THE TRAVELER (2010) Reviews and overview

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‘Where he goes, death follows’

The Traveler – aka The Traveller – is a 2010 American horror film directed by Michael Oblowitz (Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy; The Breed) from a screenplay by Joseph C. Muscat, and starring Val Kilmer and Dylan Neal.

A stranger walks into a small town’s police station during a rainstorm on Christmas Eve. He tells the desk sergeant that he wishes to confess to murder, after which the desk sergeant points a handgun at him and calls for his colleagues to restrain him with handcuffs.

The stranger refuses to reveal his name, preferring to be known as “Mr. Nobody.” After the stranger provokes them, the officers are about to assault him as detective Alexander Black walks in.

The stranger states that he will confess to six murders, and when he describes each murder, the officers graphically die in the same way he explains though the stranger himself remains incarcerated…

Reviews:

“There’s just never a point at which the viewer is able to work up even a hint of interest in any of the characters’ exploits, and it is, in the final analysis, impossible not to wonder just what drew Kilmer and his relatively talented costars to this hopelessly misbegotten piece of work in the first place.” David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

“This isn’t Camus; it’s Rod Serling by way of Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter. But Eastwood had a firm grasp on how to casually allow existential ideas to emerge from the Western myth. The Traveler begins as a moralistic Twilight Zone episode and ends as a nonsensical Tales from the Darkside.” Brian Holcomb, Cinema Blend

“Even though he looks fresh out of rehab (or a lack thereof) Val possesses acting/presence skills, and they tend to rise to the occasion regardless. The gore was all over the walls and floors and nailed this into the horror genre for sure.” John Marrone, Bloody Disgusting

“If it sounds mildly interesting, I assure you it isn’t, as Oblowitz doesn’t have a cast experienced enough to accurately sell the mental ambush, while his fondness for bloody money shots quickly turns the film into a Troma production.” BrianOrndorf.com

The Traveler is yet another film with only a half-hour Twilight Zone episode materials’ worth in it. That’s not to say it’s not worth a look, but don’t expect too much. Val Kilmer is surprisingly good in it, given his recent penchant for sleepwalking through roles…” Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com

Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk

Cast and characters:

  • Val Kilmer as Mr. Nobody – The Snowman; Twixt; Thaw; The Island of Doctor Moreau
  • Dylan Neal as Detective Alexander Black
  • Paul McGillion as Deputy Jerry Pine
  • Camille Sullivan as Deputy Jane Hollow
  • Nels Lennarson as Deputy Toby Sherwood
  • Chris Gauthier as Desk Sergeant Gulloy
  • John Cassini as Deputy Jack Hawkins
  • Sierra Pitkin as Mary Black
  • Panou as Trooper Vitelli
  • Denyc as Trooper Velasquez

Filming locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Release:

The film was first shown at the Aruba International Film Festival in June 2010 before its release in the United States in October 2010 by Paramount Pictures. It was released on home video on January 25, 2011.

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