Good concept, poorly executed.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

How this film never made it to the top of immediate cult status is beyond me. It is clever, witty, dark in a very heavy way (turn off for people who have kin in jails) and some of the best dialog which, in many cases require a better than high school education. If you studied Latin, there are some double meanings or "entendres" all through this film. Really good performances by all and if you have to, buy this one. Not for grannies who watch cook shows and knit. To give one a taste of the writing, check out the memorable lines here which are out of context. Also, look up the cast to see the credits and the dark roles a couple of the actors have appeared. This is not to say they can only do dark, hilariously witty films. One of the actors played the lead in "Dahmer" and goes from a very somber character to one that it a great comic flair.

Jonathan Tucker (Hostage, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) play Heck, who gets a job as the Closer in a prison. That's a nice term for executioner. His brother Chick (Jonathan Tucker - Dahmer, 28 Weeks Later) is on death row, as is Chick's former girlfriend, Dori (Ginnifer Goodwin - Walk the line).This movie just gets weird as Heck falls in love with Dori and wants to do the job of his own brother. Heck and Dori manage to have sex in a position that I doubt is in the Kama Sutra - through the cell bars. Getting her pregnant is a way of delaying her execution. I told you this was weird.If you liked Clay Pigeons or Heathers, then this film is for you.

I was surprised to see how low viewer ratings were for this fun, quirky film. The only way I can imagine someone not liking the movie would be if they have a hard time appreciating unconventional, bizarre, boundary breaking themes or they aren't in the mood for strange humor. It had the same tone as Clay Pigeons or similar films.I kept thinking, as I was watching the film, how well the director and actors were able to pull it off, given the subject matter, the weirdness of the dialog,events, and circumstances in the story. This is one of the most imaginative and intelligent stories I have seen in terms of a tongue in cheek depiction of philosophical and ethical quandaries. I am a fan of Jonathan Tucker and Christine Ebersole(more than ever after viewing this film). All the major roles were well played, the cinematography,excellent, and camera work, extremely clever.

If hell exists, this movie will win an Oscar over there. The torture would be that you will be made to watch it, and watch it get an Oscar.TOTAL WAISTE OF TIME, LIFE AND ENERGY.Story sucked, started sort of OK, might have been something but then turned into some stupid boring redneck crap. I had to forward it to see the end and that's it.I waisted 40 min before I realised that this is going nowhere.When it started and we got to the death row topic, thought this might be an interesting "noir" ,some sort of black comedy about death row. Turned out it is SH#T.