Freeway (1988) User Reviews

A decent way to spend 91 minutes.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 12 August 2017]

Model-turned-actress Darlanne Fluegel ("To Live and Die in L.A.") is top billed in this thriller, which was officially based on a novel by Deanne Barkley, but which was also prompted by real life crimes in L.A. This is a city known for its amazing 600 miles of freeway, and now a crazed killer is cruising these lanes and sometimes shooting other drivers. Fluegel plays "Sunny" Harper, a nurse whose husband was one of the killers' victims. She's now obsessed with doing her own detective work into the matter, and she soon gets helped by a mystery man named Frank Quinn (James Russo, doing his best Mickey Rourke).

Veteran movie villain Billy Drago ("The Untouchables", "Delta Force 2") is at his creepy best playing the deranged antagonist of the story. It's never quite as interesting when it doesn't follow him. His character frequently phones a hot shot radio psychiatrist, played by comedian / actor Richard "The Belz" Belzer ('Homicide: Life on the Street'), believing the shrink to be his prophet. Fluegel is of course gorgeous and a passable actress, but she doesn't have a particularly dynamic presence on film. Russo tries his hardest to project "cool", and comes off fairly well. Also co-starring are other familiar faces like Michael Callan ("Cat Ballou") as the head detective on the case, the incomparable Clint Howard ("Evilspeak") as a predictably quirky service station attendant, Steve Franken ("The Party") as a victimized lawyer, and the great Kenneth Tobey ("The Thing from Another World") as a monsignor.

Overall, this is an okay movie, with some pulse quickening scenes, but it's nothing special. Co-writer / director Francis Delia, whose work was mostly in music videos and TV, tells this story in entertaining enough fashion - just enough to keep viewers watching. It offers some fun but is largely forgettable.

Six out of 10.

the hitcher meets bad film-making

[caddy_shack2009 · 4/10 · 3 January 2010]

Freeway Killer, Is a Madman who shoots people on the freeway while yelling a bunch of mystical chant on a car phone. The police believe he is a random killer, but Sunny, the blond heroine, played by Darlanne Fluegel detects a pattern. So does the ex-cop, played by James Russo, and they join forces, and bodies, in the search for the villain who has done away with their spouses. Also starring Richard Belzer, this movie has its moments especially if you like car chases, but its really not a good movie for the most part, check it out if you're really bored and have already seen The Hitcher, Joy Ride, or Breakdown, otherwise stay away from the freeway.

Made for late night viewing

[triple8 · 5/10 · 5 November 2006]

SPOILERS THROUGH:

It's really kind of funny how you see a movie a long time ago and it sticks in your head. I saw this with a bunch of friends many years ago, and while we didn't like it very much, it held our attention. The main problem this movie has is it's like a million other movies of this type that play late at night and have a similar plot. My friends and I have seen many yet for some reason this stuck in my head and my friends' heads as well.

Negatives first. It is rather overlong and one feels the time. The plot's' been done before many a time. Then there is the low budget factor of the movie which didn't actually bother me all that much because I sometimes really dig some low budget b-type movies. But the movie really did seem very much like other late nights of this type, it's difficult to keep from mixing it up with others.

The biggest positive about Freeway is that years later, many many years after first having seen it, For some reason my friends and I still occasionally talk about it. So it must have made a bit more of an impact then others of this type. I think as a late night this is maybe worth seeing but I wouldn't pay money to view it. I'm giving it a vote of 5 because unlike scores of other similar movies we remembered this one. My vote's 5.

A fantastic and enjoyable thriller

[bannonanthony · 7/10 · 9 March 2008]

To be fair, I expected car chases in this film. There was only really one, but apart from that, 'Freeway' was a great movie which I am glad to own on DVD. The only really big names in the cast are HOMICIDE's Richard Belzer as the radio psychiatrist and B-Movie villain par-excellance Billy Drago as the Revelation-quoting Freeway Killer. But the rest of the cast generally give good performances. I especially liked how Darlanne Fluegel gave her character, Sunny, a bit of guts. She could have been a helpless victim character but she is fully rounded as she seeks out Drago with the help of bounty hunter James Russo.

Russo, I'm afraid, comes across as rather wooden, but then again, the character he plays, Frank, isn't very well fleshed out save for a back story Sunny is given by his former commanding officer. The tone of menace is kept up superbly throughout the film and the atmosphere of the lonely LA freeway at night with the killer prowling its' length in his sinister grey sedan is an excellent way of building tension, and the music used to underscore the film is suitably composed. I don't know why there are some people who hate this movie so. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. But I absolutely enjoyed 'Freeway' and I can strongly recommend it.

Good looking but empty thriller

[Wizard-8 · 6 December 2014]

A B movie like "Freeway" is a sometimes frustrating experience, because you can see that in several aspects the filmmakers reached their goals... but can also see in other aspects that the filmmakers screwed up. What they did manage to succeed with is with the direction of the movie. Though made on a low budget (like other movies New World Pictures handled during this time), there is real atmosphere here. The movie has a slick but moody look feel thanks to the cinematography and the musical score. Also, the murder and action sequences are for the most part well constructed enough that they do manage to pack a little punch, though the climatic sequence should have had far more bite.

Unfortunately, while the movie looks and feels good, the filmmakers were working with a screenplay that is simply inadequate. There isn't much of a story here, and what there is unfolds at a very slow pace. Also weak are the characters; they are either shallow or don't get to do that much that's important.

In the end, we have a movie that's kind of a disappointment, and will probably frustrate viewers looking for B movie entertainment. I would, however, recommend the movie to low budget filmmakers to give them clues as to how to make their own movies look and feel good... and to remind them that it's important to have a well-written script.

80s nostalgia kitch

[aaronas · 7/10 · 4 July 2003]

I'm a fan of Crash and Blade Runner and this movie explores some of those highway death and 80s film noir themes that I like to see, so I enjoyed it.

In general though, the essential stupidity of the film noir protagonist is not pulled off well by the female lead and her hero is nearly a neanderthal, hence the kitch warning.

Decent '80s action-thriller

[udar55 · 7/10 · 16 September 2023]

I remember when the media was talking about random highway shootings in California in 1987 and it terrified me. We were back in Germany at this point, but it made me think the U. S. was the wild west. Apparently the story impressed a producer too and we ended up getting Freeway (1988). Darlanne Fluegel is an ER nurse trying to recover from when her doctor boyfriend was killed by the shooter. So, naturally, she takes the investigation into her own hands. She is helped by a mysterious stranger (James Russo, really thinking he is James Dean) and a radio deejay (Richard Belzer) when the cops prove to be useless. Perhaps this biggest surprise of this New World Pictures release is it is pretty well made. Director/co-writer Francis Delia got his start in music videos and has a great grasp on the visuals. The shooting scenes are particularly well done. Of course the film gives away the killer right in the opening credits when they list Billy Drago. Keep an eye open for Kenneth Tobey in one scene as well and Clint Howard as a creepy mechanic (who gets Fluegel a muscle car in the oddest way possible).

Highway murders, with the Belz on the radio

[silentgpaleo · 1 June 2000]

I think it was Dennis Miller who coined calling Richard Belzer ,"the Belz." Anyhow, FREEWAY was made somewhere in between stand-up dates by Belzer, long before Homicide hit television. Of course, Belzer had done other flicks before(THE GROOVE TUBE), so he was fairly comfortable in front of the camera.

And, in fact, Belzer is the only entertaining thing about FREEWAY. The plot itself concerns a road-rager (back in the late 80's, this was un-hip) who blows the heads off of people. This psycho(the ever-employed Billy Drago)gets caught up with the Belz, with one of the killings being heard by Belzer.

James Russo, as always, thinks he's tough. But, like Mickey Rourke(sometimes), acting tough and being tough are two separate things.

FREEWAY is not so hot, and the low-budget shows. But, if you are a Belzer fan(I know you're out there), then this may be worth a look.

Everyone else, beware, THIS FILM IS TEDIOUS AND OVERLONG.

B-movie badness at its best!

[deemes · 16 October 2003]

I love Freeway! What a four-eyed, club-footed, red-headed stepchild of a movie! James Russo wants to be Mickey Rourke *sooooo* bad--and what issue of Penthouse did Darlanne Fluegel escape from? This is one of those enjoyably bad movies that you might refer to as a guilty pleasure. Richard Belzer is good as the disc jockey who receives phone calls from the psycho killer. And as the psycho killer... well, no one makes a more entertaining psycho than Billy Drago. The most chilling scene in the movie is the one where Darlanne and James find the picture of ol' Billy dressed as a priest. Best watched late at night with a small gathering of smart-alec pals, MST3K-style.

starts pretty well with a nice mood... but turns into mud.

[fernando_andrade_martins · 18 August 2004]

I had never heard of this film until last night. I saw it yesterday evening on cable. I like to see what some film makers do when they're in a very tight budget, as in this case, but this movie is very far away from Carpenter's fantastic and enjoyable low budget movie "They live".

I got caught up but the first 30 minutes or so, I was enjoying the mood, the photography and lighting, camera plans and movements, but that mood starts to fade away, and the argument becomes a bit muddy...

Belzer does a pretty good job until the end of the movie, contributing with a decent representation of a somewhat interesting character.

James Russo wasn't able to talk anyone into his "bad" attitude, and there are many question marks to put to the weak and sometimes inconsistent argument, namely the relation between Russo and Darlanne Fluegel, which is quite OK and very sexy throughout the movie.

After 1 hour, you start wondering what happened to the mood shown at the beginning, and it just gets pretty tedious until the predictable ending, with the blonde angelical nurse/doctor becoming a "devil" in leather driving a red firebird.

Gladly, the psycho man in the plot is played by Billy Drago, which is quite entertaining, as usual.

Bottom line - see it if you have absolutely nothing better to do, otherwise don't waste your time on it.