Cruel and Unusual

This film seemed atmospheric and tense, but it was a little boring and the ending was anticlimactic. The music came across as intrusive and annoying - there was no point of the high pitched electric guitars used in dramatic scenes. Smoking scenes were just too much and they became distracting.

This might be recommended for thriller fans only, but people who are not in to this genre will become very bored, as this is a slow-burn type of thriller. It's mostly a drama with the brother slowly and slowly starting to suspect that the serial killer is dangerous.

Between the two there is a lot of talking scenes, and at times there is tension. There is also a erotica, between his sister and the killer, towards the middle-end of the film. I believe the whole romance between the two was forced.

The film has the annoying cliché where the main character thinks a person is crazy and his friends don't believe it (here, it's the sister), even though the main character is always right.

The ending was awful. I hated how it just abruptly ended. Who stabbed who? There was some bad editing there.

i love Tom Berringer and i love serial killer stories but this movie was absolutely terrible. i put down like 3 other DVD's when i rented this, just for the sake of the plot description and Berringer's name. i regret it. it was a waste of time. stay away.

"You should see this place I'm going to. It's one in a million," Professor Adam Durrell (Eli Gabay) tells his passenger (Tom Berenger). The prof doesn't know it yet but he is never going to see his favorite getaway. You see, the hitch-hiker he picked up is a serial killer who assumes the identities of his victims. Posing as the now deceased Durrell the charming psycho pulls into a little coastal community in search of fresh prey. He targets lonely vulnerable Kate (Rachel Hayward) and her troubled kid brother Mike (Tygh Runyon) for a violent death. However, this time he may have met his match. Although the cast delivers competent performances the picturesque Cowichan Valley locations (doubling for Oregon) are the real stars in an otherwise routine entry in the tired 'erotic thriller' genre.

This film is one of those direct to video movie. They get a middle weight name like Tom, and try to sell it using his name. Well this isn't that bad like most direct of video movie, actual it's ok. Tom is a good actor, and the script is ok. It's not a high budget, and they got a scene that looks like one of those West Coast Canadian Rock video's. (ie Chalk Circle) Well, rent it, it won't kill you. 6/10

Tom Berenger playing a serial killer! That's something new and since I'm a huge fan of this underrated actor I was very eager to get my hands on this flick. Did it disappoint? Not really, but it's far from being anything special. Berenger plays a homicidal drifter who assumes the identity of his latest victim, a professor, and heads to a small community where he gets involved with a local woman and her brother. As his relationship with the woman progresses her brother becomes more and more suspicious of him and it's only a matter of time before things get nasty. A semi well written character study of a psychopath which sadly doesn't delve too deeply into his motivations, and thus, leaving the viewer wanting more. Berenger, as always, does well with his role but the fact is it's an underdeveloped one and therefore doesn't have the intended impact. The end conclusion is mostly satisfying but overall the film is long-winded, has stereotypical supporting characters, particularly the brother, and ultimately fails mostly in the suspense department along with being very predictable. In the end Berenger elevates the film with his performance and one is left with the impression that this film could have been so much better. Sadly it's just average.