FREEWAY KILLER is an attempt to tell a story about a little-known serial killer who menaced the Californian highways in the late 1970s. While I appreciate that the film-makers made a great deal of effort in getting this unknown story to the screen, unfortunately their budget is so cheap that the result is an amateurish mish-mash of themes and set-pieces that have already been seen before countless times.
With even a semi-professional sheen this might have been something good; as it stands, it's just another unpleasant serial killer outing, little different from the rest of the torture porn sub-genre of film-making. The killer is simply that, a sadistic brute who enjoys beating and murdering his victims who were in the main innocent hitch-hikers simply looking for a ride.
The cast give amateurish performances with no sign of restraint. Michael Rooker contributes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo enough to get his name in big letters on the DVD case. Even worse, FREEWAY KILLER is full of anachronisms as no effort has been made to give this film an authentic look or feel. For much better serial killer films, check out ZODIAC (whose period authenticity is breathtaking) or the incredibly disturbing SNOWTOWN whose killer had a similarly warped personality to the guy here.
With even a semi-professional sheen this might have been something good; as it stands, it's just another unpleasant serial killer outing, little different from the rest of the torture porn sub-genre of film-making. The killer is simply that, a sadistic brute who enjoys beating and murdering his victims who were in the main innocent hitch-hikers simply looking for a ride.
The cast give amateurish performances with no sign of restraint. Michael Rooker contributes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo enough to get his name in big letters on the DVD case. Even worse, FREEWAY KILLER is full of anachronisms as no effort has been made to give this film an authentic look or feel. For much better serial killer films, check out ZODIAC (whose period authenticity is breathtaking) or the incredibly disturbing SNOWTOWN whose killer had a similarly warped personality to the guy here.