The murky ethics surrounding tabloid journalism mix with serial-killer intrigue in this powerful film by Ecuadorian writer-director Sebastian Cordero. John Leguizamo stars as Manolo, a Miami-based television reporter for a Spanish-language, real-crime TV show called One Hour with the Truth. While researching a story on The Monster, a child murderer who has been terrorizing an area of Ecuador, Manolo and his crew wind up in the epicenter of a violent near-lynching when a traveling bible salesman named Vinicio (Damián Alcazár) accidentally hits a small boy with his car and kills him. Terrified of being murdered in jail by the boy's father, the badly beaten Vinicio hints that he is willing to reveal clues to the serial killer's identity to help Manolo get his story on the air. A strange psychological game develops between Manolo--who seems to think he can trick Vinicio into confessing his identity as The Monster (thus getting the scoop of the century)--and Vinicio, who wants to use Manolo's media power to get him out of jail in time to see his his wife give birth to his child.

Leguizamo shows star wattage in the lead; he's great in Spanish-language role, and he delivers a relatively restrained performance as a journalist letting ambition get the better of his judgment. Spanish actress Leonor Watling is also good as his sexy love interest. Gloomy location photography creates a rain-soaked, poverty-stricken ambiance that's memorably unsettling. Alfonso Cuaron and Jorge Vergara (Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN) produce this riveting film.