Hyena's convoluted tale is given a fresh coat of grime by Johnson's direction, which favors handheld cinematography -- often tracking its protagonists from behind -- that gives the action a pseudo-vrit ruggedness.

I suspect that anyone who actually makes it to the bitter end will be enraged by what it does and does not contain.

"Hyena" feels like a throwback to the tough-as-nails British gangster flicks of the 1970s.

This nasty horror sucks you into a grisly world of duplicitous cops and brutish criminals prepared to butcher anyone who gets in their way.