Beasts of the Earth

Wade (River, Sing Out) stumbles in this bleak tale of violence, small-town secrets, and lingering trauma. Harlen LeBlanc, groundskeeper in a Texas town reeling from an oil downturn in 1987, gets by on a humdrum routine. When his coworker, recent high school graduate Gene Thomas, is seen cradling the dead body of his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Harper, everybody in town assumes Gene killed her. But LeBlanc suspects otherwise and starts sleuthing. His doubt causes him to be ostracized, especially after a chilling encounter with Cassie’s father. In a parallel narrative set in 1965, 12-year-old Michael Fischer lives with his mother and younger sister on a Louisiana bayou. Michael’s father, a child rapist and murderer, is released from jail and brings terror back to their house, including sexually abusing the two children. Michael flees and finds protection from an older loner who shows him the first real kindness of his life. Harlen’s search for information becomes more determined as his story reaches its climax and Michael heads toward another tragedy. Wade jarringly shifts the tone for the thriller-esque third act, leaving behind contemplative character development and evocative descriptions of the landscape for a hardboiled and needlessly shocking closer. The setup is there, but the payoff isn’t. Agent: Mark Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Oct.)