Bone Dry

Lance Henrikson admirers will be happy to know that he delivers another solid performance. Unfortunately the script keeps him in the shadows for most of the film, as the mysterious torturer of Luke Goss. "Bone Dry" is a classic example of a no surprise surprise ending, and why everything is revealed in the trailer is another mystery? At times, the film really doesn't play fair with the audience, especially in the beginning, where you get the distinct impression that Henrickson's and Goss's characters never met. The script is underdeveloped, redundant, and about fifteen minutes belongs on the cutting room floor. Marginally recommended, except for squeamish viewers who might want to avoid the sadism. - MERK

When I first started watching this movie, I thought it was about a crazy old man that didnt like city people and had nothing better to do then sadistically torture this guy, boy was I wrong, great twist at the end. It was all for love vengeful hatred for the man who killed his family. This is watch worthy movie. Love Henkison, Goss was excellent, I hate to hate been out in Death Valley filming this. Kudos to everyone

"Bone Dry" was recommended to me by a good friend and promoted as a modest but exciting little thriller with an original setting and decent performances. Perhaps I simply wasn't in a very good mood when I watched it, but all I saw was a dire, derivative and overlong cat-and-mouse thriller without any thrills. Lance Henriksen – mainly off-screen but immediately recognizable thanks to his distinct voice – threatens a seemingly innocent guy (Luke Goss) at gunpoint and forces him to talk a long walk in the Mojave Desert. Eddie's journey on foot through the hot sand is inhumanly cruel and full of ambushes and death traps, while his unseen assailant follows him around in a jeep and armed with a sniper rifle. Director Brett A. Hart's script tries very hard to make us believe that Eddie is just a poor traveler at the wrong place at the wrong time, whereas Jimmy – the voice on the walkie talkie – is a sadist and merciless villain without proper motivation for his acts. But it's more than obvious right from the beginning that Eddie isn't a randomly targeted victim and that he probably deserves every humiliating and agonizing thing that overcomes him. Their excursion in the Mojave Desert quickly becomes tedious and repetitive, and personally I felt the urge to fast-forward towards the predictable "surprise ending". There isn't much character study going on and the vile interactions between the cat and the mouse are dull and pointless. Lance Henriksen's voice gives away a terrifically menacing performance and there are notable cameo appearances by Dee Wallace-Stone and Tommy Lister, but otherwise I can't find any good arguments to recommend this mundane and forgettable flick.

Bone Dry is fantastic little piece of sun soaked, revenge fuelled melodrama that serves as a glowing showcase for its two leads, Luke Goss and a ferocious Lance Henriksen. Lean, mean, gritty and reminiscent of 1970's revenge outings, it's a bloody delight of a flick. Luke Goss, an actor who can give Henriksen a run for his money in the intensity department, plays Eddie, a well dressed dude with a suspiciously murky past, winding his way through the desolation of the Mojave Desert. After breezing through a lonely cafe run by a girl (always nice to see Dee Wallace) who clearly has eyes for him, he sets out through a particularly lonely stretch of the terrain, and that's where he finds himself in serious trouble. He's soon stalked by a menacing, mysterious man named Jimmy (Henriksen), who is intent on tormenting, taunting and messing him up at every turn. Jimmy is an ex war monster a man whose taken it upon himself to put Eddie through every ring of hell that the Mojave has to offer, all in service of some deeply buried reasons that emerge from the sand late in the third act, shedding scorching light on the two men's character arc, and giving the film quite the emotional boost. When I say hell, I mean it. Eddie suffers through some unspeakably horrific scenarios, including a scene involving a cactus that will induce mass cringing among audience members. Director Brett A. Hart has a heightened, almost Walter Hill-esque style to his film, with the intensity metre ratcheted up past the maximum, and editing trimmed down to whip smart strokes that put you right in the middle of Eddie's clammy desperation and Jimmy's enigmatic fury. Henriksen spends the first half of the film with his face shrouded, adding to the mystery of his character. He's a master of the craft who slowly lets the breadcrumb trail fall with every portentous mannerism and glowering posture until we finally see what Jimmy is really about. One his best performances. Goss doesn't let the energy sag for a single second, something he has always been great at. There's further work from the legendary Tommy 'Tiny Lister' Jr. as well, filling in another subplot stranded out there in the sand. This one is genre bliss, brutal and blistering until it cools off for a conclusion that cuts the viewer some respiratory slack after the breathlessness of its juggernaut setup. Terrific stuff.