To do so, he plans to sell some stolen cocaine packages that a corrupt general secretly drew from a cache the army confiscated and burned in an official event.

However, Heli discovers the affair and reprimands his sister, locking her in her room, after secretly disposing of the drugs in an isolated water pit for cattle.

The officers take Heli and Estela by force (Sabrina and their son not being present at the time) and with a badly beaten Beto they try to find the stolen cocaine.

The website's critical consensus states: "There's no denying the seriousness of Heli's story or the raw power of its more uncomfortable moments, but they're used in service of a grimly alienating film that many viewers may ultimately find unrewarding".

[6] Following its première at the Cannes Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter reviewed, "Heli is undoubtedly made with serious intent, but it is also relentlessly depressing and curiously uninvolving, with limited audience appeal beyond the film-festival bubble.

[8] Brad Brevet of the website Rope of Silicon praised the film's cinematography and wrote, "Heli sends a message commenting on the fear and degradation of future generations in Mexico specifically as a result of corruption and drug trafficking in underdeveloped areas.

"[9] Michael Olezczyk, for Roger Ebert.com, gave a lukewarm review: "...Instead of locking the viewer in a torture chamber the way "Saw" franchise does, the film actually explores the psychic cost of violence in detail and gives some hint of a possible rebirth at the end".

Additionally, Gabriel Reyes, (who helped Escalante on writing the script), declared that, "It would be socially irresponsible not to speak about the bad things that are occurring in our country.