Le Tueur de l'autoroute

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.