User Reviews

1) Arthur, a seemingly precocious little boy, is caught spying on his Mother and her drunk 'bad guy' boyfriend while having sex. We already have a rip off of a number of films - HALLOWEEN - The Boogeyman (which also ripped of Halloween.) - Nightmare In A Damaged Brain - I could go on and on. He brutally stabs mom and boyfriend to death with a large butcher's knife. Did little Arthur go to elementary school with little Mikey Myers? Did Mikey teach Arthur a few things? Or, did he just try and mimic what he saw Mikey do? I guess cinema and reality are just another form of each other.

2) Arthur is all grown up now. He's now a very large, muscular man in which the guards are self aware that he's one of the most dangerous patients in the asylum, but they're more worried about a basketball game to use common sense when opening Arthur's door. Eventually, Arthur murders a few guards and escapes where he goes on a cross country trip to find the actress he fancied for years on television. "For God's sake he can't even drive a car." "Maybe someone around there gave him lessons." 3) The aforementioned actress also has a lot of problems of her own. Her agent wants her to appear in a low budget 'sci-fi, slasher, monster, zombie film. The producer doesn't even know where he wants to go with the movie and has no more money to pay his crew. The beautiful blond actress stops at a gas station where an oversexed middle aged mechanic tries to persuade her into giving in via force. Of course, she resists. A customer pulls in at the right time - The actress runs from the wannabe rapist only to discover that it's a big young man with blood on her face. Old Arthur recognizes her right off the bat. The oversexed mechanic has a change of heart and tries to help the girl, only to be killed by the hands of Arthur. The actress escapes and here we go again.

3) Arthur goes cross country - stealing cars, trucks, and eventually an 18 wheeler. (Keep in mind that Arthur has been locked up ever since he was a kid and can somehow drive an 18 wheeler with 16 gears) The movie takes a turn from familiar slasher territory into a semi-action film with TONS of big-muscular stunt men biting the pavement or desert sand by the hands of Arthur.

4) We see more of the sleazy producer as we're taken to the movie set - right in the middle of the desert. A great location where no one has to be paid for setting up shop in their location. A paradox of the movie itself. Arthur also steals a motorcycle - kills a bunch of muscular buffoons and finally makes his way to the set where he eventually kills the sleazy producer, dresses up in a monster uniform and does his real life gig in front of the camera un announced. After pretending to be an alien monster, he soon gets a little too rough with the actress and his cover is blown. Arthur gets taken down and the rest is history.

The cover for Freeway Maniac proudly states that it's a 'cult-thriller in the tradition of such splatter hits as The Hills Have Eyes, Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. After reading, I was indeed intrigued as to exactly what that bold statement actually meant? Did it mean that Freeway Maniac was a seminal movie that went on to define an entire genre? Did it mean that there had been hundreds of low-budget Freeway Maniac clones desperately trying to follow in its footsteps? If so, where were they and why hadn't I seen them? The questions were flowing through my mind like the alcohol at a Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan 'patch up our differences' convention.

Released at a time when the slasher genre had shredded its final hopes of any credibility, Freeway Maniac was certainly one of the last entries of the eighties to be given considerable funding by a sizeable studio. I struggled to track down any information about the film at all and it is rarely mentioned alongside the more familiar slasher hits.

It kicks off gratuitously with a couple making out on a kitchen table. Little do the lovers know that they are not alone and are being observed by the woman's junior son. A sound alerts the couple to his presence and his mother pursues him into his bedroom, where she shouts at him for being such a perverted voyeur. The kid reacts angrily and brutally butchers his mother and her unsuspecting lover with a large kitchen knife. The screen then fades to black and the credits (accompanied by a jazzed-up re-hash of Halloween's theme-tune) begin to roll.

Skip a few years and Arthur is still locked up in an asylum for his vicious act from the pre-credits. A new member of staff has joined the complex and his colleague gives him a guided tour of the corridors and their most notorious inmates. On approaching one cell, the orderly informs the new-starter that the guy inside, Arthur – the killer from the opening scene, is by far the most dangerous and vicious patient in the hospital. This fact is proved when he violently assaults the pair and makes a daring escape from the complex, murdering various staff-members on his way.

Next up we meet Linda Kinney, a young actress who is just launching her career in Hollywood. Her agent manages to convince her to accept an offer of a casting session with a studio that is producing a low-budget sci-fi flick. Whilst on her way to the location, her automobile breaks down and she heads off in search of help. She eventually finds a remote auto-garage, but unfortunately, instead of uncovering a competent mechanic, she bumps into Arthur on another maniacal rampage. After a lacklustre battle, she manages to defeat the psychopath and her victory sends him back to the security of his institution. Against the odds, she decides to head to the casting for the feature and her choice proves to be a resounding success. Once the producers notice that she is the same Linda that was attacked by Arthur, the David-Hasslehoff-alike psycho from earlier, they decide that her notoriety would make her a bankable cast-member.

Some time later, shooting on-site in the dessert begins with typical enthusiasm. Unfortunately, little do the cast and crew know that Arthur has once again escaped and is looking to get even with the actress that he considers to be his nemesis.

Don't you just love shoddy low-budget features that attempt in their plot-line to mock the production of shoddy low-budget features? In the case of Freeway Maniac it's not so much the pot calling the kettle black as the pot calling the pot a pot! This effort is criminally bad and lacks everything that makes a horror film even passable. Suspense – zero, gore – zero, shocks – zero, creativity – zero and hope – zero. It's a wayward addition and I just couldn't understand what the producers had in mind when they decided to finance it. Extremely low budget entries can be forgiven for their lack of credibility as they are usually produced on the kind of funds that Cameron Diaz spends on weekly hairdressers. This means that their chances of competing with the more competently budgeted features are resoundingly small. But Freeway Maniac looks to have been quite highly financed, which makes its failure bizarre and totally unforgivable.

It boasts one of the biggest body counts that I can remember in slasher cinema, but of the multitude of characters that appear on the screen, I think that only 4 or 5 were given characterisation. The killer is from the Freddy Krueger School of wise-cracking, meaning that he often murders his victims with a sarcastic remark and a cheeky smirk. Whereas Michael Myers looked terrifying in his boiler suit and mask, Arthur sports a hilarious plaid suit combination and boasts a mullet that would shame Richard Marx. The film is comfortably shot and the dessert makes for an exquisite location, but that can't stop Freeway Maniac from feeling like an uninspired mess.

All the way through the feature, I just couldn't be sure if this was supposed to be a serious stab at horror or a semi-parody of the lovable genre that it frequents. One thing's for certain however, the next time I see the words 'in the tradition of…' on a box-cover, I'll know that means 'a total rip-off of…'

Psychotic Arthur Miller(James Courtney), who butchered his mother and her lover, escapes an insane asylum(yawn)and becomes the titular character after executing the institutions' many staff members. Beautiful model, Linda(Loren Winters) returns from a trip to find her boyfriend, Mannie(Frank Jasper) screwing around, infuriatingly taking to the road for a spin, getting lost in the country, her car breaking down. Coming in contact with the maniac at an auto shop, Linda narrowly escapes certain death, responsible for his recapture when she hits him with her car, sending him plunging forward. While being transported to a maximum security facility in San Diego, Arthur gets free yet again, this time setting his sights on Linda for revenge. Meanwhile, outside of LA, Linda is participating in a terrible, cheap sci-fi movie called ASSTRONAUTS, which the killer will obviously interrupt. Linda doesn't know that Arthur is on the loose because the director, writer, and her agent conceal this information from her. Arthur pretty much kills everything in sight, those he comes in contact with in the desert while trying to find Linda. Bottom of the barrel slasher flick has thrill-less off-screen kills by way of chainsaw, hammer, and punches among other means for Arthur to dispose of his many victims. Arthur even pounds rattler with a stone, devouring the snake meat! Probably the best scenes are vehicular deaths as one victim is run over by a truck, another by motorcycle. Dull and pointless, I can't see why anyone other than fans of rancid cinema would want to waste quality time on this turkey. Acting and dialogue are good for some laughs. The ending as Arthur finally has Linda in his clutches is as clumsily staged as they come.

Very rarely there is a movie that comes along that makes you question the meaning of life, love, and the universe. This is one of them. I was lent this movie by my B-movie loving ex-military history teacher a while back.

It took me 2 whole weeks to get through it.

I had to watch it in installments of 10 minutes, any longer and the pressure on my brain would have caused me to undergo a massive cerebral hemorrhage. It is just that horrifyingly, stomach-turningly bad. An example: A black guy gets killed at the start of the movie. Halfway through they bring him back to life. Why? They couldn't afford more than one actor to play a black racial stereotype (however, there are, interestingly enough, about 5000 Hispanic extras). There are punch sound effects for about 50% of the punches.

The worst thing about the movie is not the production values though, it is the way each killing is seemingly justified. To paraphrase:

FAT WHITEBREAD TRAILER TRASH IN BAD PLAID SUIT SECONDS BEFORE HE GETS KILLED: (putting a small dog on the ground) Boy, Lucky, I sure hope that Wilma forgives me for losing all our money at the races. HELLSPAWN DOG: WOOF. TRAILER TRASH: (getting his fat lardy neck strangled) arrgh.

It gets worse. Much worse. In fact, the only way you can grasp the sheer enormity of it is by watching it. So, go rent a copy of "THE FREEWAY MANIAC". It's the best $1.50 rental since "Feeders"

There's no way that the Gahan Wilson that wrote this movie is the Gahan Wilson who drew all those cartoons for Playboy, right?

Because if he is, then this is a comedy and this movie makes a lot more sense.

And if not, then I have no idea what the filmmakers were going for in this one.

So after this movie completely rips off the open of Pieces and Nightmare, we move to an asylum where the inmates are being given cigarettes as some form of therapy. One of them escapes and kills everyone in his way and that's Arthur (James Jude Courtney, who would go on to be The Shape in the 2018 Halloween). He nearly kills an actress named Linda (Loren Winters, who was a one and done actress in this, along with producing the film), whose experience ends up getting her cast in a cheesy science fiction movie called Astronette that will use her notoriety for publicity.

There's no way Arthur would hunt her down, right?

I have so many questions for this movie. How did they get Robbie Krieger from The Doors to write the theme song? Why did they have Linda's boyfriend cheat on her and suddenly become a sympathetic hero in the last act? Why is there no real freeway in this movie? Why does Arthur howl at the moon? Why is some of this movie well-shot with decent stunts and other portions have the worst acting you've ever seen? Are you surprised that this was released by Cannon?

There's not really another slasher like The Freeway Maniac. It's...something else.

Two hyperactive wrestlers practise making love - with their clothes on - and are interrupted when disaster strikes in the form of a Michael Myers wannabe.

He acts out his daytime fantasies and makes them become a reality by knifing the two frisky Jackrabbits.

Looks like we're back in the nuthouse from that movie I watched not long ago - 'X-Ray' from '81.

Orientation day for the new karate orderly ends in death as Myers is released from his padded cell and starts wasting saps in his escape.

Just like Annie being strangled & killed in the garage, Myers kills Danny Aiello in similar fashion then drives off in the stolen medical station wagon. (I thought he was going to snap that little dog's neck.)

Elsewhere, a 'Boogie Nights' scene sees Little Bill reverse the roles and is busted cheating on his wife but she doesn't go to the extent that thingo took. Instead she just bolts for the nearest exit.

Thelma, or Louise, breaks down in her escape as bad blues riffs from what sounds like The White Stripes strums. Even Johnny Cash would be proud of this guitar work.

The copy of my rip is so dark it's hard to make out certain scenes. I'd love to lay eyes on this Linda chick in 10K quality, but the way it is I have to assume that she looks a little like Michelle Williams. Loren Winters. (She made one lousy movie. With a body like that and no one else cast her in anything else?) She has car trouble then encounters three bloodthirsty alpha males - Myers included - who all try to possess her.

What could have been a great road movie, in the fashion of 'Duel,' it then takes a turn for the worse which sees Linda audition for a movie role. Why this twist?

Keep it back out in the country and on the road. What was that other movie - 'Night Drive?'

The Myers killer in this, Arthur, looks like 'Samurai Cop.' He's recaptured then transferred like Myers to another asylum but 'Jaws' music plays and he escapes just like his idol.

Speak of the devil and the 'Duel' truck pulls up offering Samurai Cop a lift. The favor is returned in murder. He wastes the driver then resumes chasing Mr Mann.

A re-enactment from 'Road Warrior' goes all wrong as a Beatles stunt man goes under the truck like a Happy Face Killer victim as Samurai Cop kills with a new method other than a French Knife.

The 'Duel' truck's battery runs dead and is abandoned.

You know what I think would benefit this movie? Gary Busey. I don't know why I say this, but I do. Figure it out for yourself. It's all got to do with chaos & mayhem. I don't care to elaborate.

Samurai Cop tries thumbing a lift to nowhere. Lucks out on the first request. Then along comes Miss Prissy. The good money would have said he'd punch that old, soft-spoken, lady out when stealing her car. Who is this actress? Listen to her. She's adorable. What's her vocals? They're so smooth and calm. Don't just leave her out here in the middle of nowhere, Samurai Cop. She was so understanding and giving.

So, this Linda chick, in the silver spaceman Lycra, is making a movie out in Death Valley and this rock monster with the eye is Hollywood gold. This scene is awesome.

I want to say that the whole making a movie inside of a movie is breaking the momentum, unfortunately.

Personally, I would have kept it a cat & mouse road movie.

Somehow it turns into 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' which sees Samurai Cop run faster than Leatherface though.

Just like the 'Duel' truck, the chainsaw's spark plug dies and Samurai Cop gets into a fight with Bill Goldberg and beats him with a claw hammer.

For some reason Chuck Norris floats around the movie set here & there but displays no karate.

The spaceship was supposed to be loaded with explosives so why didn't it pop and blast off, meatball?

Movie implies that there was an intention to be a part 2 with how it ends.

The ending seemed to have lost interest in itself and just finishes on a flat note. Which is a shame. Nothing was resolved.

Was this movie trying to be like 86's 'Truth or Dare?'