Tortured

In this DVD premiere thriller, an FBI agent (Cole Hauser) goes undercover to find the truth behind the world’s most dangerous crime syndicate. His job for the Mob entails torturing an accountant (Laurence Fishburne) who has information that could lead to millions in stolen money. Playing both sides of the fence, Hauser is forced to make a decision, while his father (James Cromwell), an FBI official, gets involved. A gritty, violent tale of crime and extreme punishment, Tortured plays like an unsettling mix of The Departed and Saw. Most of the proceedings gel well thanks to director Nolan Lebovitz’s tight, stylish handling of the material and a first-rate ensemble cast that includes Jon Cryer, Emmanuelle Chriqui and James Denton.

Shelf Talk: This is a pure guy’s film, so it should be marketed strictly to a male audience. Sony’s looking for “media awareness” in GQ, Stuff, Maxim and many Web sites, so word should get around quickly of this film’s classy brand of nastiness.