Everything I said in my review of the first film in the series (Keeper of the Lost Causes) applies to this, the second installment. Gritty, dark and disturbing. It is textured and believable with an intense verisimilitude as to not only the environment and behavior of the police but throughout the social strata where the other characters dwell. And, as in the earlier film, this one is as commendable for the attention to fleshing out the damaged creatures committing unspeakable acts as it is to developing the mechanics of the plot, the social themes underlying the series, and the growth (or collapse) of the lead players. And I cannot sing the praises high enough for a thriller, so realistic, that a main character gets struck in the head with a pipe, and rather that soldiering on like a superhero he falls, and then later collapses with a concussion. This series is about human beings; the weak and the strong, the good and the bad, and such simplistic terms like Hero and Evil Villain are neither welcomed nor adhered to.
