Shia LaBeouf’s character in the new gangster film “The Tax Collector” from director David Ayer is named “Creeper,” and his reputation lives up to his name. A gangster says he’s heard LaBeouf is “the devil.”
“I might be,” LaBeouf replies in the first trailer for the film. His partner later tells him, “You’re going to hell.” “Yeah, but I’m at peace with that.”
In “The Tax Collector,” LaBeouf and his partner, played by Bobby Soto, are “tax collectors” for the crime lord Wizard, collecting his cut from the profits of local gangs’ illicit dealings. But when Wizard’s old rival returns to Los Angeles from Mexico, the business is upended, and David finds himself desperate to protect what matters more to him than anything else: his family.
The action thriller “The Tax Collector” is both written and directed by “Suicide Squad” director David Ayer, throwing back in a way to the gritty crime films early in his career like “End of Watch” or “Sabotage.”
LaBeouf looks as though he’s drinking in the scenery as well, threatening gang members with a gun to the head or even an electric drill to the chest. He and Soto star alongside George Lopez and Cinthya Carmona in the film.
“The Tax Collector” opens in theaters, on demand and on digital on Aug. 7. Check out the first trailer above.