Eric (a solid and likeable performance by Ivan Gonzalez) and Blake (a pleasingly feisty portrayal by Cassie Howarth) find themselves bound and gagged together in the trunk of a pick-up. It turns out the pair's abductors have very unpleasant plans in store for them.

Director Benjamin Goalabre relates the gripping story at a constant pace, generates a good deal of claustrophobic tension, takes time to develop the two main characters, and makes nice use of the dry and desolate Nevada desert landscape. Moreover, Michael Madsen and William Baldwin play their colorfully slimy bad guy roles with delicious lip-smacking wicked relish. A nifty little flick.

The film opens with a bad teaser and then takes about an hour to get back there. Mario (William Baldwin) and his brother (Michael Madsen) have escort Blake (Cassie Howarth) and drug designer Eric (Iván González) locked in the trunk of their vehicle leaving Las Vegas. After a bit, we discover they both have "cheated" Mario out of money. There are some minor flashbacks and some contemporary action, but for the most part, it is two people in the trunk, which is twice as good as one person in a trunk or grave, or car, especially when one is eye candy. But not that much better.

The film was still boring.

Guide: F-word. Brief sex, brief nudity.

"You tired?" I was for sure, especially at the halfway point of watching 2020's 2 Graves in the Desert (my latest review). If I had to view "Graves" again, I'd probably opt to attend a trying insurance seminar or maybe even a lecture on fine quilting.

So yeah, in 2 Graves in the Desert there's virtually no thrills even though it is billed as a thriller (talk about false advertising). What's on screen is basically sadistic, bloody, and for eighty-four minutes, almost pointless. And yes, it doesn't help that the soundtrack of "Graves" is that annoying and cliched, direct-to-video spy music.

Anyhow, 2 Graves in the Desert involves a man and a woman who wake up to become trapped in the back of a truck. We as the audience don't quite know why because "Graves" has what feels like the bare bones of a plot (something about being nobbled for drugs and quote, unquote, "the formula").

Cassie Howarth and Ivan Gonzalez play the cramped hostages while Michael Madsen and William Baldwin play the bestial kidnappers (Billy Baldwin looks so much like brother Alec now I thought it was Alec).

"Graves" primarily consisting of back and forth discourse in a confined space, focuses less on the star power of Madsen and Baldwin and more on unknowns Howarth and Gonzalez. That gives 2 Graves in the Desert a claustrophobic feel but it also makes the film tedious and a bit of a chore to sit through.

With a couple of flashbacks, some stylized direction from Benjamin Goalabre (a rookie helmer who thinks he's being innovative),callous beatings, and references to the flick Titanic (whah?),"Graves" is sadly the antipode of being entertained. With the potential to be something more diverting, 2 Graves in the Desert would rather dig its own cinematic "barrow". Rating: 1 and a half stars.