Route 666 (2001)

A federal witness runs away and a team of government agents track him down, but when they take a shortcut on the return trip, they're attacked by zombies.

Director:

William Wesley

Writers:

Scott Fivelson, Thomas Weber

Stars:

Lou Diamond Phillips, Lori Petty, Steven Williams

1 nomination.

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.

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Plot Keywords:

highway | desert | zombie | number in title | vietnam war veteran | 

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Taglines:

One Way In, No Way Out

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actors spent many nights in nearby town 29 Palms unwinding and getting to know the Marines from the Marine Corps base just down the road.

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Goofs

The book the sheriff is reading is "Tell Tale Heart," by Edgar Allen Poe. "Tell Tale Heart" is not a novel. It is a short story and can be found with other short stories in a collection by Poe. A movie was made from "Tell Tale Heart" but it cannot stand alone as a novel.

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Quotes

Rabbit aka Fred: [after being put in handcuffs] I am really *not* into this S&M shit. Take these goddamn cuffs off of me!

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Alternate Versions

German version was supposed to be released uncut with a JK/SPIO certificate but the commision denied it. So the film was edited for violence to be released at all and the cut version was released with a "Not under 18" rating.

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Connections

References The X-Files (1993)

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Soundtracks

Blue Moon Blue
Performed by Neil Mooney
Written by Neil Mooney
Courtesy of 4music
Published by Kingtone Music (BMI)

User Reviews

Slick look for a C-grade flick

If "Route 666" has anything going for it, it has to be the visual aspect. The film is shot in 2.35:1 widescreen and is very nicely photographed. The lighting and camera angles demonstrate a slick professionalism more common to major Hollywood studio productions than cheap, direct-to-video horror flicks. That said, the rest of the film is nothing special. The plot involving restless ghouls on an abandoned desert road is mildly involving, but some terrible overacting (Dale Midkiff, in particular, constantly acts like Chandler--from the TV show "Friends"--having a panic attack) and remarkably stupid plot contrivances undermine any tension built by the director. At one point, two characters start a fist-fight for no reason except to be a plot device to keep them from helping other characters under attack. The filmmakers don't even try to provide a good reason for the sudden fight. At best, the least discriminating viewer might chuckle knowingly at the cheap ploy. More likely the average viewer will say, "Why the hell did they start punching each other?!" Either way, the result is that the audience is knocked out of the story. That's too bad, as the director (or editor) otherwise keep a quick pace to the movie that is usually enough to gloss over most minor plot problems. The film is certainly never boring; there are gunfights, chases, and violent gore horror galore. Bottomline: if you are the type of movie watcher who is familiar with b- or c-flicks and can enjoy them despite their problems, then you could do much, much worse than "Route 666."

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Route 666

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