Dear Victor Salva, I first watched The Nature of the Beast in the mid-90s. A few years after cable TV had become an important part of Indian life. It was called Bad Company back then. My father liked the film so much that he recorded it on a video cassette. I decided to re-watch it yesterday and I am glad to inform you that it has aged very well. 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. That these two actors hardly got to do any good roles during the peak of their powers reflects the sorry state of American cinema in the last twenty years. In Nature of the Beast, they play two men on the run dangerously attracted to each other. 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. I liked the offbeat characters that populated the American small towns that Roberts and Henrisken drove through. The point of view shots of deserted American highways are always a pleasure to look at. The ending was a bit of a letdown even though I never saw it coming. The film's basic plot might have been borrowed from films like Detour (1945), The Hitch-Hiker (1953) and The Hitcher (1986). The fact that the two characters are bound together by very different crimes makes The Nature of the Beast slightly different from its predecessors. Great effort, Victor. I will check out some of your other films. Best Regards, Pimpin. (7/10)

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. The Plot Informs that a Million Dollars Plus had been Stolen from a Casino and the Thief is on the Run.When these Two Meet Up it is a Reluctant Pairing with a Blackmail Threat and the Thing is Tied Together with some Loose Threads that are too Glaring to Ignore. Some Stuff Happens that if Given a Moticum of Thought come Unraveled and Reveal Some Big Holes.But if Given Enough Freedom to Stretch Things Beyond Believability there is a Chance that the Suspense and Mystery will Suck You into its Irrationality. If so it is More than Passable and these Two Psycho-Stars are Always Worth a 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. With the police searching for a serial killer on a murderous rampage, and a million dollars missing from a Las Vegas casino, both men have something sinister to hide. But as the lies are peeled away and their true nature is revealed, it becomes clear that one of them is a madman. The question is which one…" asks the DVD sleeve description.Writer/director Victor Salva makes it like a psycho on wheels, with plenty of gay subtext. Picture "The Hitcher" with both driver and passenger playing psychopaths. 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. The production is inexpensive but effective; it keeps you either interested or riveted, but fails, in the end, to tie its interesting threads together. And, Henriksen's girth was unnecessary.******* The Nature of the Beast (10/24/95) Victor Salva ~ Lance Henriksen, Eric Roberts, Brion James, Sasha Jenson

'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.'