First of all, this movie is not even remotely what the box is trying to sell it as. It's not meant to be taken totally seriously, and is in no way a tense, psychological thriller of any kind. It is a hilarious dark comedy that, despite two fave actors of mine (Dennis Hopper and Michael Madsen) being in it, really defied my expectations. I have to admit I rented it solely for those two names (especially since Madsen was playing a serial killer), but I did not expect it to be as enjoyable as it was. Hopper plays an uptight, jumpy, rich jerk who drives around in his hummer in between jumping down people's throats. The sight of Hopper, looking dead serious in a business suit and odd shades, driving the hummer is funny as hell, whether it was meant to be or not (and looking at the rest of the movie, I find it highly probable that it was). Hopper gets blackmailed by an opportunistic scumbag when his own daughter becomes responsible for a drunken hit-and-run incident, and Hopper, being the loving father, tries covering it up. This is to no avail when the con man scumbag comes calling, but things look up a bit when Daddy loses his temper in a bad way and Madsen, playing a devil-may-care serial killer, happens to be lurking in the area and offers a helping hand to the frantic Hopper, who must dispose of the corpse. It just gets funnier from there, and that's where I'm going to leave it because giving away the ending in this case would probably eliminate one's will to see it. All in all, it's just as I said, a good dark comedy.
