“Crescent City” is a well-known nickname for New Orleans, Louisiana. “Crescent City” is also the title of a popular series of fantasy novels. But I’m not sure either of those have connections to the new “Crescent City” movie, a knotty crime thriller set and shot in and around Little Rock, Arkansas. Where does the “Crescent City” title come from you ask? I have no idea. That’s not to say it isn’t somewhere in the movie. But it would be easy to miss in a feature this overstuffed and convoluted.

Director R.J. Collins attempts to add spark to this overloaded and overplotted serial killer thriller, squeezing every drop of tension he can out of a mostly tension-free script. But much like his talented cast, there’s only so much he can do. Screenwriter Rich Ronat bites off more than he can chew, eventually adding twists on top of twists. As a result, his screenplay puts useful things such as coherence and plausibility out of reach, leaving Collins with more characters, more motives, and more plot pieces than he can handle.

The city of Little Rock is shaken following three grisly murders, each with a decapitated victim and the killer’s signature – mannequin parts. Two deeply flawed Little Rock police detectives are put on the case, Brian Sutter (Terrence Howard), a devout family man tormented by a past case gone wrong, and Luke Carson (Esai Morales), his short-fused and impertinent partner.

After another victim turns up, their frustrated Captain (a check-cashing Alec Baldwin) brings in Detective Jaclyn Waters (Nicky Whelan) to assist. She’s a Tulsa homicide detective by way of Sydney, Australia. Neither Brian or Luke are thrilled with an outsider joining their ranks, but they follow orders nonetheless. Before long the trio find themselves questioning a suspicious local pastor (Michael Sirow), investigating a satanic dating site, and navigating an internal affairs inquiry relating to an entirely different case.

Those things alone would be enough for a fully functional story. But the film throws in so many setups, coverups, and betrayals that they’re impossible to manage. The film also has an identity crisis. One minute we’re watching a police procedural, the next minute a whodunit, and even later a family drama. And all while the movie is working hard at being a competent crime thriller. In truth, it’s too much.

Howard and Morales are fine actors who are more than capable of carrying the film and here they certainly put in the effort. At the same time, Little Rock provides a strikingly fresh setting. But “Crescent City” eventually crumbles under the weight of its own ambition. It seems as if every character has secrets, numerous motivations are sketchy, and overall there are too many story pieces that don’t connect. In the end, so much time is put towards corralling it all that more necessary components suffer. “Crescent City” is now available on VOD.