BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

cultfilmfreaksdotcom 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.

kclipper What could possibly be more fun and intriguing? An obscure serial killer flick starring the great Lance Henrickson and Eric Roberts as his nemesis with veteran B-movie actor Brion James as an unbeknown sheriff. All this rolled into a twisted cat and mouse game that keeps the audience guessing to the end. The mid-nineties was a time where horror movies took a dive from the 80's VHS Video rental craze to the point where b-horror comedies and thrillers would become few and far between. Right before the DVD revolution would eventually shine its face on the world, there were still some unappreciated genre films festering in the minds of talented film makers, and daring studios that help them pull it off. The VHS world was not quite defeated yet, and "Nature of the Beast" was one of those 1990's horror-thrillers that quickly hit VHS and pay cable networks after the success of "Silence of The Lambs". This has all the elements of a good cat and mouse thriller. All you have to know is that Lance Henrickson (at his best) is a traveling salesman with a secret, Eric Roberts is the lone drifter that he picks up, and lots of people are getting hacked up by a serial killer called "Hatchet Man" everywhere they seem to go. Of course, the two seem like opposite personalities butting heads constantly until one or the other gets the upper hand. A solid script handled well by a perfect cast thats experienced with this kind of genre. Each contributing to the suspense until the audience can only guess who the killer is. The isolation of the desert landscape creates tremendous tension, and the surprises are abound. This is finely crafted stuff by Victor Salva who's "Jeepers Creepers" fails miserably in comparison. Be prepared for a whopper of an ending too.

BlitzJaeger I've seen enough movies to know this genre, and this movie reminded me a lot of the movie "Switchback" with Danny Glover. Its the same old crazy hitchhiker type theme, but with some differences added.Lance and Eric are both amazing actors, and you have to give them props for their work here too. They are believable in their roles, and keep character the entire movie. Their scenes together were tensed and uncomfortable but that was exactly how it should have gone. I applaud them both. The movie was a bit on the slower side, because of its mystery nature, and really its more about situational tension than anything else. Still, I kept watching so I was interested enough to see what happens and the actors were a big part of that.I agree with the guy above me in that the ending was a bit on the disappointing side. The twists still got me good actually, and I was OK with them, but I agree they were forced and probably should have been smoothed over better by redoing the last 15 minutes or so. Its one of those movies where they just sorta end and you like "What!"So as I said, worth watching, but because of a little forced direction could have been better.

Jonny_Numb The setup for "Nature of the Beast" is ingeniously simple, and fraught with limitless potential for suspense: harried salesman Jack (a very domesticated Lance Henriksen) picks up trouble in the form of hitchhiker Adrian (Eric Roberts), who seems to be in possession of incriminating information against Jack. Oh, and over a million dollars has been stolen from a casino and someone dubbed 'Hatchet Man' is dismembering people in the desert. Sounds great, right? Sort of like "The Hitcher" meets "Psycho." One or both of these men has a secret, and nothing is as it seems! Well, unfortunately, writer-director Victor Salva (of "Jeepers Creepers" and "Powder" fame) doesn't have enough ideas to keep the movie going, the scenario arouses no tension or suspense (poison for what is supposedly a 'thriller'), and the inclusion of an underlying homo-erotic tone seems out-of-place. Henriksen evokes an unusual, not-quite-earthbound Everyman (even sporting an ample gut), but Roberts is about as threatening and scary as an extra in "Death Wish 3"; we're never sucked in to the point where we actually CARE about what's happening, and the conclusion slides into improbable territory (I kept thinking it was going to be "Fight Club" all over again, but I was mistaken). Too bad. "Nature of the Beast" could have been something else...instead of nothing else.