Desperation Highway (1998) User Reviews

I want to like this thriller

[KDWms · 4/10 · 29 October 2003]

Two twenty-something bachelors from Goshen, NY - friends since grade school - set off to Malibu, by way of North Carolina. Enroute, they meet an enigmatic female, also going to Cali, who reveals that her father was abusive. Sharing burdens, one of the guys tells her that he regrets not being able to prevent a fatal fall by a classmate twelve years earlier. Enough about the intrigue. Regarding the professionalism of the production, let's just say that its later part is very different from its beginning. The start was low-key, laid back, and some questions and suspense evolved believably. But then the "only-in-the-movies" tendency took over and my impression became less favorable. Not negative enough, however, to suggest that you completely disregard this. To some, it may have some worth, but I think that, to most, its rating will be less than half.

This is a bad film.

[extar · 1/10 · 18 January 2005]

This film is terrible, there are no two ways about it. Scenes are often overly long, pointless, meandering or usually a combination of all three. The plot introduces characters for no reason. Example, for the majority of the film, Sheriff Randall is surplus to requirements. His story neither goes nowhere for the majority of the film. Also, AJ is part of a lengthy scene at his house, which is again, of little consequence to the story. The end of this section shows AJ finding something in his barn, we are never told what, nor does this discovery have any bearing on the plot as a whole. The film occasionally lapses into psychological drama and then veers sharply back into whatever mediocre sub-genre of 'Action Thriller' it would like to call itself. What action scenes there are are poorly shot, lack tension and show a general lack of effort. The script is particularly weak, with character development lacking pace. I couldn't identify with the characters to the point of not being bothered about what they're names actually were. The story is difficult to follow as a result of numerous idly paced scenes where very little happens. Overall, this film is bad, under no circumstances could I ever recommend anyone watch this. Avoid at all costs.

One of the worst films I have ever watched

[greendrift · 19 July 2005]

Where to start? The storyline was scarcely believable, made worse by poor editing so that scenes were stitched together with little purpose or continuity. So it appeared disjointed overall.

The actors were straight out of the totem pole school of acting. I have seen more responsiveness and credibility in a bunch of tin soldiers. Lingering camera shots of blank faces didn't exactly help, either. The camera-work was inconsistent, with motion blur on occasion.

Perhaps the worst part of the movie was the sound quality. The sound level varied alarmingly in places and it sounded as though some parts had been recorded in an empty barrel. The final result was presented in glorious mono.

Overall a truly awful film. In a charitable moment, I gave it 2 out of 10, but on reflection, I think that was a bit generous.

If you know someone that you really dislike, I can recommend this film as something that will really p*** them off.

Not as bad as some say

[williambahrbs-03309 · 7/10 · 27 March 2021]

I like this more than the other viewers. The begining was not great but the second half was better with an unexpected surprise over all I like this film.