Freeway Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Freeway Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 26, 2026

Matthew Bright's "Freeway" (1996) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary with Matthew Bright; archival cast and crew interviews; production featurettes; archival promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The innocent victim

Richard Elfman turned Matthew Bright's first screenplay into a film. The film, Forbidden Zone, is one of the biggest cinematic mind trips to emerge from the 1980s. It is bizarre, incomprehensible, and genuinely mad. It is also indescribably chaotic, which is why it is difficult to believe it may have been based on a proper screenplay.

Freeway is Bright’s first feature film. It is bizarre and at times slightly mad too, but it is an entirely coherent film. Bright again wrote the screenplay, and this time it is easy to conclude that Freeway follows closely what is in it. Freeway also has a connection with the more popular Elfman, Danny, who reportedly composed its soundtrack for a buck and some yard work at his home.

That Freeway and Forbidden Zone share a fairly similar twisted sense of humor should probably be considered an entirely predictable development because it is typically what makes Bright’s work exciting. However, in Freeway, this sense of humor is better controlled. It is almost certainly why Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Brooke Shields, and Dan Hedaya committed to Freeway. Then again, in the 1990s, Quentin Tarantino’s work was all the rage and many popular actors appeared in smaller genre films that enthusiastically emulated it.

Most of Freeway is not for the squeamish. It features bad language, over-the-top violence galore, and several genuinely disturbing graphic visuals. In the middle of it all is a teenage delinquent girl (Witherspoon) who abandons her broken family and accidentally hooks up with a perverted serial killer (Sutherland) hunting for his next target. Following the girl's transition from innocent victim to ruthless avenging predator, a wild cat-and-mouse game begins altering the viewer’s expectations in numerous surprising ways.

Bright’s best work as a writer and director is in Freeway. However, Freeway is not a great genre film. It is a decent, occasionally good genre film that, given the reliable actors mentioned earlier, should have turned out better.

Almost every issue in Freeway stems from its inability to balance excess with wit. As a result, some areas of Freeway produce too much tasteless, cynical material rather than hilariously witty exploitative material. Freeway also struggles to maintain a steady energetic tempo, which is why at times it looks pretty uneven.

Fortunately, the leads appear to be genuinely enjoying themselves and their unscripted enthusiasm helps Freeway quite a bit. In the second half, Sutherland looks particularly good as the outmaneuvered, badly injured, and utterly unhinged serial killer. Though her time in front of the camera is limited, Shields also gives a wild, memorable performance. Witherspoon is mostly decent. In several areas, however, she clearly overplays her character, making her rapid mood swings appear quite superficial.

Three years later, Bright directed Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby. However, this film is unrelated to Freeway.

Freeway Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Freeway arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films.

The release brings to Australia the recent 4K restoration of Freeway. I do not have any older home video releases of Freeway in my library, so I do not know how it may have looked in the past. However, the new 4K restoration is very good and makes the entire film look quite impressive on Blu-ray. On my system, the well-lit outdoor and all darker indoor and nighttime footage had a very convincing period appearance. Delineation, clarity, and depth were consistently excellent as well. Color reproduction and balance are fine. All primaries are properly set and supporting nuances properly balanced. I did not see any troubling anomalies. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Freeway Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I was somewhat surprised by how aggressive the LPCM 2.0 track became in several different areas. On the other hand, plenty of supposedly smaller genre films from the 1990s, like the various neo-noir thrillers Jo0hn Dahl directed, have similarly impressive soundtracks. Freeway does not have a big, memorable soundtrack, which could have created even more interesting dynamic contrasts. The dialogue is very clear and easy to follow. I did not encounter any balance issues to report.

Freeway Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this audio commentary, Matthew Bright declares that, as a first-time director, he was very lucky to have Reese Witherspoon and describes her as "brilliant". Later, Bright also declares that shooting a film on the highway is a "really stupid idea" and explains how dangerous this adventure can become in a matter of seconds. Bright has interesting comments about Kiefer Sutherland's performance, his film's cynical sense of humor, and some of the most violent content.

• Making of Featurette - this archival program gathers several short interviews with Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, and Brooke Shields addressing their characters and the production process, as well as Matthew Bright and executive producer Oliver Stone sharing their thoughts on Freeway. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Archival Interviews - presented here are several archival interviews in which Matthew Bright, Oliver Stone, actress Amanda Plummer, and composer Danny Elfman discuss their involvement with Freeway. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Matthew Bright (15 min).
  2. Oliver Stone (8 min).
  3. Amanda Plummer (3 min).
  4. Danny Elfman (5 min).

• Trailers From Hell: Freeway - presented here is an archival episode of Trailers From Hell with Josh Olson (A History of Violence). In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Behind the Scenes Footage - presented here is archival behind the scenes footage from the shooting of key sequences in Freeway. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Archival Cast and Crew Interviews Compilation - presented here are longer versions of several archival interviews with Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Brooke Shields, Amanda Plummer, Matthew Bright, and Oliver Stone. Bits of these interviews are used in other archival featurettes. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Freeway. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Hardback Booklet - an exclusive 126-page hardback booklet containing production stills and essays from Walter Chaw on Wild At Heart, Travis Woods on Unlawful Entry, Patrick Bromley on The Getaway, Blake Howard on Mulholland Falls, Jerry J. Sampson on Freeway, and Roxana Hadadi on City of Industry, as well as technical credits.

Freeway Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Several actors give very unusual performances, which is probably a good enough reason to recommend seeing Freeway, a small genre film from the 1990s. However, Freeway produces plenty of excess that lacks the wit these types of genre films needed to be attractive. In the 1990s, when the majority of them emulated Quentin Tarantino's work, it was this wit that separated the great ones from the rest. Imprint Films' release brings to Australia the recent, very good 4K restoration of Freeway with a great selection of bonus features. It is included in After Dark: Neo-Noir Cinema Collection Four box set. RECOMMENDED.