Down Twisted Reviews

When tycoon art collector Deltoid (Norbert Weisser) plots the theft of a priceless religious artifact from the fictional Latin American nation of San Lucas, some of the crooks he's hired to switch the real religious crucible with a flawlessly executed duplicate plan a double-cross of their own. Wandering into the scheme is Maxine (Carey Lowell), a wide-eyed southern Californian who makes the near-fatal mistake of helping out her roommate (Trudi Dochtermann), who is apparently killed in a car explosion while making a drug deal. Also embroiled in the proceedings is Reno (Charles Rocket), a not-so-innocent bystander. Since nothing is what it seems in this caper film, it takes several more betrayals and revelations before Reno and Maxine can head off for their romantic future. Unfortunately, DOWN TWISTED provides more unanswered questions than it does entertainment. Director Albert Pyun brings no sense of urgency to the muddled double-crosses, the editing lacks the precision required by a thriller, and the film is ultimately sunk by its lack of charismatic performers. Neither Lowell nor Rocket have the authority or personality to keep this tangled web unraveling with excitement and drive, and the supporting players come across as assembly-line heavies.