User reviews

Well it was engaging and intense and it held my down to watch in curiosity mainly because of that sicko sinister character, a gracious savior to this film in my opinion. Other than that, most of the acting coming from all the other characters were lackluster and nothing groundbreaking really happened in this movie. I predicted pretty much how the story would weave, it wasn't hard to see much of it coming. Just sit back and watch it and don't expect anything major at all. But definitely once again an intense and engaging submission that reminds us the kind of people we inevitably share society with. So overall, it was an alright movie! I give it 5/10. Is it worth a watch you ask?...It won't make your eyes bleed.

The movie itself wasn't so bad. However the storyline could've been fleshed out a little bit more. My pet peeve was that the movie was filled with so many Anochronisms, it threw the story off a bit. This was set around 1979-1980, but it looked very low budget. There were modern cars everywhere, besides the ones used by the actors themselves. The convenience store was riddled with current versions of consumer products, Bonin's alarm clock was digital, etc. Just seems like they didn't make a good effort at setting the theme of the movie to have been in the past. It was shot more like a student film on a shoestring budget.

William Bonin was a real-life serial killer who murdered a number of young men in the Los Angeles area around 1980. The plot of "Freeway Killer" gives us a character study of this man as an adult already in the process of carrying out his evil schemes.

We see him as he entices young boys into his blue van; gets to know them with general chitchat; then, without warning, strikes, like some wild animal attacking its prey. As Bonin, Scott Anthony Leet gives a really fine, naturalistic performance, with emotions that run the gamut from cheerful normality to blatant hatred. Bonin had at least one accomplice, a young man named Vernon, well played by Dusty Sorg.

The film conveys some gore, though not a lot, mercifully. On the one hand, we do not want a sanitized version of Bonin or his crimes. But we also don't want gratuitous gore and violence that seem to sensationalize people and events. I think "Freeway Killer" strikes a reasonably good balance.

The guys being picked up by Bonin were so similar in age and appearance, they were almost interchangeable. I never did pay much attention to them; they were like stick figures. Any given victim could almost substitute for some other victim, so impersonal and fleeting were their roles in the script.

This is no police procedural; very little time is spent on police investigation. Also, there is no mystery here and very little suspense.

In this low-budget film cinematography is competent. There are lots of close-up shots, with emphasis on peoples' faces, showing their anger, desperation, fear, and deception. Rear-screen projections are noticeable in a few scenes.

Intended mostly for viewers with an interest in true crime, "Freeway Killer" zeroes in on the Bonin character, a madman with the demeanor of a normal guy who liked to mess with the minds of his prospective victims. I rate the film above average for its genre.

This was a rather disappointing experience. Scott Leet gave a terrific performance, there was nothing about his acting I'd have changed in the least. But the script was so sanitized as to make the movie basically useless to anyone who actually wants to know about Bill Bonin, the Freeway Killer. They might just as well have used muppets for all the more realistically it portrayed the people and events associated with the film. I don't get why they're so afraid to at least just _acknowledge_ the full depth of depravity of characters such as Bonin. They wouldn't even need to show fake rape scenes or anything, just acknowledge that the sexual element WAS his motivation. The defining feature about William George Bonin is that he was a serial lust killer - a very specific kind of serial killer - and you would never have known it if all you had to go on was this movie. Going by this movie, you couldn't even really tell he was gay. It's ridiculous. Again, the actor was fantastic - the script, however, sucked. If you're in the mood for Mary Poppins with a mustache, this is for you. If you're in the mood for truth and realism, you won't find it here. No thumbs, 1 star.

I never saw a flick with Scott Anthony Leet but what he performed here really did impress me. His face and his laughter really gives you the creeps. And after doing some research on William Bonin he really looked like him. As you all know who follows me on the net I'm not only into horrors I do dig serial killers too. And I have seen a lot of movies about serial killers, some really bad (B.T.K. for example with Kane Hodder) and some really good. This one here I do file under a real good one. Why, because it delivers what you expect from such kind of movies. You really go into the character and not that much into his killings. Now and then we are confronted with some killings and they are gruesome. It isn't all based on the real life of William, he was a pedophile and killed 45 boys. But he was also as we can see in this movie the first one who got a lethal injection. The fact of Vernon is true but he had more companions than shown in this flick. Of course the director couldn't show them all, then he should have made a flick like The Deliberate Stranger or To Catch A Killer which both clocks in over 3 hours (to catch even clocks in at 360 minutes). It's funny to mention To Catch A Killer because Scott did remind me of Brian Dennehy's performance. I guess that the production changed the names of his companions with a reason, just let me say that William Pugh was sentenced to 6 years. Bonin was prisoned for 17 years before he got his injection so the end of the flick wasn't really right. Whatever, a great flick to see and collect if you are into serial killers and horror. And of course don't forget to catch the short performance of Eileen Dietz of The Exorcist (Pazuma) fame and it's also funny to see Michael Rooker playing the good guy in a serial killer flick due his fame as a serial killer in Henry: A Portrait Of A Serial Killer.

I loved Scott Leet's performance, but I have to say the primary, fundamental and defining ingredient was very ludicrously omitted: Bonin's motivation. Bonin was motivated not only by the power & mania as depicted, but also and primarily so by sex. He raped all of the men he killed, brutally. That was the defining horror of his crimes. This movie doesn't even let on that Bonin was into guys, let alone that such was his primary motivation for engaging in the hunt. For that, the movie comes across as positively embarrassing. It's such a sanitized version of the truth, it has no right claiming to even be -about- William Bonin.

So if you want to know the true story, don't watch this movie. Or if you want to watch this movie, pretend that the movie world's Bill Bonin is some other person entirely, because he sure isn't the real-life version.

I know with only two ratings before me, the average was pretty high for this movie. Not that it's such a terrible movie mind you. It does lack a lot of detail that I think should have been included. I know that you can only put so much into 90 minutes, but I think it should have been at least a two hour movie in order to fully appreciate the scope of things. Also, less time could have actually been spent with the abductions and killings which was very sparse to begin with and didn't add anything to the character development (I think the police or news discussing the murders as part of the story would have contributed more than enough details of the killings). The acting itself is definitely not Academy Award material, but tolerable. I walked away from the movie not feeling fully informed of all that happened which I thought was the main point of the film. As I said, not terrible, but then again maybe not worth watching. As far as the previous reviewer comparing the lead character to Jack Nicholson....that HURTS! (My apologies to JN if that review ever gets back to him) I got more satisfaction and knowledge reading about the Freeway Killer on-line.

Well, I just finished watching this and I must say I'll be looking forward to seeing Scott Leet in the future. What a performance! He alone made this movie worth watching. And no, I'm not a friend of his, but I certainly am a fan now. His take on the main character was just pure genius. As a fan of horror-thrillers, he has my vote for "best performance of a psychopath" ever. I thought he was as good as Jack Nicholsen was in The shining. Yeah, that friggin' good!!! Watch for yourself and pay attention to the many expressions and micro-expressions he pulls off throughout the entire flick.

Those who rated this a "1" should be ashamed. If you don't like a movie give it a 3 or 4. To give a "1" means you don't fully understand the "1-10 scale". Unfortunately, a great many people don't, which is why a lot of movies get passed on without a second thought.

I hope many of you don't pass on this because of the low rating like I almost did. You will have really missed out.

There can be No Excuses. No Matter the Budget, it is Incomprehensible to make a Movie about a Real-Life Serial Killer and Eliminate the Most Profound Identifying Characteristics of said Serial Killer. Bill Bonin was a Sexual Predator First and Foremost. He was a Gay Killer/Torturer/Rapist who Preyed on Teenage Boys and the Brutality of His Crimes are Well Known.

So Why Bother? The Movie is Competent, even Well Done as far as it goes and the Acting is Certainly Up to the Task at hand. But the Disassociation from and Elimination of the Sexual Aspects (aside from a few lines of dialog) about the Nature and Motivation of the Crime Spree is Unacceptable and Disrespectful of the Victims.

Even with all the Glaring and Sneering and Far Away Eyes of the Lead Actor, the On Screen Character Never Comes Close to Fleshing Out the Real Freeway Killer. The One On Display here is a Bonafide Psycho No Doubt but the Real Life Sexual-Maniacal Whack-Job is Somewhere in the True-Crime Files and Nowhere to be Seen here.

This is a Missed Opportunity because the Ingredients are all here. Some Good Acting and Low-Low-Budget Exposition, but it is a Shame that the Filmmakers Stayed Away from Exploiting the Excesses of the Motivational Kill-Lust, Perhaps a Fear of Exploitation, but in doing so the Heart of the Story is Abandon when it should have been Cut-Out, Carved-Up, and Creatively Displayed.

Reading the reviews, one of them stated that this was an other 'Henry' (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer). I do have to disagree on that comment. An other 'Henry' it is definitely not. What made 'Henry' so interesting, especially in that time, is the dark, grim and depressing feeling of realism. 'Freeway Killer' is a lot more cleaned up.

Bonin was a real MF, who murdered out of lust. He raped his victims before he killed them, and also tortured quite a few of them. The fact that he was a lust murderer is only vaguely hinted at in this movie, but not more than that. The part of the torture is left out completely. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing for the viewer, but it would make the movie a lot more realistic, both in feeling but also in showing what his motives were.

And that's an other point I would like to make. Bonin was abused as a child, probably by his grandfather, and definitely when he was in a juvenile detention center for the theft of license plates. This background of child abuse shaped him into an abuser first and later into a merciless killer. But, in 'Freeway Killer', there are only some subtle hints of this troubled childhood.

Instead of focusing on Bonin's motives and background, this movie focuses more on the time before his arrest and his relationships with some of his accomplices.

Now, that having said, I do want to point out that 'Freeway Killer' is not a bad movie. The casting was good, thankfully definitely in appearance. Both Scott Leet and Dusty Sorg look like the real killers, which is something I find pretty important. I was impressed by the acting of Dusty Sorg, his acting looked very natural, but the acting of Scott Leet was not bad either. He managed very well in giving Bonin a good streak of madness. And that was most effective when he went from charming to predator in a split second.

Freeway Killer doesn't stand out the way 'Henry' does. Though the subject is dark, it is not a movie that will make you turn away your head. Which makes it watchable for a broader audience. There is hardly any blood and the few murder scenes are chilling but leave most to the imagination. If you find this a good or a bad thing is totally up to your idea of what a good serial killer movie defines. About background information, 'Freeway Killer' does nothing more than giving hints. This goes for his childhood, his development into a serial killer (which is left out), and also the way he was finally caught. Still, the hints are there, and it does stay reasonably true to the facts.

Overall, I have seen better. But I also have seen a lot, lot worse. I am somewhere in between giving this movie 6+ or 7- points, and for now I lean towards a 7-.

OK, I don't want to say this movie had a "great " plot because the actual events were horrible and tragic. But the source material and all the information surrounding it was enough to give to writer and director what they needed to make this a chilling , horror classic. Though I was actually a little young at the time of these events , seeing the story on an episode of "very bad men " on ID channel made me want to take a closer look at this story. Anyway to be honest, this felt so much like a b movie, the acting, directing, the editing, even the music , that even though I sat through it, I didn't feel the performances where believable. I see some of the reviewers here are commending Scott Anthony Leet for his acting but I just didn't get it. It was a little over the top at times but forgettable. I don't believe you need a big Hollywood budget to make this movie great because it doesn't require a bunch go cgi effect or anything. It needs a great director. And a major part of what really happened was left out. I just felt like this was a missed opportunity. This movie just wasn't as dark as it needed to be in light of the tragedy of the real life events. The over all tone was just amateurish.

I live in Romania, we don't get that many movies on DVD, especially movies like this one. I am a big horror fan, so when I looked on my torrents site and I've that this movie it's billed as horror, crime, thriller, I instantly downloaded it.

It has a low budget, and you can see that, especially cause this movie is set in the late 70s, but the cars are from nowadays. But it doesn't matter. Scott Lee as William Bonin is great ! I never heard about this guy, but I was really impressed and I will keep an eye on his works.

It's a great little movie, with unknown actors, that makes wonder what's gonna happen.

8/10

I could barely make it through the whole thing. THe problem is there's no suspense or mystery. It's just one killing after another and to me that's not remotely interesting. I guess if you just like watching true crime - without the investigative element or police procedures or anything else - maybe you'll like it. Not very interesting camera work, lousy production values, mostly badly acted (the lead dude is OK tho) and terrible script. I really can't find anything much to like about it. I was so bored by the end of it I finished scrubbing down my walls ready for painting while it was on. Still - like I said - maybe if you just like watching serial killers killing people you'll like it so I gave it a 3 coz it does what you expect, tho nothing more than that.

This facts in this are ignored in this movie. It was totally scared of its subject matter. They changed his accomplices into victims when in reality they were monsters like Bonin. Poorly acted and very cheap looking. It looks like a T.V movie and the way they sanitized the contents it could easily be film of the week on some channel. Disappointing on every level from the acting,to the directing,to the contents. The end was poor The Characters unconvincing The script confused The film is B movie material It's a sensitive subject not really movie entertainment. It's the worst example of bio pic I've seen. Very very cheap and empty

I think this movie deserves a 7 and that is at the least. In comparison to many other movies on serial killers, I felt this one really did well. There were only a couple of flaws that stood out to me. One, there were some parts that weren't accurate and Two, it was a low budget film which I didn't count against it too much. Here's what was good about the movie...the story was actually very compelling being such a low budget film. It is a bit suspenseful and it gets really dark especially when you see Bonin talking to one of the victim's mom. Surprisingly, it has parts in it that will really make you laugh. I think it's worth watching.

FREEWAY KILLER is an attempt to tell a story about a little-known serial killer who menaced the Californian highways in the late 1970s. While I appreciate that the film-makers made a great deal of effort in getting this unknown story to the screen, unfortunately their budget is so cheap that the result is an amateurish mish-mash of themes and set-pieces that have already been seen before countless times.

With even a semi-professional sheen this might have been something good; as it stands, it's just another unpleasant serial killer outing, little different from the rest of the torture porn sub-genre of film-making. The killer is simply that, a sadistic brute who enjoys beating and murdering his victims who were in the main innocent hitch-hikers simply looking for a ride.

The cast give amateurish performances with no sign of restraint. Michael Rooker contributes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo enough to get his name in big letters on the DVD case. Even worse, FREEWAY KILLER is full of anachronisms as no effort has been made to give this film an authentic look or feel. For much better serial killer films, check out ZODIAC (whose period authenticity is breathtaking) or the incredibly disturbing SNOWTOWN whose killer had a similarly warped personality to the guy here.

I don't pretend to be a "reviewer"...so don't expect fancy jargon. What I can say is that I am, and have been, an avid movie go'er for 32 years. I have seen many movies...the good, the bad...and the ugly. This is actually quite good. The acting is good, especially by the main actor playing the role of William Bonin. It's a very simple movie with no attempts to pretend otherwise. There is a cameo of the actor who played "Henry, portrait of a serial killer"...which in my humble opinion is one of the most visceral serial killer movies of all time. If you are looking for a "B" movie feel, but with very good acting this is a good one. No blood and guts. No Hollywood afterbirth here, just a simple, accurate, and well directed movie about the life of a real serial killer, William Bonin. Enjoy.

I have watched several serial killer movies, and compared to others, Freeway Killer had more plot, and the characters had more depth. I was pleasantly surprised, and I don't ever remember hearing about this guy. At first glimpse, I though "Oh no, another B movie!" But after watching it, I would classify it more as a B+ movie. The movie actually starts out post-arrest, but then there is a long, detailed accounting of many of the killings. What I also like is that during the credits at the beginning of the movie, they show a victim in a situation that portrays the senselessness of such killings, and the obliviousness of the people. It also capitalizes on the vulnerabilities of the characters, even the main character. I am quite sure you will not be disappointed by watching this movie.

I happened to watch "The Shining" the other day and as I flipped through channels today I found this excellent little movie- and an excellent actor channeling ol' Jack (Torrance/Nicholson). I really like the low budget feel of the movie and to be honest even the anachronisms. There are a few well done movies from the last few years which capture the weird feeling of the Seventies- "Tinker,Tailor,Soldier,Spy" and "Zodiac" are among these. I put this film in that company as far as Seventies-ese is concerned- anachronisms and all! This film really captures Strange California of that time and is well worth watching IMO.

It is interesting to see Leet in the principal role of Freeway killer William Bonin, who apparently was an extremely disturbed individual who also teamed up with young boys he either picked up hitchhiking, or at local parties in the area of Southern Los Angeles.

The product of a pedophile grandfather and alcoholic mother (we only see a glimpse of his mother, a psychological wreck for certain). Yet none of the back-story of Bonin can explicate the heinous acts of kidnapping and torture he put his victims through, in real life.

There is also an odd scene where his friend "Vern" is dressed as wizard, into the occult and Tarot cards, and helps host parties to attract young boys. (Reminiscent of John Wayne Gacy, Des Plaines Illinois serial killer).

Actor Michael Rooker (from JFK film), is excellent as the detective who finally trails the killer, there is an especially good scene at a local newsstand, while Bonin is salivating over the headlines and murders, Rooker is observing him casually. Then Bonin suddenly turns to him to try and out him as a detective.

If you like this type film you may also be interested in "The Hillside Stranglers" with Billy Zane and Dennis Farina as the killers (actually a good true crime story due for a re-make). As well as the Gacy film with Brian Dennehy, in the lead role as John Wayne Gacy.

The story is based on facts, and a cautionary tale for random young people who will just trust any stranger. This story shows,no matter how friendly a sociopath may seem, they are chameleons, and capable of anything. You may also like criminologist author Michael Schecter's book "Serial Killers" . truly surreal and horrifying.

8/10