Their previous lead act, an aging Mexican singer, keels over one night from what looks like a heart attack, and Tony (Beltran) gets his chance to show his stuff. He does, and the money starts pouring in. His music has juice and it is, in fact, some great Latin music; in fact, in one scene, the famous conguero Pancho Sanchez holds forth on the congas and is a real treat to listen to.

But music is not the only drawing card here. The pacing of this tried and true noir tale is just about perfect. The sex is sizzling, the corruption hits you in the face, and all the elements are boiled together for a spicy, lip-smacking brew that's guaranteed to warm (actually, HOT) your insides. Tony has an amigo, Ramon, who's just as hot-headed as Tony and more than familiar to Dennehy, the local cop who knows something's up.

The director here, Marcus DeLeon, has the illicit couple do things in a church stolid churchgoers would be totally shocked by, and also ups the violence as the film progresses. This is a lot of fun to watch and, for my money, a much better treatment of the classic Cain story than the 1981 Nicholson-Lange version directed by Bob Rafelson. This is one or two notches below the best of the Cain adaptations, Ossessione, the first film directed by Luchino Visconti.

Recommended!