Freeway (1996)
79%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: 6 wins & 4 nominations
A modern update on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, Freeway is an audacious black comedy with a star-making performance from the young Reese Witherspoon
If you’re looking for a movie that’s a little bit twisted, a little bit funny, and a lot bit Reese Witherspoon, then Freeway is the flick for you. It’s a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, but with a whole lot more violence and a whole lot less grandma. Critics are divided on whether it’s a masterpiece or a mess, but we say it’s worth a watch just to see Witherspoon in one of her earliest roles. Plus, who doesn’t love a good road trip movie? Just maybe don’t watch it with your grandma.
Production Company(ies)
X-Filme Creative Pool Westdeutscher Rundfunk ARTE
Distributor
Roxie Releasing, Republic Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Sunland, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong lurid violence and sexual dialogue, some sexual situations, drug content and language
Year of Release
1997
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 42m
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Language(s):Spanish, English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 23, 1996 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 3, 2007
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Amanda Plummer, Brooke Shields, Wolfgang Bodison, Dan Hedaya, directed by Matthew Bright, written by Matthew Bright, produced by Brad Wyman, Chris Hanley, comedy, R rating, Little Red Riding Hood, I-5 Killer, modern retelling, black comedy, graphic sociology, box office gross, $283.8K, reviewed by Kim Newman, Joe Leydon, Lawrence Van Gelder, Liam Lacey, Mick LaSalle, Kevin Thomas, Joe Lipsett, Trace Thurman, Ren Jender, Deborah Hornblow, Emanuel Levy, Jeffrey M Anderson, cult film, satire, twisted, inner-city life, grim humor, tasteless, Reese Witherspoon’s best acting, Kiefer Sutherland’s despicable character, over the top, exploitation film, comedic, terrifying, top horror movies, top Netflix series, anticipated movies, anticipated TV & streaming, MCU movies ranked, renewed & cancelled TV shows 2022, worst horror movies of all time
Worldwide gross: $295,493
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $550,823
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,714
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 60,068
US/Canada gross: $295,493
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $550,823
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,303
US/Canada opening weekend: $14,945
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $27,859
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,388
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,592,243
Production budget ranking: 1,851
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,011,423
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$8,052,842
ROI to date (est.): -94%
ROI ranking: 1,982
Reese Witherspoon – Vanessa Lutz
Brooke Shields – Mimi Wolverton
Wolfgang Bodison – Detective Mike Breer
Dan Hedaya – Detective Garnet Wallace
Amanda Plummer – Ramona Lutz
Matthew Bright – Director/Writer
Brad Wyman – Producer
Chris Hanley – Producer
Director(s)
Matthew Bright
Writer(s)
Matthew Bright
Producer(s)
Brad Wyman, Chris Hanley
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (10)
Not for the faint hearted but should have been much bigger than it was.
September 10, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
“Freeway” is a thoroughly nasty piece of work, the product of a filmmaker with a ludicrously misplaced confidence in his own cleverness.
March 26, 2009
Joe Leydon
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Freeway glints here and there with dark humor amounting to a knowing wink that undercuts the cautionary tale at its heart and the seriousness of its graphic sociology.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 2/5
Lawrence Van Gelder
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Cynical, stylish and witty.
July 12, 2002 | Rating: 3/4
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Rude in the way the truth is rude — only funnier.
June 18, 2002 | Rating: 4/4
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
It’s too drawn-out, too talky and, at the most crucial moment, needlessly implausible, to sustain its humor and large dose of violence.
February 14, 2001 | Rating: 2/5
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
A black comedy exploitation film with far more social commentary than expected. Sutherland and Witherspoon are magnetic and you wish they would interact more.
March 7, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Joe Lipsett
Horror Queers Podcast
Matthew Bright’s Freeway is an intentionally offensive and hilarious update of Little Red Riding Hood with a tour de force performance from a pre-fame Reese Witherspoon.
March 1, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Trace Thurman
Horror Queers Podcast
Freeway is far from a perfect film but well worth seeing, even for those who don’t count themselves as fans of Witherspoon.
March 13, 2019
Ren Jender
Bitch Flicks
The greatness of [Matthew] Bright’s storytelling lies in his sympathy and admiration for his characters, especially his Red Riding Hood.
January 2, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5
Deborah Hornblow
Hartford Courant
Darkly humorous, witty and nasty, Freeway is an original take on the Red Riding Hood fairytale, featuring a wonderful performance by the teenage Reese Witherspoon, before she became a star
March 6, 2011 | Rating: B
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
[The] characters are crisp and fascinating, and the movie has a great anything-can-happen B-movie excitement feel to it.
January 28, 2011
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid…
Plot
Little Red Riding Hood for the 1990’s: After her mom and step-dad are arrested, 15-year-old Vanessa Lutz decides that instead of once again being put into a foster home, she’d rather go and search for the grandmother she’s never met, and live with her. “On the way to grandma’s house,” (actually a trailer park) Vanessa’s car breaks down, and she’s picked up from the side of the road by Bob Wolverton, a counselor at a school for troubled boys. Bob slowly earns Vanessa’s trust, and eventually convinces her to talk about her sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. When Vanessa realizes that Bob is enjoying what she’s saying, she realizes that he’s “The I-5 Killer,” from the news. She tries to get out of his truck, but the inside door handle has been removed…
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Kiefer Sutherland plays the notorious I-5 Killer in this modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
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