The film chronicles the transformation of a well-to-do family man, played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, into a hardened prison gangster, which he undergoes to survive California's penal system after he is incarcerated for his role in a deadly DUI car accident.

The film also stars Omari Hardwick, Lake Bell, Jon Bernthal, Emory Cohen, Jeffrey Donovan, Evan Jones, Benjamin Bratt, and Holt McCallany.

The next day, he attacks an African-American inmate when provoked, drawing the attention of Bottles, the "shot caller" for the white supremacist gang PEN1.

Upon release, he is greeted by "Shotgun" and other gang members, including Howie, a young Afghanistan war veteran with no criminal record.

Howie, whom Harlon earlier urged to leave the criminal life and forced out of their vehicle, watches the arrest from a distance.

He receives a letter from Joshua, explaining that he and Katherine are moving on, living a successful and happy life, and that he has forgiven his father.

[12] In April 2015, Relativity Media acquired the U.S. rights to the film for $3 million with a wide release commitment, and Sierra/Affinity was on board to handle international sales.

[15][16] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 50 reviews, with an average score of 5.9/10, and the consensus reads "Shot Caller's weakness for action movie clichés is capably offset by strong work from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the central role".

[18] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: "It's a genre movie, to be sure, but there's an impressive sense of authenticity—in the language, the locations and the overall texture—that goes a long way to sell the scenario.