Michael Esparza Movies

A talented young track runner finds his longtime plans to escape his tyrannical stepfather and rescue his girlfriend from a dead-end existence thrown into jeopardy by his incontrollable temper, the result of overexposure to gasoline fumes. As a young boy, Emilio promised Sandy that they would one day run away together, and start a new life somewhere else. When Emilio discovers that he can run like the wind, he sees his gift as his ticket out; if he can just land a scholarship, then he can quit working at his stepfather's gas station and keep his promise to Sandy. Unfortunately for both Emilio and Sandy, the temperamental track star's unpredictable violent streak may be the one fatal flaw in his otherwise foolproof plan. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The stroke of midnight sets the stage for terror when four vacationing coeds turn the tables on a group of depraved backwoods miscreants. Art student Ilene (Robin Sydney) has a bizarre run-in with eccentric fellow student Caleb (Marc Senter) just before she and roommates Helen (Eryn Joslyn), Mary (Carlee Baker), and Jill (Eve Mauro) head out for a relaxing weekend at a lakeside mountain cabin. Later, as Caleb recalls the encounter to his older brothers, Palmer (Damian DeKay) and Fred (Justin Stone), and the family patriarch, Sir Jim (Frank Birney), the girls get ready to hit the road. On the way to the cabin, the girls stop by a roadside gas station and have a bit of fun with redneck proprietors Cyrus (Mike McKee), Runt (J.D. Brown), and Half Idiot (Luke Y. Thompson). A relaxing afternoon of skinny-dipping in the lake gets the weekend off to a good start, though things take a turn for the worse when Caleb, Palmer, Fred, and Sir Jim unexpectedly show up at the cabin looking for a raunchy good time. Just as things start to get ugly in the cabin, veteran detective Jake (Tim Thomerson) and his rookie partner, Ray (Michael Esparza), stumble into a ritualistic alter while investigating a bloody basement crime scene. Upon finding a newspaper clipping about a mysterious cabin, they race to the country to find another clue. But at this point the clock has just struck midnight, and things are just getting interesting out at the cabin. It seems that the girls have somehow managed to gain the upper hand against their attackers. Have Ilene and company accomplished this by simply outsmarting Sir Jim and the boys, or could it be that these outwardly timid coeds actually possess a deadly and diabolical secret? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Tommy (Matt Gerald), Julien's (Michael Jace) old partner, gets word that his ex-wife and son have been found murdered in their home. A detective from Wilshire division, where the crime was committed, is questioning Tommy as though he were a suspect. This enrages Vic (Michael Chiklis), who sees it as a territorial pissing match between the Wilshire captain and Aceveda (Benito Martinez), so Vic gets Julien and Danny (Catherine Dent) to join him in going "off the grid" to find the killer. This leads to some complications, as they find out that Tommy may actually have been involved in the deaths. Danny threatens to report them to Aceveda when Vic's tactics go too far. Vic also learns that Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) has more than a professional relationship with Matthew's (Joel Rosenthal) therapist, Owen (Vincent Angell). Aceveda orders Dutch (Jay Karnes) to give a press conference about the serial rapists, despite his protestations. Forced to talk to the press without having made much headway in the case, Dutch decides to bait the rapist by questioning his virility. It seems to work, as the criminal contacts a reporter, offering to talk with Dutch face to face, on camera. Aceveda gets an unhappy visit from his wife, Aurora (Camilia Sanes), who, unaware that he's recently been sexually assaulted, wonders why he hasn't come home for a few days. The Strike Team and the Decoy Squad team up again, this time to catch local thugs who have been assaulting gay hustlers. When Shane (Walton Goggins) asks why he's been singled out to go undercover as a decoy, Trish (Nicki Micheaux) tells him that none of the other cops "look gay enough." ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi