Choke Hold

Faust’s explosive, bullet-dodging sequel to Money Shot finds ex-porn queen Angel Dare, a wild mashup of Nancy Drew and Linda Lovelace, lying low in the Southwest after 19 months in the witness protection program in New England, avoiding the Croatian mob. One day, Angel’s former druggie flame, Thick Vic Ventura, walks into the desert diner where she’s waitressing and tells her he wants “to make amends.” With Vic is his 18-year-old son, a mixed martial arts talent who fights under the name Cody Noon. Soon, “three jittery Mexican guys” appear, and one of them pulls out a gun. Following the ensuing mayhem, Angel and Cody go on the run in a caper that involves cocaine smuggling and lots of pursuit, capture, and escape. The look into the martial arts world isn’t as compelling as Money Shot’s romp through the porn industry, but Faust pulls out a far superior wrapup to the action, noir as bleak as you’ll find this year. (Oct.)