Route 666 (2001)

Smith, a mob informer hiding out with the Witness Protection Program, decides to make a break for it and hide out in the Arizona desert. The Feds catch up with him and rescue him just ... See full summary »

Director:

William Wesley

Writers:

Scott Fivelson, Thomas Weber,

Stars:

Lou Diamond Phillips, Lori Petty, Steven Williams

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Jack La Roca
Lori Petty	...	Steph
Steven Williams	...	Rabbit aka Fred
L.Q. Jones	...	Sheriff Bob Conaway
Dale Midkiff	...	P.T.
Alex McArthur	...	Nick
Mercedes Colon	...	Mary
Rob Roy Fitzgerald	...	Joe
Adam Vernier	...	Deputy Gil Conaway
Chester E. Tripp III	...	Deputy Tim Conaway
Rhino Michaels	...	John La Roca
Gary Roberts	...	Pickaxe aka Miles Hackman
Peewee Piemonte	...	Jackhammer aka Steve Pikowski
Michael Chance	...	Sledgehammer aka Frank Slater
Dick Miller	...	Bartender

Storyline

Smith, a mob informer hiding out with the Witness Protection Program, decides to make a break for it and hide out in the Arizona desert. The Feds catch up with him and rescue him just before a group of hitmen can manage to silence him for good. In the course of getting Smith away from the mafia thugs, the pair of agents assigned to protect him turn onto an abandoned stretch of highway nicknamed 'Route 666' after the mysterious death of a prison chain gang. As the three continue on their way, they soon discover just what happened to the chain gang, and how the highway earned its name.

---

Plot Keywords:

chain gang | highway | 666 | desert | witness protection | 

---

Genres:

Action | Horror | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

A 666-os út

Filming Locations:

Joshua Tree, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After repeatedly asking the Feds to call him "Rabbit", Steven Williams's character asks the two federal agents he is with how they would like it if he called them "Mulder and Scully from the X-Files". Steven Williams appeared as Mr. X in The X-Files.

---

Goofs

When the guys are waiting at the desert rest stop, the car door is closed on the agent's right hand, severing two fingers that fall to the ground. In a subsequent shot, his hand is visible with all fingers intact.

---

Quotes

Jack: Federal Agents.
PT: Gun, badge, you know?
Deputy Gil Conaway: I don't care if you're fucking Santa Claus!
PT: Well, hopefully Mrs. Claus is the only one doing that.

---

Connections

Referenced in Supernatural: The End (2009)

---

Soundtracks

"I'm Walkin'"
Performed by Lightnin' Willie and The Poorboys (as Lightnin' Willie & The Poor Boys)
Written by William Hermes
Courtesy of 4music
Published by Laureate Lane Music (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Not great but enjoyable

The plot for Route 666 has been rehashed in several different forms. Instead of a graveyard or some other hallowed ground being a place from which spirits can't escape, the spirits of Route 666 are restlessly held to a stretch of backroad along the California/Arizona border. Lou Diamond Phillips and Lori Petty are federal agents who capture witness protection fugitive Steven Williams. They use the haunted backroad as a short cut and run into the spirits of a prison work crew that are tied to the road. Whatever is on the road, they kill. The spirits have other powers such as heating the road to blow out tires and the ability to pop out of concrete. These plot points keep the story from getting too ridiculous and make it seem more possible that walking spirits can catch up to living people. Call it the Michael Myers/Jason Voorhess stalking rule. Anyway, more plot twists pop in, explaining the origin of the ghosts (one of whom just happens to be the father of lead character Phillips) and the pieces are put together. The dialogue is a strength of the movie as it's extremely crisp and all characters join in the fun. Steven Williams, especially, is given some great lines and he responds with a great performance as the fugitive of circumstance Rabbit. The other acting is fine, led by solid performances by Phillips and Petty as cool cops. This movie doesn't try to do too much and largely succeeds. I watched it in the waning hours of a Saturday morning, which is probably too late at night to show it but it fits in nicely somewhere around midnight.

6.4/10