Looking for another reason not to visit Texas? Rushlights is one weird, but beautifully shot indie film about a couple Billy (Dallas’ Josh Henderson) and Sarah (Haley Webb, Final Destination) scheme to get millions by impersonating her dead friend to get an inheritance. As Billy says early in the film, everyone has a story to tell and their past come back to haunt them.

Sounds like a easy plan, show up, claim the money and get out of town. Things go well until everyone and their mother in Tremo, Tx – including Sheriff Sheriff Robert Brogden, Jr.  (Beau Bridges), the scheming couple’s lawyer Cameron Brogden (Aidan Quinn), a mysterious long lost son and Sarah’s former drug dealer wants a piece of the action.   There’s even a little procedural elements thrown in, when we find out that the victim was actually murdered.

Writer/Director Antoni Stutz, (was co-written  by does an admirable job in his 2nd film and infuses it with some nice cinematography and ambiance, but doesn’t get much out of his actors.  I’m really loving Henderson on Dallas, but don’t think he is as charismatic as every director seems to think he is. His “smoldering” look normally comes across as “bewildered.”

The movie suffers from being an overly complicated potboiler and too stylized. There are too many shady characters to keep track of. Who are we supposed to be rooting for here? There are several moments in the film when it gets a bit over the top violent, but it is earned violence because I did want to see these people get taken out so it didn’t come across as gratuitous.  As Billy says early in the film, everyone has a story to tell and their past come back to haunt them. This isn’t a bad film to catch on cable when it comes out, but not one worth purchasing.

Rushlights is now available on Blu-ray/DVD and OnDemand.