There is life after Elektra. Just ask director Rob Bowman. He's sitting pretty on TNT, helming not one, but two Stephen King stories for the original anthology miniseries, Nightmares & Dreamscapes. One of them, The Fifth Quarter, is a rare installment with no supernatural or horror elements whatsoever. It might seem like an odd choice for the director whose other credits include The X-Files and Reign of Fire. But even though there aren't any truly scary things that go bump in the night in The Fifth Quarter, Bowman brings a familiar chill to the affair.

Willie (Jeremy Sisto), a newly-freed longtime convict, learns from his dying friend and former cellmate about a map in four parts that reveals the location of $1 million from a notorious robbery. Trying not to endanger his wife, Karen (Samantha Mathis), and their idolizing young son (Kodi-Smit McPhee) Jackson, Willie sets out to seek revenge for the death of his friend. And, of course, finding the money wouldn't be a bad byproduct. Willie hunts down the others who hold the remaining three parts to the map, and his life takes a very unexpected turn.

The acting is the showpiece in The Fifth Quarter – Sisto and Mathis shine, and they are wholly believable even though they're both far too good looking to be trailer trash on the wrong side of the law. The dark, insidious cinematography adds to the nefarious feel of the parable, and the violence is gritty and mean.

Nightmares & Dreamscapes is a pretty uneven series, but Bowman can be proud of both his episodes (Umney's Last Case [1]is the other).

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson