The Salton Sea Reviews

Nowadays, there is not much left of the once promising career of Val Kilmer and, not only the guy looks terrible nowadays, above all, all his movies are just some really terrible direct-to-DVD features.  Well, I always had a weak spot for this actor, at least , for his older work and he was the main reason I wanted to check this movie in the first place. Back then, Kilmer just lost his A status and his movies were already becoming quite obscure but they were still mostly interesting and this movie was a typical example. Basically, it is a rather basic and straightforward thriller dealing with some junkies but I really enjoyed the mood created and most of the performances, including Val Kilmer’s, were really good. Above all, it was once again Vincent D'Onofrio (a really underrated actor) who completely stole the show with a really weird and rather unforgettable performance. Unfortunately, the story was not really focused, it became increasingly convoluted towards the end and therefore it failed to really win me over. Unsurprisingly, this movie was a directing debut but it was a really promising one. As a follow-up, D.J.  Caruso would direct ‘Taking Lives’, another thriller with a much higher profile but also with an even more convoluted plot, I'm afraid. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, instead of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.