Freeway

Vanessa Lutz is a troubled young teenager who has been bounced from one dead-end home to another. After being arrested and thrown into juvie for shoplifting, Vanessa learns that her estranged grandmother has passed away, and her mother, Ramona, is now in jail for her involvement in a robbery gone wrong. Feeling abandoned and desperate, Vanessa decides to take matters into her own hands and embark on a journey to find her long-absent grandmother's corpse, which Ramona had been holding in storage. In her quest, Vanessa encounters various obstacles, including unsympathetic strangers and the unforgiving landscape of the rural West. As she sets out on her perilous journey down the I-5 freeway, Vanessa is rescued by Bob Wolverton, a seemingly friendly and understanding school counselor who has taken a liking to her plight. However, unbeknownst to Vanessa, Bob is actually the notorious I-5 Killer, a serial murderer who has been terrorizing the highways and byways of California under the guise of his kindly persona. Despite initial impressions, Bob's intentions are far from pure. Vanessa's innocence and naivety are starkly contrasted with the harsh realities of the world around her. As she begins to piece together clues and make connections about Bob's true identity, she starts to feel a sense of unease and disquiet. The initially benevolent Bob reveals a darker side, showcasing his sadistic and calculating nature, which further erodes Vanessa's trust. In a bold and chilling sequence, Vanessa manages to escape from Bob's clutches by shooting him multiple times. Wounded but still alive, Bob becomes determined to track down Vanessa and exact revenge. He embarks on a relentless and brutal pursuit of his young nemesis, following her across the state and demonstrating a level of single-minded obsession that threatens to consume him entirely. Freeway, a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, takes the time-honored fairy tale and updates it for the 1990s. Director Matthew Bright's unflinching gaze explores themes of innocence lost, violence, and vulnerability in a world that seems designed to exploit and consume its most vulnerable citizens. Through Vanessa's narrative, the film shines a light on the darker aspects of human nature, challenging the viewer to confront the horrors that lurk beneath the surface of even the most seemingly benign of facades. As Vanessa navigates the treacherous landscape of her journey, she is forced to confront a world that seems hostile and unforgiving. Despite her toughness on the surface, she is revealed to be vulnerable and hurt, a product of a system that has failed her at every turn. Through Bob's character, Freeway also examines the duality of human nature – the capacity for both good and evil exists within us all, even the most seemingly ordinary of people. This duality is a hallmark of the film's exploration of the human condition. With its gritty and unapologetic portrayal of a harsh world, Freeway defies traditional notions of genre categorization. Part crime thriller, part coming-of-age drama, and part dark fairy tale, the film is a masterclass in subtlety and restraint. By keeping the violence and horror largely off-camera, Bright and writer Marco Coyote create a sense of tension and unease that is all the more unsettling for its understatement. As Vanessa narrowly escapes Bob's clutches, the film hurtles towards its explosive and devastating conclusion – a stark reminder of the dangers that lurk in the most unexpected of places.