The Nature of the Beast

Plot synopsis:
The story is set in Southern California in July 1993.
Jack Powell is a businessman with a wife and kids who live in San Diego. He's on his way home, when he pulls over to the side of the road to check out a crime scene. The sheriff tells him a cut-up body has been found stuffed into the trunk of a Chrysler, and advises him not to stop, nor "make any new friends." A policemen slams the trunk, revealing a name has been etched across the top: "Hatchet Man."
Further down the road, Jack comes upon a hitchhiker, but keeps on going.
Jack stops at a diner, and runs into the same man, who introduces himself as Adrian. Jack apologizes for not stopping earlier, and offers to buy Adrian lunch. Adrian soon nicknames their waitress, Patsy, "Jingle Bells", because of the silver bracelets she wears on one wrist.
Patsy talks excitedly about a briefcase full of $1.25 million in mob money which was stolen from a Las Vegas casino the previous day. Jack looks around nervously and slides his briefcase underneath the table. Adrian tells Jack he's very intuitive about people he meets, and can usually tell all he needs to know about someone within a couple of minutes of meeting them.
For example, is the person a loser, or was he a football star, or, perhaps class president. Jack doesn't seem convinced before Adrian asks him what he's got in his briefcase.
When Adrian gets up to make a move on Patsy in the kitchen, Jack ditches him and makes his escape.
As Jack drives down the highway, he listens to a radio newscaster recount the story of the stolen briefcase and discusses a string of murders in which all the victims have been dismembered. Jack is forced to turn back because a roadblock has been set up to cordon off a chemical spill.
Jack checks into a motel. In the middle of the night, Jack awakes, and walks outside his room to investigate another crime scene, this one located behind the diner where he and Adrian had lunch that day. He sees a severed arm with a silver bracelets placed into a bag and Adrian hiding in the shadows.
Adrian joins Jack in his motel room and shoots up in the bathroom. When it seems Adrian is unconscious, Jack tries to leave him again, but despite repeated and increasingly frantic attempts his car won't start.
Adrian stumbles out of the motel and reveals he's removed the plugs from Jack's car, and tells Jack in no uncertain terms not to leave again, or "I'll tell on you, Jack. I'll call the police".
The next morning, Jack and Adrian take to the road together. At a gas station, they meet a young hippie couple named Gerald and Dahlia, who are traveling cross-country in a Dodge van. Adrian wants to hang out with the hippies, but Jack insists they keep going. They stop at a service station so Jack can have a busted water hose on his car replaced. As Jack deals with the attendant, Adrian browses a pet store called the Creepy Crawly Zoo. The owner, Harliss, shows Adrian a Gila Monster, which uses its viselike bite to inject a neurotoxin into the bloodstream. Back in the car, with Jack behind the wheel, Adrian uses the Gila Monster to reassert his power over Jack by throwing the monster onto Jacks lap while he drives. Jack struggles to maintain his composure, and appears frozen by fear and anxiety. To compound matters, Adrian then slams his foot onto the accelerator and the car almost loses control at speed and eventually shudders to a grinding halt before Adrian lets the Gila monster go, and warns Jack on his previous disobedience, and tells Jack he is "one crazy motherfucker"
Jack and Adrian spend that night at a campsite, where they once again run into Gerald and Dahlia. Adrian gets high with the young couple while Jack broods outside the van. Adrian accuses Jack of trying to scare the hippies off.
Later, Jack finds Adrian having sex with Dahlia in the back of the van while Gerald watches. Jack gets drunk and retires. Adrian shows up later and goads him. After Jack and Adrian drive away in the morning, a shot of the van shows blood smeared down the license plate and the name "Hatchet Man" etched across the back doors.
The following night, Jack and Adrian stay at a secluded cabin Jack inherited. For the first time, we see the money was stolen from the Vegas casino, as Jack and Adrian use it to play poker.
Adrian prepares to shoot up again, as Jack lectures him about his drug "problem." Adrian slaps Jack around, and accuses him of being an alcoholic and a hypocrite. Adrian releases Jack from his grip and returns to his drugs whilst advising Jack to do the same with his drink. Jack reacts by beating Adrian from behind with his briefcase, taping him to a chair and injecting him with a deadly mixture of alcohol and drugs. Adrian convulses and appears to expire, and Jack buries him in a shallow grave.
Sheriff Gordon and his deputy, Little David show up to check on Jack, and over their shoulders Jack can see Adrian rising from the grave. The policemen are called away on a domestic disturbance and leave without noticing Adrian. Jack attempts to gun him down. After he's unloaded his shotgun, Adrian emerges from the shadows. When Adrian pleads with Jack as to why he cuts up the bodies into tiny little pieces, Jack removes a hatchet from his briefcase, and now in a far more confident baritone than he has displayed at any point in the film announces, "For the fuck of it", and as the screen fades to black we are left only with the sounds of a violent struggle and left to conclude Jack has killed Adrian once and for all.
Jack returns home to San Diego and kisses his wife, Carol. The paperboy greets him and he replies cheerfully, "Say, hey, Billy." As the film fades to black, a quote from the Book of Jeremiah appears on the screen: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" This echoes an earlier statement made by Adrian, who said that human beings are essentially unknowable.

Tags: murder

Review:
This movie seemed to be made for people who appreciate second banana actors, and it was done pretty well in my opinion.
Lance is one of my favorite actors, and this was one of those movies that stand out in my mind when I think of his work.
I think if this movie went mainstream with bigger named actors...like..I dont know, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, this would have been a hit.
I like movies in which I don't know what's happening until the end.
Story is good and it's about Jack who's driving through Nevada and soon he picks Adrian, a mysterious man who don't want to go away from him even when Jack is trying to lose him.
Only two important characters are Jack and Adrian and they are played by Lance Henriksen and Eric Roberts.
I would like to congratulate Mr.Roberts on this role because this is one of his greatest performances.Good plot and excellent actors are here, so all you need to do is watch this movie.
Movies which manage to create tension through solid dialogs and great performances are real gems these days.
The story looks simple: Jack tries to avoid Adrian, a hitcher, after being warned by the police about a serial killer running loose.
The entire movie is based on the performances of Lance Henriksen and Eric Roberts, which prove once again that they are underrated for no reason.
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.
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.
One a paper goods salesman from Las Vegas Jack Powell, Lance Henriksen, and one a drifter Adrian, Eric Roberts, from God's only knows where and you sense right away that one is the murderer but which one is he?
The scene towards the end of the movie between Jack Powell and Sheriff Gordon, Brion James and his deputy Little David Brewer, Tom Tarntini, outside Powell's cabin is so electrifying charged and nail biting that it had me want to turn off the VCR because my nerves just about had it from the almost unbearable tension watching it.
Solid performances by the two top stars Lance Henriksen & Eric Roberts who despite the very capable supporting cast carry the movie all by themselves..
Lance Henriksen and Eric Roberts cannot be any more effective than they are in this extremely perverse little movie, which must be seen by anyone who enjoys a serious cinematic mind-f#@k now and again.
When Lance Henriksen and especially Eric Roberts were in the lead I felt the title and the combination of these two character actors must be quite good.
His Adrian is by far one of his best performances.Lance Henriksen has much in common with Roberts.
He also has his own acting way and all who have seen him in the great show "Millennium" knows what I'm talking about.Both Roberts and Henriksen should be bigger stars in Hollywood.The great story with its oddities and chilling atmosphere have made me seen it about four-five times already.
Perhaps because the two leads Eric Roberts ('Runaway Train', 'The Immortals') and Lance Henriksen ('Near Dark', 'The Quick And The Dead'), both great favourites of mine, have made way too many stupid action direct-to-video movies and people just think this one is more of the same.
Roberts and Henriksen both excel in this tense and unpredictable road movie.
Director Victor Salva went on to make 'Jeepers Creepers', a movie I haven't seen at the time of writing this.
Hopefully the success of that movie will create some interest in his previous efforts, especially this one.Oh, and if you're a Brion James ('Blade Runner', 'Crimewave') fan like myself, be warned, he doesn't appear until towards the end, and only for one scene.
'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.
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.'.
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.
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.
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.
What I have to say is merely a repetition of what the other users said before:the two leads literally save the movie from absolute mediocrity.They are so good,their performances are so intense that they are to be commended for transcending the limitations they are working under .The script writers ,in order to make sure the audience understands they have been watching a "deep" "meaningful" work call Jeremiah (and the Bible) to the rescue,but it's too little too late.This is the well known mix road movie/"there's a killer on the road" (as Jim Morrison used to sing),and even a child could guess who he is.But the film deserves a look ,weren't it only for the way two first-class actors can redeem abysmal scripts..
It has great performances from Lance Henriksen and a young Eric Roberts.
The ending is so well written!I can't believe that this movie so incredibly underrated and no one talks or reviews it.
Maybe it's because I've seen so many thrillers, but it didn't take me very long into the movie to guess what was going to happen in the ending.
What really gets your attention are the performances by Roberts and Henriksen, two seriously underrated actors.
"Nature of the beast" is one of those "Never-ever-pick-up-a-hitchhiker"-thriller/horror-movies and it's probably a good example of this genre.
The cast is terrific (you just can't go wrong with Henriksen and Roberts, even Brion James is in this for two minutes) and the movie is pretty exciting and fun to watch...
"Eric Roberts and Lance Henriksen star in this intense psychological thriller about a businessman drawn into a bloody game of cat and mouse by a mysterious drifter.
Devilishly charismatic Mr. Roberts (as Adrian) was born to play this role, and a psychologically bent Mr. Henriksen (as Jack) matches him at most every turn.
And, Henriksen's girth was unnecessary.******* The Nature of the Beast (10/24/95) Victor Salva ~ Lance Henriksen, Eric Roberts, Brion James, Sasha Jenson.
I've always felt that Lance Henriksen is one of our best character actors, and that Eric Roberts is underrated (though the fact that he seems to take any part, any time, may contribute to that).
What I didn't expect was two absolutely amazing performances, and the incredible nuance of character that each actor brings to this movie.Henriksen (playing against type) shows great vulnerability as the lonely sales rep on the road, and Roberts keeps you guessing the whole movie as his charming personality belies his apparent menace.
Lance Henriksen and Eric Roberts star as two criminals who take a road trip together, one is a thief and the other is a serial killer, both take a trip that will leave many dead in this surprisingly effective thriller which features chilling performances from both Henriksen and Roberts.
Well worth watching due to it's gripping suspense and good ending..
Lance Henriksen & Eric Roberts star in a quasi-road trip movie where one is left to wonder whenever one of them is the serial killer on the loose dubbed "The Hatchet Man" and whenever one of them is the person responsible for ripping off a casino for a cool million dollars.The only reason I took in a viewing of "Nature Of The Beast" is because of Lance Henriksen, who is one of my favorite screen actors and after some consideration, it's probably the only reason I rented this.
The two lead actors make it work, the atmosphere is decent and the ending pretty good, but I'd only recommend this to Lance Henriksen fans.
An Above Average, Little Seen, DTV Movie that has for Your Viewing Pleasure Two Actors that can be as Intense and Scary as They Like.
it is a Treat to Watch these two Ham it Up and Fully Embrace the Characters in this Film.Both are On the Edge, Eric Roberts because He is the Prime Suspect in a Series of Hatchet Killings that Always Occur in His Proximity, and Lance Henriksen because He is Clutching a Steel Briefcase.
A movie surprise you keep comparing to The Hitcher, throughout, this is a flawless, solid psychological thriller, where you couldn't ask for more finer actors in the roles.
Roberts is so much fun to watch and really funny at times, and it's quite an interesting journey, where we meet some interesting characters, some who become the killer's next victims.
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.
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..
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.
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.
In my opinion, this move has all what good movie must have: thrill packed, atmosphere,background sound, photography is well done, actor's performances is almost excellent.
As they travel the relationship between the men changes as they know who each other is.This is similar in concept to the hitcher and many other movies where an driver picks up a killer and gets involved with the action of the others life.
Pay close attention, and it will be clear that the "surprise ending" is impossible, especially when you consider how bloody an ax murder must be (clean clothes which they're short of, time to clean up, witnesses, etc.).Confusingly, this movie is also known as "The Hatchet Man", "The Nature Of The Beast" and "Bad Company", not to be confused with the Laurence Fishburne, Ellen Barkin potboiler, or any number of movies (at least 8) called "Bad Company"..
The whole truth of crimes of the past haunts each of them in their summit of criminal minds.Adrian enjoys making Jack feel uncomfortable and finds it pretty easy to do given that Jack is nobody's fool and appears to suspect him of being a particularly gruesome serial killer from the Most Wanted List who is loose in the area murdering people in cold blood.
Of course the hard truth IS a great deal more at play and each moment they spend together brings the audience closer to the rude awakening that things are kind of what they seem to be but also kind of NOT what they seem to be.A grave confrontation awaits as, left without options, there is only one way out to reconciling the deep terror of their differences at the end of their voyage.Eric Roberts never ceased being an electrifying performer from the beginning of his cinematic career in the 1970s.
The quirkiness of his characterizations show a complete lack of fear when improvising.Lance Henriksen remains the intriguing character actor who consistently steals scenes in supporting roles and can often play the lead.
The Nature of the Beast looked liked a decent time filler however after 30 minutes I found myself wondering when the movie would end as I just could not find this to be an interesting movie at all.
I forget how the movie ended as this was overall just poor.Basically the movie is about Adrian (Eric Roberts) meeting Jack (Lance Hendrikson) and Adrian is trying to lose Jack after finding him to be a very unhinged person.
At the same man, there are murders being committed by a killer known as Hatchet Man.Eric Roberts and Lance Hendrikson were both suited to this movie however it is a shame I found this to be uninteresting.Certainly not a movie for everyone due to its dark, grisly themes.1/10..
It is like a noir thriller where the quiet character (Henricksen as "Jack") is unexpectedly caught up in a mess because he can never seem to leave town.
The small, desolate town just seems to suck him in, and the only way to escape in these kinds of stories is by death of one or both of our primary characters.Jack is just a guy who's been driving around a desert.
Jack picked a bad time to roll through town, as police cars and forensic units move from one small squat to another cleaning up homicides from a serial killer who leaves his calling card--The Hatchetman.
That's when Jack meets the self-indulgent, sob story with an eerie knack for getting on Jack's nerves, Adrian (Eric Roberts).
Albeit a strange thriller, particularly due to the nature of Robert's character, a relentless junkie with homoerotic undertones who may be the elusive "Hatchetman." Jack's character is pretty weird, too.
Antsy, dumpy, high-strung, secretive and deeply repressed traveling salesman Jack (Lance Henrikson) runs afoul of mean, scuzzy, foul-mouthed, overbearing and antagonistic ex-con junkie drifter Adrian (Eric Roberts) while trekking across the dusty, lonely, remote and forbidding California desert.
Late, great villainous character actor Brion James has a welcome change-of-pace good guy role as a gregarious sheriff.
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.
The one part that really didn't make sense in retrospect, was when Jack was getting all irate trying to keep Adrian away from this couple, clearly leading the viewer to believe Adrian was the killer, which wasn't the way it turned out in the end.
You should think about releasing the film on Blu Ray. Eric Roberts and Lance Henriksen must be two of the most underrated and underused actors in American cinema.
Eric Robert's speech about how everyone is pretending and that there is nothing but emptiness at the center and that we are all beasts at the end of the day was very effective.
...provides a tolerable waste of time, particularly to fans of Lance Henricksen and/or Eric Roberts.
Even the ubiquitous Lin Shaye gets in on the action, along with a cameo appearance from Brion James, who is most distressingly looking every bit of his age.There are a few "Oh, c'mons!" in the script, and Henricksen's "fat roll" is a little too obviously fake, but by and large this little drama unfolds in a reasonably satisfying (if not overly believable) manner, much like its obviously inspirational predecessors, "Prey," and "The Hitcher." There are no great surprises in store, including the twist ending, but the production values are high, especially the cinematography by Levie "Malcolm in the Middle" Isaacks, and some moody scoring by Bennett "Jeepers Creepers" Salvay."You can't kill the Devil, Jack," but it's always fun when someone tries..
Good 90's B-movie suspense thriller with a solid cast.
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 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.
"Nature of the Beast" is a well-crafted thriller, with excellent chemistry between Eric Roberts and Lance Henriksen (two actors who have often wasted their time on worthless direct-to-video movies).