenings in that area, though I can't confirm if that is true or not). And it shouldn't matter or make a difference on what you think of the movie. Either you like it or you don't. No matter what is really going on. You can't put that kind of pressure on a low budget movie like this one.

The Truth is more horrid than Screenplay

[gradyharp · 5/10 · 10 June 2012]

There is an area known as the "killing fields" in Texas, where 30 girls and young women have turned up dead since the 1970s. This stretch of land runs along I-45 between Houston and Galveston, Texas and is the bloodiest stretch of highway in America. Here are the basics on the murders that have haunted the area for decades. Just 50 miles long, over the past 38 years nearly 40 women and young girls have been murdered or vanished along this highway. Their bodies have been dumped in fields, parks and the many bodies of water in the area, usually in a sickening state. As of today, the killer is still on the loose. And detectives admit, they're no closer to catching him--although scientific advances could finally end the macabre dance of death. He first struck June 17, 1971. Colette Wilson, 13, had been dropped off from school band practice by the conductor at a bus stop. The young girl seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth. Five months later her nude body was discovered 40 miles away. She died of a single gunshot wound to the head and her flute was never located.

The story is grim and unfortunately the film version written by Don Ferrarone, a federal agent who investigated the slaughters, who has said 'If you can just imagine having one of these little girls out here...one of these young girls out here...and there's no chance for them to be rescued, to be helped. And they're on they're own.' It was the haunting faces of the lost that inspired Ferrarone to write the screenplay for the film.

The story for the film changes the names of everyone. Mike Souder (Sam Worthington), a homicide detective in a small Texan town, Texas City, and his partner, transplanted New York City cop Brian Heigh (Jefffrey Dean Stanton), track a sadistic serial killer dumping his victims' mutilated bodies in a nearby marsh locals called 'The Killing Fields'. Though the swampland crime scenes are outside their jurisdiction, 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 (Chloë Grace Moretz) goes missing, the detectives find themselves racing against time to catch the killer and save the young girl's life. That much of the plot is linear, but the sidebars of the local cop (Jessica Chastain, in a completely unnecessary tiny role) who happens to be the ex-wife of Souder, the stopover in a house of prostitution for young girls, the smarmy family of suspects, and other incidentals simply clot the plot and make the dark film (mood as well as lack of light) even more difficult to follow. Worthington and Morgan offer good performance with the poor script they are given, but in the end nothing is resolved and the director finds the need of adding a happy-wappy resolution which is completely out of place. Grady Harp, June 12

"You don't belong here".

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 26 August 2012]

A modest, if unspectacular low-key offbeat crime thriller that seems to focus on its bleak noir atmospherics and rustic sense of place (being filmed in New Orleans creating such an alienating environment from its bayous), and less so on its moody characters and narrative depth of its investigation. Things just seem to happen, with little to no reasoning behind it. Conventional storytelling enlivened by its edgy moments of suspense. Texas cop Mike Souder is paired up with out-of-town New York detective Brian Heigh where they're dealing with a local murder, but Heigh finds himself looking into another case involving a serial killer who murders his lady victims in the killing fields a wasteland outside Texas City. Director Ami Canaan Mann (yep the daughter of Michael Mann) in her debut feature creates a slick look with her prowling camera and gets strong performances from the likes of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sam Worthington, Chloe Grace Moretz and Jessica Chastain. Even the minor support give fine turns; Sheryl Lee, James Herbert and an unsettling Stephen Graham. However it's the four main leads that really carry this. Morgan's turn as the New York copper is the film's heart and conscience, but that's not taking anything away from Worthington and Chastain. Worthington probably gives the best performance of his career as the hard-bitten Texan detective and Chastain really does hold her own as a fellow officer. However it's Moretz who really surprises in a tender, but spirited performance as the street kid of the town tramp. She's definitely a talent. You can't take anything away from the cast, as they don't limit themselves to the material's shortcomings. The story is supposedly inspired by true events, but never does it go into any great detail and this can be its downfall. As what transpires can feel forced and rushed leading to something predictably anti-climatic due to the red herrings being too obvious. Still Mann keeps you interested with her technical techniques, but also giving it a contemplatively humane touch amongst its slow pace and brooding circumstances. A fair, if compelling straight-to-DVD enterprise.

"You don't know how close to the edge you are".

Keeps you expecting something better

[shanksinha · 1/10 · 12 November 2011]

It's difficult to understand why this film was made. And I don't mean that as a commentary on the overall quality of the movie at all. Yes it is a pretty straightforward serial killer/crime drama containing average (and some below average) piece of acting. At the end of the movie however, the question remains, why was this made? If the purpose was to introduce us to the geography of the fields, there are better mediums to do that. If the purpose was to tell a gripping tale of mystery and suspense, that doesn't happen either. If it wanted to make us empathize with the very real plight of detective work in grim everyday condition, it doesn't go there. And lastly if the purpose was to throw some light on the case itself or to enable us to identify with the horrors that the victims faced, the movie simply ignores it. So, why was this film made? The story is told listlessly, almost as if the director has no interest in telling it. Sam Worthington is a cliché of hothead cop characters and the good cop bad cop routine he plays out with Jeffery Dean Morgan adds nothing to the cinematic experience. The character of Chloë Grace Moretz tries too hard to portray the role written for in the script. At the end she comes out as irritating, something I am sure the director did not intended to portray. It's not her fault though, her skill is flawless, she simply doesn't know what she is doing and why. Jessica Chastain looks beautiful and handles her limited role quiet well. That is not to say that this film is bad, it is just so average in everything it does that it all boils down to the purpose of making it.

Poorly Scripted, But Decent Execution

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 24 January 2012]

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

The casting on this film is perfect -- Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the flawless Chloe Moretz. The directing and cinematography are great, with the dark, gritty feel that one would expect from your better serial killer films. And the story, despite being disjointed, is a pretty good one.

That being said, I have a major problem with this film -- it is fiction. My understanding is that the police involved with the real case were hoping this film would promote the true unsolved murders in the "Texas killing fields". Well, I am sure they must be disappointed. The story is fake, the solution is fake... they even changed the name of the city.

Now, here is the thing... if you are going to call this film "Texas Killing Fields" and then make it about nothing related to the case, the least you can do is put a featurette on the DVD. I know two former detectives who are willing to talk about the case. I know some family members of victims who have a story to tell. If one of the goals was to promote the real case (in order to get it solved), the people behind this movie did not do even the most basic of things to accomplish this goal.

If I pretend that this movie was not very loosely based on a true story, I can be more praising. Like I said, it looks great and the cast is phenomenal. Moretz never fails to impress, and I think Morgan should be an A-lister in the world of Hollywood. He impressed me in "The Resident" and again here.

While I have not read other reviews, I suspect there is a running theme to talk about the director's father, maybe saying things like "being in his shadow". I hope these sort of comments are few and far between. Ami Mann holds her own, and whether she was a famous director's daughter or not, she has the skills and is blazing her own trail.

Messy

[LOL101LOL · 5/10 · 26 December 2011]

I was sort of hanging for this film, great cast, story line that can make for great viewing, and I like the setting of the story as well. And after another lackluster year when it comes to entertainment on the big screen, I thought this could be great!

Well sadly to say it is messy, when it comes to this kind of cop film, you need direction, some one that can tell the story at a good pace, connect all the dots, get you engrossed in the mood of the film, make you sit and wait for more clues and so on, but this film lacks all of that.

Sure the acting is solid, but I expected that with the good cast, but it just does not flow at a good pace, it jumps over some dots that should be connected to make you feel you are part of the characters, and that's where this film is messy, hence my score of 5, sort of sits in the middle.

Nothing special, but not bad either, 5 out of 5 for this one.

Good, moody film...

[jmsfan · 8/10 · 18 January 2013]

I don't know exactly what some people expected from this film given some of the negative reviews, but I loved it. I keep reading "disjointed," "incoherent," "jumbled," etc. I found it to be anything but.

There seems to be some confusion as to the relationships between the two sets of suspects in the film. Well, the blonde, tattooed suspect and his pimp friend are basically a red-herring to the main "Killing Fields" case. Yes, they are responsible for the death of the first dead girl found by the detectives, whom Sam Worthington focuses on in the film, complete with the stakeout on the evidence-laden car. His partner, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan is determined to solve the cases of murdered girls found in neighboring bayou areas. It's not really his or his partner's jurisdiction, but he feels compelled to help the neighboring county police chief, played by Jessica Chastain. Chastain also happens to be Worthington's ex-wife.

It's hinted that Morgan, a New York transplant, had been on a similar case there that went unsolved, but we're not given every bit of information and that's okay. We're just supposed to know that he's driven to solve this case, even if he breaks some rules to do it. Some people have complained that the cops get away with beating suspects and breaking the rules...well, I'm sorry, but it does happen sometimes in real life, especially when peoples' lives are on the line. The guy who is beaten by Morgan for wearing the dead girl's ring around his neck...Morgan lost his temper, yes, but the man was wearing evidence and not cooperating and his other friends came in to try to beat on Morgan, so the cops could say what they wanted, whether we side with them or not, and I did side with the cops.

Like others on the boards, I have kinfolk who live in and around Texas City and it's true that it doesn't look exactly like the movie portrays, but I didn't really care about that. I was focused on the story and the film itself and it really works for me on those levels. Plus the performances are uniformly fine. Morgan appears to be the "good cop" i.e. the level-headed one at first, and Worthington the hot-head. By the mid-point of the film, the roles seem to shift with Morgan going off-track with his focus, at least at first glance. He plays both ends of the spectrum without it being hammered over our head and he does it very nicely.

His determination pays off finally. It's his friendship with a local, troubled teen, played by Chloe-Grace Moretz, that finally helps him in his journey.

Worthington does great as the more seething partner, whether he's badgering Morgan about their not focusing on their own case, or rattling suspects' cages in interrogation, or almost ruining Morgan's questioning of witnesses. He also does a turn-around but it's nearer to the end of the film. Only while helping a character gather belongings to go to a new location does he seem to have calmed a bit.

Chastain, who is one of my favorite actresses, is fine here, but her part is not huge. It's mostly sprinkled throughout the film at vital times. Still, she does fine with the part she's given, which is the sheriff whose misfortune it is to have numerous unsolved murders throughout the years go unsolved because the soggy, barren bayous make perfect dumping or "killing" grounds for murderers. It just so happens that the ones that the film focuses on are a case that is ongoing. She relies on Morgan's help, much to her ex-husband's aggravation.

Moretz is super in the film. Her put-upon, unsupervised young girl is vital to the film. She is known to the two main detectives as they frequently find her roaming around town, taking her back to her broken home, "run" by her partying Mom, played by Sheryl Lee. Lee usually has more than a few men hanging out there, making her daughter leave the house at odd hours so Lee can party. This puts Moretz in jeopardy throughout the film, which provides quite a bit of tension.

The look of the film is moody, the music is great, particularly at the film's close, and I was pleased with the ending, although some have cried foul at the "happy ending." Given what each character has lost by the end, I wouldn't say that it's happy, but a just ending. I'd recommended it to anyone who likes compelling stuff that isn't everyday cops-and-robbers.

Also, some have said that the film doesn't disclose what happens to the tattooed-blonde or his pimp buddy. I have the Blu-Ray DVD and the scene does give some closure on at least one of them, although the other's fate is left unknown. But that just adds to the realism of the movie and didn't even faze me about the film as a whole. Again, give it a chance. Don't expect a classic but a good, solid, almost-noirish movie and you'll enjoy it.

This place is nothing but chaos. Your God doesn't even come here.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 17 May 2014]

Texas Killing Fields is directed by Ami Canaan Mann and written by Don Ferrarone. It stars Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Clarke, Annabeth Gish and Stephen Graham. Music is by Dickon Hinchliffe and cinematography by Stuart Dryburgh. Film is based around real events involving the many murders of women whose bodies have been found in a desolate area of road and wasteland between Houston and Galveston.

Ami Canaan Mann is the daughter of Michael Mann, one of the masters of modern day crime story movies, so it's not very surprising to see Ami, for her sophomore production, venture into murky waters. Texas Killing Fields is a bayou noir, where although the title hints at human devastation unbound, it's actually a slow burning skin itcher more concerned with the people investigating crime than that of the perpetrators. How the sorry events affect all who come in to contact with the crimes at the film's core, is what drives Texas Killing Fields on. Sadly the screenplay takes on board too much and nearly derails an otherwise very good movie.

If it comes down to atmosphere and technical smarts in achieving such? Then this is one of the finest of recent times. There's a constant sense of broody foreboding throughout, the haunting landscapes are all gnarly and spectre like, the whole area literally stinks of death and misery. Even when the story is away from the fields of the title, there's a mood of despair filtering out from Mann and Dryburgh's lenses, the hot Texas weather draining every ounce of sweat from the emotionally troubled detectives. All of the atmosphere is helped considerably by Hinchliffe's music, which piggybacks the misery with ominous bluesy tones.

Unfortunately all this deft atmospheric craft can't stop the screenplay from being annoying. A sub-plot involving Worthington and Chastain as ex husband and wife is as pointless as it gets, which simultaneously wastes Chastain in the process. The makers have chosen to actually have suspects front and centre for the crimes on screen (unlike the real life cases, most of which remain unsolved), well they intend to keep it mysterious, but anyone paying attention will catch on quickly enough. There's also problems with the sound mix, which at times is appalling, rendering some crucial dialogue exchanges as inaudible.

Cast are good, especially Morgan and Moretz, and Mann shows a good hand at action sequences to compliment her astute mood setting skills. But this still feels like a misfire, and subsequent critical appraisals and internet rating systems have it as just above average. That's a little unfair, there's much for the neo-noir/crime movie crowd to get enthralled by here, but Mann may need to sharpen up her story telling whiles to fully bloom her undoubted potential. 6.5/10

An Unholy Mess

[jacknreading · 1/10 · 28 February 2012]

Indecipheral dialogue, hopelessly muddled plot,total absence of character development..I mean, did the director ever watch this film before it was released??? This film is a blatant example of a maddening trend among some contemporary filmmakers: It doesn't matter if the story you tell is incoherent to the audience (sometimes intentionally so!)--just load on those atmospherics! Oh, and don't worry if the audience can't understand a word one of the main characters is saying (the mumbling, incoherent Worthington--it sounds more "authentic!" I'm convinced that when the film wrapped, this neophyte director woke up in the middle of the night and exclaimed: "Omigod! I forgot to put in a resolution about that tattooed guy who killed the cop!" In this case, considering Michael Mann's distinguished resume (with the exception, I would say, of the equally muddled "Miami Vice," the apple has fallen far, far from the tree.

slow grimy police drama

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 31 July 2016]

Detectives Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) and Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) are investigating mutilated bodies dumped in a marsh known as the Killing Fields. They pick up Anne Sliger (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is under probation and is suppose to be home but she doesn't get along with her troubled mother Lucie (Sheryl Lee). Detective Pam Stall (Jessica Chastain) is a police investigator from the neighboring jurisdiction and Mike's ex-wife.

It has some grimy hard-boiled police drama. It's not breaking any new grounds. The actors try to do good work. Other than Worthington, I like all the actors. It has a moody backwoods sense. It's slow and disjointed at times. Directed by Ami Canaan Mann daughter of the famous Michael Mann, this is a good starting point but is not good enough to guarantee future greatness. She has an interesting eye but there is not enough tension for much of the movie.

An Incoherent Storyline despite the Promising, Moody Atmosphere

[romanorum1 · 6/10 · 17 April 2017]

"Texas Killing Fields" is based upon true events: the murders of young women who are dumped in a Texan oil field known to the locals as the Texas Killing Fields, really a bayou. In an early scene, a trapped waif -a young teen-aged girl - stands alone in the darkness in the parking lot of a convenience store. In reality she has nowhere safe to go, and the feeling is one of trepidation.

At movie's beginning, two women are discovered dead, or at least one is. A woman's car is found with her personal effects in the killing field. Her driver's license identifies her as blonde Kirsten lane. Later on her body will be found. The other - a dark-haired prostitute - is discovered in a vacant lot in the city. Both murders have been committed by two different sets of suspects unknown to each other. So the cases are different. But the viewer does not initially know this information. In fact, more than once the movie editing adds to confusion by cutting needlessly to a scene or character unrelated to the previous sequence without any clarification. The disjointed manner of shooting by director Ami Canaan Mann (Michael Mann's daughter) often makes this feature a frustrating, incoherent narrative.

Bearded New York transplant and levelheaded Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his local, hot-tempered and intimidating partner Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) discover the body of the aforementioned young prostitute. Right after Mike's tough ex-wife Pam Stall (Jessica Chastain, in another subplot) - also a cop - requests the help of Brian in the recent disappearance and murder of women within the confines of the killing fields. Brian reluctantly obliges, despite the objections of partner Mike due to their own case against two low-life flesh-peddlers who are systematically kidnapping and forcing teenage girls into a life of prostitution. Mann's film mires itself in a procedural plot involving Brian and Mike trailing these two suspects, pimp Levone (Jon Eyez) and his menacing, bare-armed, heavily tattooed cohort Rule (Jason Clarke), both of whom are heavily implicated in the prostitute's murder. All the while Brian, who just cannot stop helping others in need, keeps an eye out for Little Ann Sliger (Chloë Grace Moretz), a decent but mildly delinquent teen - the above-mentioned trapped waif - trying to survive life at a wretched home with a toxic, dysfunctional family. These members include low-life mom Lucie (Sheryl Lee), criminal brother Eugene Sliger (James Hébert), and her menacing boyfriends, especially chilling Rhino (Stephen Graham). Lucie has instructed daughter Ann to disappear when she has certain men hanging around the house. The denouement will be one of no-nonsense brutality, although flirting with implausibility.

To reiterate, various narrative streams often occur all at once, so it is easy to become confused about what is exactly taking place on- screen. On appositive note, the atmosphere is sufficiently gritty with its haunting landscape: the feeling of dread permeates everywhere. The acting, especially by Chloë Grace Moretz, is fine, but Worthington's accent is often difficult to comprehend. You will probably need to utilize your TV's closed-caption option to understand his words. At movie's end, the survival of one of the detectives is surprising and unrealistic. An inexplicable loose end concerns the fate of one of the bad guys, who outlives the picture. You may have to watch this one more than once to capture full understanding.

Tries so hard to make the audience not care about any of the characters...

[the_rattlesnake25 · 3/10 · 17 October 2011]

Originally scheduled for the director Danny Boyle in 2008, but when the British-born filmmaker abandoned the project a year later, based on the murders of young women in a Texan oil field known to the locals as the 'Killing Field,' Ami Canaan Mann, the daughter of the acclaimed director Michael, took over the directorial helm of the Sam Worthington vehicle the 'Texas Killing Fields'. Mann's feature-film debut is a flat, slow police procedural drama that fails to utilize the acting talent at hand and instead relies entirely upon a stale script. 'Texas Killing Fields' would make for a barely competent television drama, but as a theatrical release, it falls incredibly short of being engaging entertainment for the big-screen.

Detective Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) is a local Texan police officer who believes extensively in only working on cases in his own town's jurisdiction, while his partner Detective Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is a former New York City police officer who can't but help others in their time of need. Whether it is a young girl named Anne (Chloe Moretz) who resides with an abusive family, or Det. Souder's former wife Detective Pam Stall (Jessica Chastain), who polices a nearby community in which a Texan oil field known as the killing fields is situated. When Pam requests the help of Heigh in the recent disappearance and murder of women within the confines of the killing fields, he reluctantly obliges, despite the objections of his partner due to their own case against two low-life pimps who are systematically kidnapping and forcing teenage girls into a life of prostitution. What follows, is two differing journeys as both men attempt to bring the guilty to justice through their own, loose methods.

Sam Worthington's Detective Souder is a brash, uncompromising individual who rarely comforts, but always intimidates, even when he is simply taking a statement from a young, teenage victim. It is briefly suggested that this distance and animosity originates from a rough upbringing, but it is never explored in any suitable detail, and Souder instantly comes across as an unlikeable character that is unable to redeem the glaring flaws in his personality by the conclusion of the picture. The same can also be said for Jeffrey Dean Morgan's performance as a likable and hard-working detective, despite a good performance from Morgan, he is entirely clichéd in his traits and comes across as a one-dimensional cardboard cut-out. The only encouraging performance of the piece comes from the surprisingly mature Chloe Moretz, who at only fourteen years of age has already established herself as young, up and coming actress.

Aside from the acting and the lack of characterisation, the other glaring flaw of 'Texas Killing Fields' is the complex narrative at the heart of the picture, while Souder is investigating Rule (Jason Clarke) and Levon (Jon Eyez) over the kidnapping and forced prostitution of runaway teenage girls, Heigh is helping Detective Stall investigate the killing fields, and the story of a neglected teenager in Little Anne is also thrown in their for good measure. With so many different narrative streams taking place all at once it is easy to become confused about what is exactly taking place on-screen, who is being interviewed and what criminal case they are actually discussing or investigating. On more than one occasion the editing compliments this confusion by cutting needlessly to a scene or character unrelated to the previous sequence without any standing or context. This constant juxtaposition between cases also ceases any emotional connection to any of the characters or their plights.

Ami Mann had the potential, the actors and the setting to create a film which would transcend the typical crime-thriller picture and instead impose another strong character piece with an engaging narrative upon this cinematic year, however instead she has come away with an almost amateur looking motion picture which does nothing to compliment the genre. While the Louisianan outback masquerades beautifully for the desolate Texan fields, the rest of the film is quite horrible to observe, it is a boring, slow, predictable, one-dimensional crime-thriller that should have never been commissioned for theatrical distribution.

Senseless.

[sagei · 2 December 2011]

Rambles from one scene to another until you don't care anymore.

If all you are left to talk about is some scenery and some acting then that should tell you something about the movie.

Speaking of acting, Moretz's was just bad.

The others didn't do themselves too many favours either.

The story, the villains, the pacing, the dialogue are all equally pathetic.

Don't know what sort of true events this was based on but it was not a story that needed to to be told.

Or at least not told in this terrible way.

Struggling to even spew up enough venom to fill the required number of lines.

Sorry mann, the directing gene clearly skipped a generation.

Wish them well.

Thank you.

Anything Michael Mann catches my eye...

[vandelour · 7/10 · 25 June 2018]

Well, Michael Mann and family... he was the producer and asstd family members did the heavy lifting. Under his guidance perhaps... and it shows in certain scenes.

The movie drops you into a situation without much background, with characters that have baggage. A confusing bunch of crimes and a smorgasbord of lowlifes and likely suspects.

The first half is somewhat slow and the second half comes out of the gate hard and fast.

Michael Mann fans should see this one.

One of the Worst Modern Crime Films

[KingProjector93 · 2/10 · 22 December 2014]

Based on true events, this crime drama relates the story of two cops (Dean Morgan and Worthington) down in the Texan bayous who are investigating a series of grim murders of young women that tie back to the titular area.

Shambolic and often incomprehensible, producer Michael Mann's daughter, director Ami Canaan Mann, clearly proves talent isn't genetic. A real shame as despite decent performances from four capable actors, poor camera work and muddled writing completely sink it. The film attempts to go for a gritty, down to earth, often grungy look, befitting the subject, but it instead comes off as on par with a student film, with plenty of lazy, near continuous hand-held cam, bland video quality and tacky lighting. Honestly, it felt more like a cheap reconstruction for 'interchangeable crime documentary show #2383845', and strips a lot of mood and tension out of a film that so badly wants to have style and a sinister ambiance. Having a poor sound mix doesn't help out either.

However, Dom Ferrarone's script is the even bigger offender here; it literally has no idea what it wants to be. By turns, it's a drama, a psychological suspense flick, a social indictment on poverty in the area, a family story, a biopic, a morality tale and even a faux- documentary. Its focus is so all over the map that not only can it be frustrating to follow as the investigation always seems to be interrupted by other aspects, leading to an erratic flow of time and poor pacing, but the characters suffer. None of them are interesting, well fleshed out or even that relateable, which should be a 'no-duh' for this sort of film. Biopics/historical films live and die by the humanization of the figures presented, and sadly, this is more like 'Wyatt Earp' or 'For Great Glory' in this regard, where every one is flat. Only difference is those films at least felt coherent and not chopped up like this one.

Frankly, I'm going to just wrap this up and just say that 'T.K.F' may be one of the worst biopics and crime films I have ever seen, and considering I'm a period junkie, that's saying a lot. This is one pony Daddy Mann shouldn't have bought for his little angel, and instead, shipped to the glue factory.

Pretty good

[grantss · 7/10 · 15 April 2020]

Interesting, gripping, gritty crime-drama. Has a few minor detours which seem unnecessary, and it is not entirely coherent, but it is very intriguing and the pace doesn't slack off for a moment.

Decent performances from Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jessica Chastain. Chloe Moretz was a bit irritating though.

Not worth the time

[ponikpool · 2/10 · 4 August 2023]

There are two main reasons why I say this is not worth the time. The first reason is that the directing was very bad, the scenes did not flow well together and it jumped all over the place. Half of the time I had no idea what was happening. The second reason is that there is like a couple of really big questions that go unanswered at the end of the film. For example, who is the blonde guy with tattoos and why was he burning evidence (the blood and hair in the car)? Why did they have a kidnapped woman in their car? We never find out exactly what he was up to or what happened to him. I was very disappointed by what could have been a good movie.

An Underrated Film

[mistersifuentes · 9/10 · 4 February 2012]

This film might not ever find its audience but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great film. There was something so unnerving about this film. It had its flaws but that was overlapped by an amazing cast and acting. Disregard the negative reviews and give it a chance if you want a crime thriller with deep. Sam Worthington's performance was intense. He bought an underlining perspective to his role. A character bonded by this upbringing and an intuition about the nature of "The Killing Fields". Even if the film was only loosely based on the book it still gave a horrific tale of a place where nothing grows. Not sure what happened with Danny Boyle. Not even sure if he would have brought much to this particular story. He is still one of my favorite directors but this would have been a disaster.

A slow-burning character piece

[grahamjrees · 7/10 · 29 January 2013]

There are two powerful reasons to see this movie: the sensitive, solid, measured performance by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the delicious cinematography.

To say that the plot was entirely original would be untrue, but it would also be unnecessary: this is a character-driven story, not a plot-driven story. The performance of the young trailer park stray is spot on, and the last scene is completely gritty: there's no need for big explosions or over the top marketing hoo hah… the action is simple, brutal, and sublime.

Beautiful shots, such as one of an indoor lounge room at night, capturing the rain falling - perfectly exposed - on the exterior porch, make the film visually compelling.

If you're after Lethal Weapon, Inglorious Bastards or the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this is not your movie. But if you're after a pared-back but tightly held character action piece with a fair bit of slow-burning desperation and a nicely rounded ending, you could do much worse.

I have always liked the actors in this movie. And that is all I liked.

[wolfeatworld · 1/10 · 25 December 2011]

I have always liked the actors in this movie. And that is all I liked.

I'll make this short, with no spoilers: I thought this was a total and complete waste of time, from beginning to end. I could find no redeeming qualities, nothing whatsoever to recommend this film to anyone.

It was impossible to follow, both the story line and the characters.

What a waste of very good actors; (no part of this awful film was the fault of any of the stars.) I kept waiting for something, anything, to happen, and as the film dragged on and on and on, nothing ever did.

Everyone will have an opinion. This is mine:

Don't waste your time. Nothing makes any sense, and at the end, if you're at all a discerning movie goer, you will be angry and probably feel 'duped.'

what a waste of all the good actors

[rightwingisevil · 6 January 2012]

lousy screenplay with bad directing ruined the whole potentiality of this could-be-better movie. the storyline and scenario only made me wonder why there are so many serial killers and scumbags lowlifes in Texas. this state is supposed to be cowboy state with lot of strong-minded macho men there. but it seems that it has become a cesspool of scumbags. the shooting of this movie, the camera team did a lousy job in choosing and shooting from all bad angles. the green pontiac roaming the Texas countryside, the white guy with the tattoo, and his black partner-in-crime were two figures so obvious that all the audiences could see them miles away as soon as came into the scene, and the lousy script and the brain-dead director were just played dumb and blind to let the stupid screenplay play out. it's just so stupid, that's one thing. and then, put a lonely teenager among the horrible surroundings and then let her been kidnapped in the daylight was also an unbelievable stupid arrangement. the screenplay also put a weak-minded emotionally wrecked stressed out religious detective from new york (WTF?!) to partner with a local detective, doing a dog-chasing-its-own-tail always two step behind worthless investigation. the emotional wreck cop didn't contribute anything in solving this serial killing case. the only thing seemed to work and try so hard in this stupid movie was the sound track, kinda intense and intensified to put tension on the viewers but didn't work at all. i don't have anything to describe this movie but just one word: "STUPID". yes, what a stupid way to waste all the good actors and money.