LANCE HENRIKSEN & ERIC ROBERTS IN 'NATURE OF THE BEAST'

Eric Roberts & Lance Henriksen YEAR: 1995

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.

Double Signature DVD Score: ***1/2

Jack, a dreary victim of Adrian's tales of epic 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 (featuring natural beauty Ana Gabriel) 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? Well, With a David Lynch vibe sans the distracting weirdness, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST takes you on a journey before you know anything as the spooky desert becomes an ominous character in itself... 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.

Future LOST beauty Ana Gabriel as Dahlia in NATURE OF THE BEAST

A befuddled and mysterious Lance Henriksen

Eric Roberts strikes a match in NATURE OF THE BEAST Year: 1995