Nature of the Beast (1995)

Best movie of this year hands down!

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Dreadfully Boring

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

An exploitation Oscar and Felix casts Eric Roberts as Adrian, a dirty piece of human driftwood hitchhiking the lonesome desert highway where, in random stopovers, people are being massacred by a phantom calling himself THE HATCHET MAN. Also, a local bank was robbed of a million bucks and uptight traveling salesman Jack, played by a subdued Lance Henriksen, reluctantly gives Adrian rides throughout the scorched purgatory. Jack, a dreary victim of Adrian's cocky pontifications of sex, violence and drugs, has a constant expression of a guy who has yet to drink his morning cup of coffee; while Adrian seems like he just bench-pressed a piano while chain-smoking cigarettes on crystal meth.Their best moments are hanging out at a dirty spoon diner or joining up with a free-spirited hippie couple living out of a van. Thus the mystery unravels and two important questions surface: When will the Hatchet Man, who seems to be Adrian, strike again? And will Jack, carrying around his metallic briefcase with not-so-mysterious contents inside, be an eventual victim?With a David Lynch vibe sans the distracting weirdness, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST... where the spooky desert becomes an ominous character in itself... is an entertaining vehicle for two actors usually cast in the predator role: that aspect alone makes the film's conclusion both pleasantly surprising and utterly predictable.

Nature of the Beast is a movie based completely around its main characters, Lance Henrickson and Eric Roberts. Henrickson plays the part of Jack who seems to be a mild mannered person until he meets Adrian (Roberts) who is a very dark and disturbed man. They meet out in the desert in a café and right away you know there is something wrong with both characters as there is a murderer killing people in the area calling himself the Hatchet Man and there was a robbery at a local casino. Both men seem suspicious and it seems that Jack can't get away from Adrian.The whole movie is virtually Henrickson and Roberts on the screen. Their performances are excellent and highly underrated. It's strange how these great actors got such bad acting gigs after this movie.The storyline is truly a well thought out plot and director Victor Salva proves that he can be a good director. This film is a lot better then the other films I have seen by him. Such films as "Clownhouse" or "Jeepers Creepers 1 and 2" are well directed but are just not anywhere on par with this psychological thriller.I do recommend this movie to fans of great suspense and mystery. The only downfall is I thought the ending was predictable. Still a great film. 8/10 stars

Although underrated, "The Nature of The Beast" is a very good thriller. Its tense and bleak atmosphere keeps you in a nail-biting state throughout the film, with its best part being its end, when a brilliant plot twist really brings everything upside down.The story begins with Jack (Henriksen), a typical, middle-class executive on a business travel, who bumps onto a murder scene; the policemen in charge advise him to be careful on his way, as there is a serial killer in the area hitch-hiking for his next victim. Keeping this advice in mind, he avoids somebody he encounters who asks for a lift; unfortunately, he is not so lucky, as he soon finds the guy in a diner some kilometers ahead. The guy loses no time to introduce himself as Andrian (Roberts), and he soon becomes a thorn on Jack's side, who in turn realizes that it will be very difficult to get away from this menace...Featuring two great performances, the movie is virtually a two-man show: Both Roberts and Henriksen are really great in their roles, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the film's value is based on them. The other characters have short appearances which simply supplement the duo.A film worth having a look. 7/10.

'Nature of the Beast', written and directed by Victor Salva, is a hidden gem for fans of thrillers with surprise twist endings. You may or may not predict the plot twist that makes you rethink the entire movie, but you will enjoy the performances by Lance Henriksen and Eric Roberts. Victor Salva also does a good job with the directing and the story. Like most thrillers it maybe a little slow for action fans, a little shallow in character development for drama fans, and a little too serious for comedy fans. But if like a good thriller with suspense, intrigue, an underlying truth hidden from the viewer, and good acting and directing, then I recommend you see 'Nature of the Beast.'