Lowlife 2018

In an unspecified poverty-stricken corner of Los Angeles, a local crime lord, Teddy ‘Bear’ Haynes, runs a taco shack that serves as a front for a human trafficking operation. With the aid of corrupt Agent Fowler, he lures and vanishes illegal immigrants, funneling them into prostitution rings and illegal organ harvesting.

The story centers on Kaylee, Teddy’s adoptive daughter, who is carrying the child of El Monstruo, the mantle of a legendary luchador who was once the guardian of the downtrodden. The current El Monstruo, now disgraced, has fallen from grace and now works as Teddy’s enforcer. Kaylee’s biological parents, Crystal and Dan, struggle with addiction and live in a run-down motel. Believing that Kaylee will have a better future, they “sold” her to Teddy, unaware that Teddy has prostituted her before El Monstruo rescued her, pledging himself to her protection in place of her biological parents. Teddy, aware that Dan needs a new kidney, informs Crystal that Kaylee has apparently offered one of hers, a revelation Crystal reluctantly accepts.

El Monstruo hopes his unborn son can restore the honor of a legacy he feels he has betrayed. When he fails to recover Teddy’s money from a man he kills in a blind rage, Teddy fires him and orders a hit on both him and Kaylee.

Meanwhile, Keith, an ex-convict who used to work as Teddy’s accountant, arrives at a California state prison to pick up his friend Randy after a long stretch. Randy bears a full-face Nazi swastika tattoo from prison, which he insists was not a symbol of his beliefs but a harsh mark of survival; he explains that prison life forced him to adapt and that he has since learned fluent Spanish. Keith and Randy’s clash with Teddy’s world grows when Keith is exposed as having embezzled from Teddy, and the two men are given an ultimatum: kidnap Kaylee to settle the debt, or Teddy will kill Keith’s wife and children.

As Kaylee tries to convince the naive El Monstruo to flee town, she threatens to harm their unborn baby. In response, he loses consciousness in a blind rage. Crystal drives to Kaylee’s house and discovers she is pregnant, and while attempting to cancel the procedure, she witnesses Keith and Randy forcing Kaylee into a car.

They flee to Crystal’s motel, where Crystal discovers Dan has killed himself after learning that Kaylee’s kidney was being pursued. El Monstruo wakes up to find Kaylee missing and their home in ruins. In the search for Kaylee, he is ambushed by Agent Fowler and collapses into another rage, ending up outside Crystal’s rundown motel, his hand bloody as he holds Fowler’s hand, with no memory of how he got there.

Grief-stricken, Crystal mourns as Randy and Keith arrive and settle into a room. Randy wants to proceed with the kidnapping to satisfy Teddy, but Keith remains unsure. El Monstruo heads to a payphone, but instead of calling, he accidentally uses the intercom function, alerting Crystal that he’s also looking for Kaylee. With Dan’s shotgun, Crystal confronts El Monstruo in the motel parking lot. Kaylee’s water breaks, and as Keith and Randy argue about what to do, El Monstruo and Crystal burst in.

Teddy drives to Crystal’s motel and enters the room to find Kaylee in labor as the group surrounds her. He orders El Monstruo to bring him Kaylee. Having learned about El Monstruo’s legendary status in prison, Randy appeals to him in Spanish, inspiring the luchador to turn on Teddy. The crime lord retaliates with an assault rifle, and the chase spills into Crystal’s van.

Keith, wounded in the arm, urges the group to rescue Kaylee before he bleeds out. El Monstruo leads everyone to the basement of the taco shack, where Kaylee and the baby—now born—are found unharmed in a meat fridge. He bolts from the building with his son, shouting, “Legacy is all!” as he escapes.

Randy and Crystal barricade themselves inside, while El Monstruo confronts the encroaching ICE agents who flood the restaurant. He returns to save the others, killing the agents as Randy battles Teddy. Kaylee and Crystal manage to flee, but they must confront Agent Fowler, whom they are forced to kill. The luchador, though grievously wounded, finally overpowers Teddy and beats him down.

Randy finds El Monstruo mortally wounded and promises to safeguard the luchador’s legacy until his son can inherit the mantle. But El Monstruo declines the burden, asking Randy to free the surviving prostitutes instead. In the end, Randy takes up the mask—now concealing the swastika tattoo—to honor the legacy and frees the women, leading them back to Mexico, Our native land.

Crystal and Kaylee ride away in the van. Kaylee asks if Crystal is her mother; Crystal offers no words, simply a tearful, hopeful glance before they share a quiet embrace. Kaylee’s final plea—“I’m going to need some help”—hangs in the air as they drive toward an uncertain future.

Legacy is all!