Sick Product of a Sick System

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

A man (Val Kilmer) walks into a police station and says he is confessing to a murder. Unfortunately for the police, he will not give his name and will not volunteer much else.We should talk about Val Kilmer. Another reviewer said he was like wax, and despite being a great actor has really slipped into some terrible roles. Kilmer's career as a whole is mess -- for every outstanding role he has had, he has had two terrible ones. Do directors simply not know how to utilize him? This movie as a whole would have been better if someone else handled it. The acting is a bit weak, the direction is average. The musical score is actually quite good, and the general plot is creative and clever -- again, if someone else had made it, this could have been a big hit. (Heck, imagine this in the hands of David Fincher.)

There's nothing new here, but it did grab my attention. It's actually quite suspenseful, but the movie did take it's time to build up to the suspense.I've seen a lot of movies like this and it's always about revenge with a supernatural twist. Then the revenge part turns sour. Of course, there are gruesome blood scenes as found in typical horror style. It's a little eyrie, but there is really no wow factor to it. At the end of the movie, I completely forgot about it and got food with friends. If that's how I reacted, then you know it wasn't really a good movie. Watchable if you have the time, but it's not worth the $15 admission price to the movies.I'm a big fan of Val Kilmer and he did a superb job of acting. Deep and mysterious.

After seeing this film, I'm pretty certain we have a new front runner for the "Worst Movie I've Seen All Year" contest. I should have known a B-Horror movie, starring Val Kilmer, wouldn't be any good, but once again I was fooled by one of those clever fellows who write the descriptions on the back of the box. One a snowy Christmas Eve, a man walks into a Police station, to confess to crimes he hasn't yet committed. It sounded like a cool concept, when in actuality, it was nothing more than a waste of time. Where to begin? First off, this film is so painfully predictable, my dog knew what was coming next. The Traveler must have had no budget what-so-ever, because not only was the supporting cast a complete joke, but so was everything else! From the decrepit, falling apart, Police station to the twenty year old squad cars, and of course the miserable special effects, this film was pure doody from beginning to end. As for Val Kilmer, he was about as convincing as Tyler Perry is as the new Alex Cross. Seldom have a seen a more lazy and sloppy performance, with such a complete lack of emotion and muffled lines. I really have to wonder if the other actors could smell the manure coming off of him on the set. This film is one that never should have even been made, run away from it and never look back!

A nameless drifter (Val Kilmer) ambles into a police department in the middle of the night to tell the night watchman that he has killed six people. Arrested and booked, the drifter tells Detective Black (Dylan Neal) that the murders haven't happened yet. The six police officers quickly find that the man in their captivity is describing what will happen to them throughout the night.Val Kilmer's newest straight-to-video offering is a clever, definitely creepy idea that never quite connects with the themes it tries to make or the audience is tries to draw. Kilmer has staked his claim with low-budget action, now he tries his hand at horror. He's just short of what could have been a royal flush."The Traveler" has some aspects in its favor. Kilmer ably performs the mysterious stranger, though his performance seems to unravel as the film draws to a close. John Cassini and Chris Gauthier play two of the potential victims and come close to being memorable. The latter especially does his best with what he has and makes a sympathetic performance. Though no one matches Dylan Neal, who is the strongest of the cast as the detective with something to hide."The Traveler" is also not without its faults. Clichéd, hackneyed characters do little to make the film better. As the film continues on, it faces problems with continuity and elaboration on exactly who the stranger is. The biggest downturn is the script, which offers fewer and fewer answers to the questions it asks and doesn't seem interested in answering any of them by the end, leaving me a puzzled viewer.I give it a well-deserved five out of ten stars. It's a solid effort and worth a watch if you want a film that both makes you think and turns your brain off.