“Checkmate” (**1/2 out of four) was a twisty pulp action thriller about a renowned serial killer (James Quinn) who is hired by the chief of police (David Whalen) to kidnap his daughter (Sara Torres) when he decides to lead a charge against sex trafficking and corrupt cops (Arash Mokhtar and Matthew McCurdy) in his city but naturally all does not go as planned and they’re all scrambling to cover their tracks. Slickly made with taut action scenes and some surprisingly strong dialogue although it starts to fall apart in its final third when it becomes too seamy and too convoluted. Still, overall worth “checking” out and better-than-average for this genre.