Bone Dry (2007) User Reviews

Idea Runs Dry.

[Darkweasel · 6/10 · 6 December 2007]

*SPOILER*

The story here is simple. Luke Goss (Blade II, rubbish 80s boy band Bros) is held at gunpoint in the desert, given a compass and map by Lance Henriksen and told to head north. Henriksen turns out to be a very nasty character indeed, torturing Goss with water deprivation, burial in sand, and in one very Saw inspired sequence, a cactus and a pair of handcuffs.

The problem is that the film simply doesn't maintain the suspense long enough. The dialogue is uneven and repetitive (amusingly highlighted by Henriksen's character himself at one point) and the addition of three needless characters do nothing but stretch out an already flimsy premise to breaking point. Very early on there are pieces of dialogue dropped in, leading you far too quickly to arrive at the conclusion that Luke Goss may not actually be a very nice chap himself.

It's not entirely without it's charms though. Lance Henriksen is on top form (very reminiscent of his Near Dark character at some points), Goss himself is pretty decent, and you really do feel the suffocating desert heat, but by the time the conclusion arrives along with it's glaringly obvious "twist" you're just left with the feeling it was merely a padded out episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Sadistic journey to nowhere .....

[merklekranz · 5/10 · 25 October 2009]

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

Earnest auteur effort tries hard...

[MrGKB · 5/10 · 24 July 2009]

...but fails to gel in a satisfactory way. Neophyte director/writer/editor/producer Brett A. Hart simply bites off more than he can chew. The plot hinges on a time-worn cliché of role reversal, and simply isn't compelling. The dialogue is at times trite and forgettable; there's nothing to really draw us into sympathizing with the ostensible protagonist. Both leads (Luke "Blade II" Goss and Lance "Near Dark" Henriksen) are pretty much cyphers until the predictable Act 3 revelations, and thus little empathy is engendered for either character. Neither actor evinces much range, though admittedly the script offers them slim opportunity to do much in the first place. Poor Dee "The Howling" Wallace is obviously taking a paycheck, along with Tiny "Jackie Brown" Lister and the rest of the negligible supporting cast. A lot of the photography is quite nice, evincing great effort to keep things "in motion," despite occasional lapses of technical quality. Scott "Hack!" Glascow's score is also laudable in establishing mood during otherwise dull transitions. Ultimately, it all boils down to the script, which fails to deliver. Its title unfortunately but aptly describes the substance of the film. "Bone Dry" remains of interest only to Henriksen fans, and Mr. Hart's backers. It remains to be seen if Mr. Hart can deliver something with a bit more juice in it. I'd have hated to have paid to sit through this in a theater, that's for certain.

Things to do in the Mojave Desert when you're bored

[Coventry · 3/10 · 31 August 2013]

"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.

North of Mojave

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 2 March 2008]

(There are Spoiler) Strange to say the least the film "Bone Dry" keeps you guessing to just what's going on between the two stars in it Eddie, Luke Goss, and Jimmy, Lance Heriksen, for almost the entire movie.

Eddie driving through the bone dry and sun soaked Mojave Desert, the hottest and lowest place in the Continental USA, is suddenly knocked out from behind and then after regaining consciousness is put through the ringer by his, for the most part, unseen and slightly crazed antagonist Jimmy. Jimmy in spite of his mindless and sadistic actions later turns out to be a man with a plan. A plan that Jimmy had in the works and perfected over the last two years.

We get a number of hints in the film to why Jimmy has it in for the likable and what seems like harmless as a kitty cat Eddie. The hints are so confusing and disjointed that the film has to go into high gear, and add about ten more minutes, to explain to its audience just what's going on! P.S Before you see the movie "Bone Dry" do everything possible to avoid it's pre-released trailer. "Bone Dry's" movie trailer in fact gives away the the surprise ending before you even get a chance to see the movie!

Forced, by a gleeful Jimmy, to find his way back to civilization before he falls prey to the wild animals, rattlesnakes & scorpions, or blistering heat and thirst of the unfriendly Mojave Desert Eddie, with a compass and walkie-talkie that Jimmy provided for him, treks his way north. North to Southern California and the main desert highway, where he can hitch-hike a ride, leading into the very populated golden state.

Insane from thirst and being tortured by Jimmy, mostly from afar, Eddie makes it almost home when he runs into Marty,Carl Buffington, a love-child or hippie-like weirdo whom he first mistakes for Jimmy. It later turns out that the harmless looking Marty is anything but hippie-like when Eddie runs into his two friends big bad and black, at 6 foot 5 inch and 230 pound, Mitch played by Tiny, because he's so big, Lister and his big mouth but pea-brain partner Price, Chad Stalcup.***SPOILER ALERT From THIS POINT ON*** These two bumbling but very dangerous guys are trying to make a living by dealing in coke and doing, together with their double-talking advance man Marty, a not so good job at it.

It just about then, after Eddie's encounter with Mitch & Price, that we get an inkling to what the heck the movie is all about, and just what's Jimmy's involvement in all this, and it's somewhat of a letdown. It' not that the ending of "Bone Dry" is not effective but were put through so much by Jimmy's crazy antics that we by then completely lost any sympathy for the guy. And that's in spite of what he went through that lead him commit the inhuman and despicable crimes all throughout the movie!

Poorly made

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 19 March 2019]

BONE DRY is very much a cheap B-movie thriller which tries to mask a lack of budget with lots of camera tricks and stylised shots. The end result looks like it comes from the 1990s rather than 2007 and I quickly tired of the attention-seeking going on. The story is simplicity in itself, with traveller Luke Goss stranded in the desert and pursued by a vengeful psychopath, as played by the great Lance Henriksen. That's about all their is to it. Goss certainly goes through hell here and seems to be tortured or humiliated constantly, but the lacklustre writing saps this of strength and only Henriksen is reliably entertaining. The twist ending isn't too bad but it's a little late by that point.

The Mojave desert is the star

[knightcrawler-1 · 7/10 · 13 May 2015]

I think I liked the desert the best in this film. It must have been an easy shoot to go out into an open desert and just shoot what you want. I'm sure the heat and bugs got to the cast and crew but at least no streets had to be closed.

The movie itself is OK. During the first hour it leaves guessing as why this guy has been kidnapped and is being pushed to his limits. The setup is rather sparse. No real indications as who these characters are but most films are mysteries, we need time to get to know the characters.

The hippie character seemed to be the most interesting. I imagine the Mojave desert to be filled with people like him. I didn't really like how that played out though, it seemed uninspired and predictable.

The two main characters remain somewhat bland. Only most of the way through the film do we get any indication that the kidnapped guy may not be an innocent victim. He becomes rather good at fighting suddenly and is able to defeat two thugs. This brings up questions. Wouldn't he be to tired and dehydrated to fight and if he had these skills why didn't he use them in the first place?

We have to wait until the end to find the reasons behind the whole thing. I found the ending to be decent albeit slightly gimmicky. It's worth a look.

"Gerry" enters "No Country for Young Men"

[charlytully · 6/10 · 27 January 2009]

For western fans who have seen both the maddingly nebulous Gus Van Sant 2002 flick GERRY featuring Casey Affleck & Matt Damon (6.2 of 10 IMDb rating) and the 97th most popular movie of all-time, Ethan & Joel Coen's NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, director\writer\editor Brett A. Hart's BONE DRY will elicit many echoes of recognition. Hart intentionally leaves viewers at sea in an effort to have them misplace their empathy with protagonist\desert torture victim "Eddie" during most of the film. For those not literate enough to sense which way the wind eventually will blow from the opening quotes of Lucretius and Shakespeare's Richard III, the ease with which "Eddie" starts dispatching random drug dealers in BONE DRY's second half is a dead giveaway of the flip-flopping sympathies due before the final credits roll. While "Eddie's" antagonist "Jimmy" suffers more from not being fleshed out in the movie, he does combine NO COUNTRY's Sheriff Ed Tom Bell's practical curmudgeonness with pneumatic bolt toting contract killer Anton Chigurh's aura of inexorable doom. Being called upon to stand in for both Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem in the same movie certainly is a step up in the world from that PUMPKINHEAD crap for Lance Henriksen ("Jimmy").

P.S.--Hopefully Brett A. Hart does NOT have to live down being a blood descendant of the infamous sponging, deadbeat-dad, poser, Bret Harte (1836-1902), author of "The Luck of Roarin' Camp" and other "western" stories. (Director Hart's website makes no connection between himself and his literary or wrestler namesakes, but if he later wishes to pick one, he'd be well-advised to take the grappler.) As America's greatest penman Mark Twain observed, the 19th Century writer Harte (born Francis Brett Hart in Albany, NY) started his career making up "news" from the west for East Coast publications, and--in 20th Century terms--played Zane Grey to Twain's Louie L'Amour. This false Harte was a flash-in-the-pan with just one year of real success, soon leaving all of his acquaintances with his unpaid debts, abandoning his wife and kids with no support, and absconding to die in Europe.

Indie surprise!

[shortdg3 · 8/10 · 7 November 2007]

This movie is pretty good. It holds you all the way to the very end. It had a small cast, yet it delivered big time. I hope it comes to the big screen soon. It's a must see. Lance is a veteran actor that has done some bad movies in the past, but he redeems himself with this one. It seems that it was shot entirely in the desert and the scenes were beautiful. I gave the movie 8 stars because of it's originality and the fact that you truly don't know what's going on until the very end. That's the motivation to keep you watching. You want to see what's going to happen next and anytime a film holds you like that, it's a good one. I had the pleasure of watching it on a website that happened to have it and boy was I in for a treat. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it. You won't be disappointed.

Badass stuff

[NateWatchesCoolMovies · 9/10 · 12 May 2016]

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.

Tense little thriller

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 5 July 2012]

Eddie (a fine and credible performance by Luke Goss) gets forced at gunpoint by the ruthless and vengeful Jimmy (superbly played with total conviction and fierce intensity by the always dependable Lance Henriksen) into the Mojave Desert where Jimmy has set up a series of traps and challenges in order to test the limits of Eddie's endurance and survival instincts. Is Eddie just a victim of hapless circumstance? Or does Jimmy have a valid reason for putting Eddie through this punishing ordeal? Director Brett A. Hart, who also co-wrote the crafty and absorbing script with Jeff O'Brien, relates the gripping story at a steady pace, makes the most out of the dusty'n'desolate isolated setting, ably milks plenty of sweat-inducing suspense from the edgy game of cat and mouse between the two central characters, delivers a few jolting moments of raw brutal violence, and tops everything off with a cool surprise twist ending that effectively shifts the viewer's sympathies from one person to another. The strong acting by Goss and Henriksen keeps the picture humming, with Henriksen a particular stand-out throughout as the relentless and determined Jimmy. Popping up in nifty small parts are Dee Wallace as friendly diner waitress Joanne, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister as menacing thug Mitch, and Carl Buffington as eccentric New Age drug dealer Marty. Scott Glasgow's moody score further pumps up the tension. The striking yellow-hued cinematography by John Darbonne and Kevin G. Ellis vividly captures the unsparing severity of the merciless desert heat. A real nice nail-biter.

Sadisticly torturious

[sissy3006-179-640454 · 8/10 · 23 September 2019]

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