This Tex-Mex border outing starts off like sun-baked Clerks, with three patrol guards shooting the breeze at a remote checkpoint. One, though, isn’t what he seems – setting into motion a tightly marshalled thriller that at first goes toe-to-toe with last year’s The Shallows for logistical plotting. Strangely, this rigour suddenly dissipates on the halfway mark, and Transpecos spills what’s left of its curt running time in a more conventional desert odyssey. But director Greg Kwedar – maxing out a six-figure budget – remains inventive shot-wise, alternating between moody Sicario-style impressionism and commanding aerials of parched vistas. Gabriel Luna, as the Hispanic patrolman dragged unwittingly into hell, impressively escalates his dismay, with eye-catching support turns from Clifton Collins’ Jr’s un-PC old-timer and Julio Oscar Mechoso’s chippy cartel errand boy. Some of the intended moral heft goes astray in the heat and dust – but this is still a promising dry run for bigger things.
