We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

Written by Dutch Southern and steeped in Jim Thompson-style noir, Simon and Zeke Hawkins’ low-budget debut shows genuine look excellent. When Texan teen B.J. (Logan Huffman) steals the local psycho’s money for one last hurrah with best friend Bobby (Jeremy Allen White) and girlfriend Sue (Mackenzie Davis), he lands everyone in deep spit.

Though its influences (Badlands, early Coens) are writ large, and the denouement disappoints, the performances win over, the dialogue captivates and the sense of backwater boredom is overpowering.