The Dead Run

In this taut and gritty adventure thriller with a supernatural element from Mansbach (best known for the satirical children’s book Go the F**k to Sleep), Jess Galvan, a contraband runner along the Texas-Mexico border with a heart of gold and a daughter he wants to free from his nutcase ex-wife, allows his protective instincts to get the better of him in attempting to save a prostitute from abuse. Galvan winds up in a Mexican prison, where he meets a shamanic figure who straps a box to his back with baling wire. Inside the box is the magically still-beating heart of a virgin. Galvan’s task: deliver this package across the border to a cult leader in Texas. The problem: doing so will end the world—Aztec style—and usher in an era of evil. The initially staccato narrative voice morphs in fits and starts into rollicking goofiness as the action builds to a finale that threatens to overwhelm all willing suspension of disbelief. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment. (Oct.)