Freeway
Roxie Releasing | Release Date: August 23, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
3
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Freeway is rude in the way the truth is rude -- only funnier. The movie seduces with its humor, all the while presenting a realized vision of a harsh, absurd world. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineStaff uncredited
Bright cunningly translates the story of Little Red Riding Hood into the trashy vernacular of tabloid TV and reality-based cop shows. Read full review
90
SalonCharles Taylor
With one foot in the grind house and one in the art house, the smarts in Freeway are more than equal to its visceral kick. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It seems aimed at people who loved "Pulp Fiction'' and have strong stomachs. Like it or hate it (or both), you have to admire its skill, and the over-the-top virtuosity of Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland as the girl and the wolf. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Using black humor, blood, and a pair of tremendous performances, Freeway hones in on its targets and calculatedly skewers them one-by-one…This movie is both grimly funny and thought-provoking. Read full review
80
EmpireKim Newman
The road-crime movie is such a formula in Hollywood that almost every debuting director turns one out, but writer-director Matthew Bright rings the changes by modeling this white trash nightmare on Red Riding Hood. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerAllan Ulrich
A hip, corrosive and often hilarious entertainment, the movie strikes another blow for the American independent film. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Cynical, stylish and witty. [21 Feb 1997]
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Freeway is full of nice touches—such as making the villain a psychologist— that play off the expectations of a familiar story. While also working as a conventional thriller, its many twists on the fairy tale make it work on an almost subliminal level. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
In spirit, if not in letter, it often resembles a gritty Warners crime movie of the 30s, and it held my interest in spite of its excesses. Read full review
50
The New York TimesLawrence Van Gelder
Rather than seeming classic, Freeway appears to be another film maker showcase, a derivative apprentice work. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Danny Elfman's intense score contributes crucial energy, John Thomas' camera work is first-rate, but the ambitious Freeway ends up merely trashy. Read full review
30
VarietyJoe Leydon
Freeway is roadkill. The directorial debut of screenwriter Matthew Bright ("Gun Crazy") is a sophomoric and morally repellent mix of fractured fairy tale, juvenile social satire, bloody mayhem and overstated B-movie melodrama. Read full review
30
Village VoiceGary Dauphin
As it is, Witherspoon's sweet-as-peach-pie Southern accent only grates and writer-director Bright's incessant winking at the audience bespeaks a project that was running on empty before shooting started. [22 Oct 1996, p.88]
30
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
A white-trash riff on Little Red Riding Hood, the oddly titled Freeway is a road movie that hits a dead end. Read full review
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