RELEASED IN 2016 and directed by Paul Schrader, “Dog Eat Dog” chronicles events in the greater Cleveland area when a trio of loser ex-cons (Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe & Christopher Matthew Cook) is employed by a Mafioso to abduct the infant of a rival gangster.

Schrader’s films are often preoccupied with Christian religion and sexual obsession (porn, strip joints, prostitution, nudity, etc.), as verified by “Hardcore” (1979), “Cat People” (1982) and “Auto Focus” (2002). You can expect the same with “Dog Eat Dog” except that it mixes black amusement with its urban drama, sleaze and crime thr... read the rest.

Dog Eat Dog ain't too trash, but it is pretty hard to believe that this came from the same dude who made First Reformed.

There is absolutely not so much as a single character in this that the audience can be expected to like, and though of course no filmmaker is obligated to make enjoyable characters, it is pretty tough to slog through a >90min runtime of back-to-back bastards.

Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.