Smack in the center is Moe Diamond (a guarded Liam Hemsworth), an ambitious Manhattan jeweler and sought-after money launderer. When his friend and partner, Skunk (Emory Cohen), suggests using a multimillion-dollar stash for a quick drug deal, Moe is wary: The money is being held for Skunk’s skeevy Uncle Nestor (Zlatko Buric), a ruthless gangster who plans to use it to purchase politicians.

When the deal inevitably goes pear-shaped, a hairy car chase leaves Moe with amnesia and Skunk in the clutches of a passel of corrupt cops. The pair’s fortunes only deteriorate from there, as Moe struggles to recall events before the accident and Skunk labors to avoid becoming an attack dog’s dinner. But “Killerman” — you’ll find the title isn’t as hokey as it first appears — offers creative justification for Moe’s clichéd memory wipe with a cool twist that few will see coming.

Energetically shot by Ken Seng using Super 16-millimeter film, “Killerman” looks sharp and shadowy, its texture pleasingly grainy and soaked in testosterone. This is the kind of movie where romance is signaled by a swollen belly and sex is a hasty knee-trembler against a wall; but when torture and decapitation are on the menu, who has time for love?