Boxer Marcos' (Juan Palomino, BLOOD BROTHERS) came to an abrupt end when he accidentally killed an opponent in the ring. He has been laying low ever since and depending on the pending publication of his autobiography to resurrect his career. Things are looking up when his girlfriend Ana calls him after a long absence and asks to meet with him; however, the unexpected visit of his "black sheep" cousin Hugo (Sergio Boris, THE MUDBOY) and his new "business partner" Café con Leche (Luis Aranosky) comes with trouble in the form of two baseball bat-wielding gangbangers. Having to hide their bodies from an over-curious and starstruck police officer Fridman (Luis Ziembrowski, BURNT MONEY) proves to be the least of Marcos' problems when he learns that Hugo and his partner are holding something for ransom that the cut-throat daughter of a dying mobster would kill to obtain. Marcos' house becomes a literal war zone as he does battle with boxing, knife-wielding, and gun-toting henchmen while trying to keep his date with his lady love.

The feature debut of Argentinian DTV-producer Nicanor Loreti, DIABLO is more slick and visually-striking (if derivative in story and style) Tarentino-esque mainstream than something along the lines of his earlier productions like the splattery SADOMASTER. The political incorrectness has been tempered down to the level of banter between macho caricatures that seems more crude than homophobic (despite its content) while the squib-heavy violence would probably warrant an R-rating stateside in this post-HOSTEL climate. The "Diablo" character is a surprising revelation but less important and not so laugh-out-loud funny as the twist that precedes it by a few minutes regarding the fate of the ransomed object. More modest in scope than it initially appears, DIABLO is definitely entertaining if ultimately slight rather than a future cult classic.