Summary:  An endless parade of casual horrors.

The Mexican Miss Bala graced the New York Film Festival a week ago, and I still don't quite know what to think of it. I know that's my job and all, but bear with me. Director Gerardo Naranjo has meticulously crafted a portrait of utter hopelessness that reminds me most of Alice in Wonderland. Like Alice, beauty queen hopeful Laura Guerrero (the impossibly sexy Stephanie Sigman) has been cast adrift in a sea of nightmarish confusion. Helping hands extend everywhere she turns, but all those hands are holding knives.

When Laura looses track of her friend Jessica (Irene Azuela) in the chaotic midst of a hostile nightclub heist, she does what any good citizen would do, she goes to the cops. Unfortunately, the cops turn her directly over to the cartel, who are concerned that she may be able to identify one or more of them.