Highwaymen (2004)

Rennie Cray (Caviezel) embarks on a bloodthirsty rampage to avenge the death of his wife who was struck down by a serial killer - a man who hunts and kills women using his '72 El Dorado.

Director:

Robert Harmon

Writers:

Craig Mitchell, Hans Bauer

Stars:

Jim Caviezel, Rhona Mitra, Frankie Faison

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Caviezel	...	James 'Rennie' Cray
Rhona Mitra	...	Molly Poole
Frankie Faison	...	Will Macklin
Colm Feore	...	Fargo
Gordon Currie	...	Ray Boone
Andrea Roth	...	Alexandra Farrow
Noam Jenkins	...	Kelt
Toby Proctor	...	Rookie
James Kee	...	Trauma Counselor
Guylaine St-Onge	...	Olivia Cray (as Guylaine St. Onge)
Joe Pingue	...	Long Hair Mechanic
Martin Roach	...	Detective
Ron Bell	...	Semi Driver
Paul Rutledge	...	Pickup Driver
Kelly Jones	...	Pickup Passenger

Storyline

Since the hit-and-run murder of his wife five years ago, Rennie Cray has crisscrossed America in his souped-up, stripped-down '68 Plymouth Barracuda, pursuing her killer. The man he seeks in a high-speed, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse is James Fargo, a merciless, wheelchair-bound pyschopath. Through a series of mechanical innovations, Fargo has turned his rampaging '72 Cadillac Eldorado into a monstrous extension of his own twisted body and mind. Now, their deadly battle of wits and wills is about to move into overdrive. And caught in their headlights is a tormented beauty who unwittingly holds the key to their ultimate showdown.

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Plot Keywords:

girl in bra and panties | hit and run | headlights | death | murder | 

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Taglines:

When murder is no accident, revenge is no crime.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, some gore and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 2004 (Puerto Rico)

Also Known As:

Veloces y mortales

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$216,697, 16 February 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$367,027, 29 February 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Millennium Films, Cornice Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rennie Cray (Jim Caviezel) drives a 1968 Plymouth Barracuda with the 426 Hemi Package. This extremely rare "race prepped" car uses a 426 cubic inch Hemi V8, paired with lightweight front bumpers and fenders. The car also omitted things such as sound deadening and rear seats to keep the weight down. A sticker reading "Accelerated Time Trials Only" was placed on the car. A mere 50 were made in 1968.

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Goofs

Flipped shot: Right before you see that the El Dorado has been chained up to drag Boone's car down the road, we get a quick glimpse of the front of the Cadillac. The right headlight is supposed to be burned our (or broken) but it is working again and the license plat is reversed.

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Quotes

[first lines]
James 'Rennie' Cray: Olivia!

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Connections

Edited into Feast (2005)

User Reviews

not another "Hitcher," but still pretty entertaining...

"Highwaymen" marks the return of director Robert Harmon and composer Mark Isham to the subgenre of road-film terror they all but established in 1986's landmark horror film, "The Hitcher." Whereas that film coasted on the ambiguity of Eric Red's minimalist script and the bizarre chemistry between a psychopath (Rutger Hauer) and his victim (C. Thomas Howell), "Highwaymen" is a much 'cleaner' version of that film--cleaner in terms of cinematography, violence, and overall appearance. It's an extremely glossy production with well-choreographed action and razor-sharp editing that places you in the midst of chaos rather than just assaulting your senses. Jim Caviezel's jaded victim exudes the right notes of obsession and exhaustion, and Rhona Mitra's pseudo-Sandra Bullock looks go a long way as she joins up to hunt down Fargo (Colm Feore, looking like a refugee from David Cronenberg's "Crash"), a killer who uses his souped-up 1972 El Dorado as a weapon. As he did in "The Hitcher," Harmon shows confident skill in photography, editing, and the decision to keep villain Fargo off camera for the first hour, thereby upping the suspense considerably. Isham's musical score sets a proper mood and is just as effective as his previous work. Where "Highwaymen" comes up short is in its straightforward, bare-bones story (padded out somewhat by the addition of Frankie Faison's traffic investigator); clocking in at a paltry 81 minutes (including end credits), one gets the impression that characters could have been developed further and more action sequences could have been infused into the film. As it stands, "Highwaymen" is in too much of a hurry, but remains a diverting, fine-tuned thriller all the same.