Freeway Killer

Well it was engaging and intense and it held my down to watch in curiosity mainly because of that sicko sinister character, a gracious savior to this film in my opinion. Other than that, most of the acting coming from all the other characters were lackluster and nothing groundbreaking really happened in this movie. I predicted pretty much how the story would weave, it wasn't hard to see much of it coming. Just sit back and watch it and don't expect anything major at all. But definitely once again an intense and engaging submission that reminds us the kind of people we inevitably share society with. So overall, it was an alright movie! I give it 5/10. Is it worth a watch you ask?...It won't make your eyes bleed.

William Bonin was a real-life serial killer who murdered a number of young men in the Los Angeles area around 1980. The plot of "Freeway Killer" gives us a character study of this man as an adult already in the process of carrying out his evil schemes.

We see him as he entices young boys into his blue van; gets to know them with general chitchat; then, without warning, strikes, like some wild animal attacking its prey. As Bonin, Scott Anthony Leet gives a really fine, naturalistic performance, with emotions that run the gamut from cheerful normality to blatant hatred. Bonin had at least one accomplice, a young man named Vernon, well played by Dusty Sorg.

The film conveys some gore, though not a lot, mercifully. On the one hand, we do not want a sanitized version of Bonin or his crimes. But we also don't want gratuitous gore and violence that seem to sensationalize people and events. I think "Freeway Killer" strikes a reasonably good balance.

The guys being picked up by Bonin were so similar in age and appearance, they were almost interchangeable. I never did pay much attention to them; they were like stick figures. Any given victim could almost substitute for some other victim, so impersonal and fleeting were their roles in the script.

This is no police procedural; very little time is spent on police investigation. Also, there is no mystery here and very little suspense.

In this low-budget film cinematography is competent. There are lots of close-up shots, with emphasis on peoples' faces, showing their anger, desperation, fear, and deception. Rear-screen projections are noticeable in a few scenes.

Intended mostly for viewers with an interest in true crime, "Freeway Killer" zeroes in on the Bonin character, a madman with the demeanor of a normal guy who liked to mess with the minds of his prospective victims. I rate the film above average for its genre.

I don't pretend to be a "reviewer"...so don't expect fancy jargon. What I can say is that I am, and have been, an avid movie go'er for 32 years. I have seen many movies...the good, the bad...and the ugly. This is actually quite good. The acting is good, especially by the main actor playing the role of William Bonin. It's a very simple movie with no attempts to pretend otherwise. There is a cameo of the actor who played "Henry, portrait of a serial killer"...which in my humble opinion is one of the most visceral serial killer movies of all time. If you are looking for a "B" movie feel, but with very good acting this is a good one. No blood and guts. No Hollywood afterbirth here, just a simple, accurate, and well directed movie about the life of a real serial killer, William Bonin. Enjoy.

The movie itself wasn't so bad. However the storyline could've been fleshed out a little bit more. My pet peeve was that the movie was filled with so many Anochronisms, it threw the story off a bit. This was set around 1979-1980, but it looked very low budget. There were modern cars everywhere, besides the ones used by the actors themselves. The convenience store was riddled with current versions of consumer products, Bonin's alarm clock was digital, etc. Just seems like they didn't make a good effort at setting the theme of the movie to have been in the past. It was shot more like a student film on a shoestring budget.

Reading the reviews, one of them stated that this was an other 'Henry' (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer). I do have to disagree on that comment. An other 'Henry' it is definitely not. What made 'Henry' so interesting, especially in that time, is the dark, grim and depressing feeling of realism. 'Freeway Killer' is a lot more cleaned up.

Bonin was a real MF, who murdered out of lust. He raped his victims before he killed them, and also tortured quite a few of them. The fact that he was a lust murderer is only vaguely hinted at in this movie, but not more than that. The part of the torture is left out completely. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing for the viewer, but it would make the movie a lot more realistic, both in feeling but also in showing what his motives were.

And that's an other point I would like to make. Bonin was abused as a child, probably by his grandfather, and definitely when he was in a juvenile detention center for the theft of license plates. This background of child abuse shaped him into an abuser first and later into a merciless killer. But, in 'Freeway Killer', there are only some subtle hints of this troubled childhood.

Instead of focusing on Bonin's motives and background, this movie focuses more on the time before his arrest and his relationships with some of his accomplices.

Now, that having said, I do want to point out that 'Freeway Killer' is not a bad movie. The casting was good, thankfully definitely in appearance. Both Scott Leet and Dusty Sorg look like the real killers, which is something I find pretty important. I was impressed by the acting of Dusty Sorg, his acting looked very natural, but the acting of Scott Leet was not bad either. He managed very well in giving Bonin a good streak of madness. And that was most effective when he went from charming to predator in a split second.

Freeway Killer doesn't stand out the way 'Henry' does. Though the subject is dark, it is not a movie that will make you turn away your head. Which makes it watchable for a broader audience. There is hardly any blood and the few murder scenes are chilling but leave most to the imagination. If you find this a good or a bad thing is totally up to your idea of what a good serial killer movie defines. About background information, 'Freeway Killer' does nothing more than giving hints. This goes for his childhood, his development into a serial killer (which is left out), and also the way he was finally caught. Still, the hints are there, and it does stay reasonably true to the facts.

Overall, I have seen better. But I also have seen a lot, lot worse. I am somewhere in between giving this movie 6+ or 7- points, and for now I lean towards a 7-.