Freeway (1996) ****

Freeway (1996), Matthew Bright’s darkly hilarious take on Little Red Riding Hood, treads in similar ground to other scuzzy ‘90s crime films but does a commendable job of subverting expectations a number of times. 

At only 19, Reese Witherspoon is as good here as she is in 1999's Election (review) and really leaves an impression. Kiefer Sutherland takes a bit of a backseat to Witherspoon, screen time-wise, but is perfectly sinister as a pedo predator. Brittany Murphy, in a smaller role, is as awkward, weird, and charming as she was in the following year’s Drive (review). I had no idea going into Freeway that Danny Elfman composed the film, so that was a welcome surprise—particularly because it’s a fun score, before Elfman started churning out bland sonic wallpaper. 

I love the genre-mashing happening in this trash odyssey—it dabbles in street drama, serial killer psychological horror, women’s prison picture, and road movie, all while maintaining a blackly comic sense of humor. The film takes a little bit of time to get moving but once it does it barely lets up, leading to a satisfying and over the top finale. 

Recommended for fans of Kalifornia (1993) (review), Breakdown (1997) (review), Perdita Durango (1997), and Wild Things (1998) (review).