three-song demo

For Elvis Valderez, being a bastard sucks. While his whore mother wastes away in some sleazy brothel, his dad gets born again, moves to a posh suburb and starts a lily-white family of Christian rockers who protest their school’s policy of teaching evolution. Meanwhile, Elvis does his time in the Navy, learns a thing or two about killing people, and spends years plotting his revenge (after banging his teenage half-sister). After his discharge, Elvis (Bernal) tracks down his Baptist father David (William Hurt) in southern Texas, where he presides over a fundamentalist congregation. Elvis makes the shocking announcement that he’s the product of David’s pre-righteous days; David doesn’t deny it, but also he doesn’t reveal this past indiscretion to his high school-age children, Paul (Paul Dano) and Malerie (Pell James). He forbids Elvis from making any contact with his new family, which of course drives him to seduce the unwitting Malerie for a little keep-it-in-the-family fornication. Elvis insinuates himself into the family further, jockeying for position as David’s real favorite son, all the while maintaining a secret romance with his clueless half-sister. And if you’re wondering why Elvis keeps fondling his military-issue rifle, you’ll get an answer to that question soon enough.