Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Highwaymen Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 7, 2023

It’s easy to see how a film like 2004’s “Highwaymen” made it through the development stage. The screenplay by Craig Mitchell and Hans Bauer offers a serial killer story in a post-“Seven” industry, and one with ghastly details and a mood of dread, dealing with an unusual murderer and his highly specific interest in making victims suffer. It’s also car-based action from director Robert Harmon, who delighted many with his initial take on vehicular mayhem in 1986’s “The Hitcher,” returning to the world of revving engines and evildoing on the open road. The package is promising, but something went wrong in the execution. “Highwaymen” offers a premise that takes some effort to accept, following the mission of one man trying to stop a crazed, mangled individual using his car to slaughter innocents. It’s pure ridiculousness sold with complete seriousness by Harmon, with the feature stuck between absurdity and solemnity, lacking a cast capable of selling the odd tonality of it all. The helmer delivers some car-smashing action and tries to make sense of screwy predators and prey, but the endeavor doesn’t rage hard enough to provide a B-movie ride, stuck with heavy amounts of exposition to deliver and a cartoony antagonist to sell as an actual threat.

Five years ago, Cray (James Caviezel) was enjoying a vacation with his wife, watching her as she went to buy fruit from a roadside stand. Targeting her was a mystery man in a Cadillac El Dorado, using the power of his automobile to murder the innocent woman right in front of her spouse. Today, Cray tours the roads in his own car, listening to police scanners, hunting for the killer, known as Fargo (Colm Feore), who remains in his death machine, searching for fresh victims to feed his bloodlust. His latest object of desire is Molly (Rhona Mitra), a young woman who survived a horrific car accident as a child, now reluctant to deal with driving. Fargo senses something special about Molly, making an effort to stalk her with his car, looking to capture her to feel out his fetish. Standing in the way is Cray, who finally has a chance to take down his adversary before he kills again, while Will (Frankie Faison), a traffic investigator, tries to keep up with this unusual situation of aggression, learning more about the men and their longstanding chase across the country.

While late to the party, “Highwaymen” does try to replicate the “Seven” experience, including a familiar main title sequence that works to beef up a short run time (75 minutes before end credits) and establish an atmosphere of horror. The opening scene explores Cray’s sudden nightmare, living in bliss with his wife as they make a stop at a motel, only to watch as she’s run over by a lunatic in an El Dorado after crossing the road to purchase a snack. Motivations come later (sort of), with Harmon trying to create a level of trauma to send Cray on his way, catching up with the character five years later. He’s alone in his car, monitoring police activity, on the hunt for any morsel of information concerning Fargo’s whereabouts, trying to remain on the ghoul’s tail while exploring clues, including the discovery of discarded artificial limbs.

“Highwaymen” is relatively simple with its story, introducing a new target in Molly, a gentle woman still living with the trauma of losing her parents in a horrible car accident. She participates in a church choir and doesn’t drive, accepting a ride home from her friend, only to end up in a tunnel with Fargo, who unleashes on the pair, killing the pal and leaving Molly a nervous wreck (Mitra is comatose in the role, but the character arc is clear). Will joins the tale, with the seasoned investigator unable to understand what’s going on. Unintentional comedy arrives with the traffic investigator and his dealings with colleagues, who are all unhelpful jerks, leaving Will to figure things out on his own. “Highwaymen” eventually unites the three characters when Fargo strikes again, with primary focus on Cray and Molly, who share painful pasts, which is almost treated as mutual attraction, and Harmon finds awkward ways to keep Mitra in her underwear during the movie. Mercifully, there’s no sex in the picture, but there is a lot of exposition, as Molly eventually shares her scarred history, and Cray details his run-ins with Fargo, with the monster a half-metal creation driving a specialized automobile. Harmon’s job is to sell such strangeness with authority, transforming Fargo into a menace capable of inspiring fear. That doesn’t happen here, with Feore wildly miscast as the sketchily drawn fiend, while the final cut of the feature seems to remove much of his subplot, left here as a goofy looking weirdo (“his body is his car” is the official explanation) with vague sexualized interests in victims.

Highwaymen Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation is listed as a "New 2023 scan from the interpositive." It's a nice Blu-ray upgrade for fans of the picture, with detail doing reasonably well during the viewing experience, exploring the textures of crunched metal and battered bodies. Costuming is decently fibrous. Interiors deliver on decorative additions, and exteriors capture deep road action and the bigness of junkyard tours. Colors are secure, with a cooler sense of metallic engagement and villain activity. Primaries are appreciable, including clothing choices such as Molly's climatic red dress, and Cray's orange car. Greenery is distinct, along with signage. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is adequately resolved. Source is in good condition.

Highwaymen Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix leads with the revving of engines and the squealing of tires, with car action prioritized on the track, following the characters as they commence battle. Dialogue exchanges are crisp, handling extremes of behavior and softness of exposition. Scoring supports suspense needs with clear instrumentation and emphasis. Music pushes into the surrounds, joined by atmospherics and sound effects, delivering an agreeably immersive listening event. Low-end also does passably with surges of violence and car crashes.

Highwaymen Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director Robert Harmon.

• International Cut (90:22) is offered in what appears to be an upscaled presentation from a 1.78:1 source, with 2.0 Dolby Digital sound.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:56, SD) is included.

Highwaymen Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Harmon does try to make something happen with car stunts, creating smash-em scenarios and various disasters on the road, looking to keep "Highwaymen" intermittently exciting when it isn't stuck trying to explain a basically inexplicable plot. It's the stuff of drive-in cinema, and the production always finds traction when it sticks with purely physical encounters, with Harmon trying to work in some western flavoring as a showdown between Cray and Fargo develops. Violence is welcome, but it's limited to a few set pieces, leaving "Highwaymen" stuck with the burden of detailing specific motivations while trying to deliver pure cinematic power as men-in-cars confront each other. It probably wouldn't work as camp, but the endeavor struggles with gravity, asking viewers to accept some dim ideas and loose characterization on the way to a promised demolition derby.