Freeway

"Her life is no fairy tale."

1996 1h 44m EN

😐

6.5

MID

★6.5TMDB · 453

ComedyCrimeThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Following the arrest of her mother, Ramona, young Vanessa Lutz decides to go in search of her estranged grandmother. On the way, she is given a ride by school counselor Bob Wolverton. During the journey, Lutz begins to realize that Bob is the notorious I-5 Killer and manages to escape by shooting him several times. Wounded but still very much alive, Bob pursues Lutz across the state in this modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

“Her life is no fairy tale.”

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Cast

Kiefer Sutherland
Bob Wolverton
Reese Witherspoon
Vanessa Lutz
Wolfgang Bodison
Detective Breer
Dan Hedaya
Detective Wallace
Amanda Plummer
Ramona Lutz
Brooke Shields
Mrs. Wolverton
Michael T. Weiss
Larry
Bokeem Woodbine
Chopper

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Matthew Bright
Writers: Andy Friend, Matthew Bright
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 10% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Freeway Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Matthew Bright, shot by John Thomas. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Maysie Hoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Matthew Bright directs. John Thomas behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Maysie Hoy cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America, France. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 10% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
330 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, France.
5Part of the "Freeway Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Matthew Bright, shot by John Thomas. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Maysie Hoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Kiefer Sutherland and Reese Witherspoon and Wolfgang Bodison carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Her life is no fairy tale.".
11IMDB entry: tt0116361 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 26 themes, including "prison", "california", "prostitute", "sexual abuse".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Thomas
Original score: Danny Elfman
Editing: Maysie Hoy
Production design: Pamela B. Warner
Makeup / hair: Elisabeth Fry
Sound: Paul Ratajczak
Stunt coordinator: Troy Gilbert
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Status: Released
Budget: $3,100,000
Box office: $295,493
Return: 10% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Freeway (1996)

Part of

Freeway Collection

Freeway is a 1996 American dark comedy crime film written and directed by Matthew Bright and starring Kiefer Sutherland, Reese Witherspoon and Brooke Shields. This was followed by a sequel in 1996 entitled Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby. The sequel stars Natasha Lyonne as Crystal "White Girl" Van Meter and María Celedonio as Angela "Cyclona" Garcia. While the first film was partly inspired by "Little Red Riding Hood," the second film is somewhat based on "Hansel and Gretel."

Also by

Matthew Bright

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2026-03-04
★ 2/10
Vulgar, violent, darkly satirical updating of Lil’ Red Riding Hood I’ve seen two of writer/director Matthew Bright’s movies before seeing this: The enlightening and moving “Dark Angel: The Ascent” from two years earlier and the well-done “Ted Bundy” from six years later. (He wrote the former and wrote/directed the latter). With “Freeway” he had way more money in which to work and it could’ve been his ticket to a bigtime filmmaker, yet it bombed at the box office. However, critics tended to laud it (Siskel & Ebert, for instance, gave it a ‘thumbs up’); and it went on to develop a cult following. It’s a crime thriller meshed with hard-edged dark comedy. Despite the title, it’s not a road movie and the second half becomes a women-in-prison flick for the most part. If you can roll with its wild audaciousness and sexually explicit verbiage, it can be fun and amusing, but I was disappointed after seeing Bright’s aforementioned “Dark Angel,” which had nine-times LESS the budget. “Freeway” is technically proficient and the actors do a fine job; it just wallows in foulness to the point of being an unpleasant experience. I’m sure Mark Bright was aiming for a Tarantino film, but he forgot to include meaty themes, as well as interesting characters and dialogues. Don’t get me wrong, there are some interesting bits here and there, they’re just overshadowed by an unrelenting spirit of filth. Reese Witherspoon was 20 years-old during shooting while Kiefer Sutherland was 29. For a similar film involving the latter that’s superior, check out “Desert Saints.” It runs 1h 44m and was shot in the heart of summer 1995 in Los Angeles, as well as just north of there in Sylmar (Vanessa’s house) and Castaic (the interrogation). GRADE: D+

Production companies