Despite being rife with crime, sex and darkness, Manhattan Night feels increasingly like a cheap ripoff of the genre it so very much wants to fit into.

Director DeCubellis is frightfully beholden to the tropes of the genre, and the premise (involving blackmail, strange dares and an inexplicable horse story) is just not credible.

The thrilling twists and turns of Harrison's plot are here, but DeCubellis's hazy pacing drains the film of the book's zest. Though great material mishandled is frustrating to view, there are nonetheless some bright spots.

As the movie slowly winds its way toward its anti-climatic final scenes it becomes clear that no amount of stylish direction or outrageous characters can make up for the far-fetched and convoluted story.