Freeway II: Confessions Of A Trickbaby

by Nathan Rabin March 29, 2002

Cult screenwriter Matthew Bright's (Guncrazy, The Forbidden Zone) directorial debut, 1996's Freeway, was the rare one-joke film that actually worked. A self-consciously over-the-top parody of '70s exploitation movies with a fevered energy all its own, Freeway didn't demand a sequel. And, perhaps not surprisingly, Freeway II is less a continuation of its predecessor's story than a loose, desperate remake. Initially intended as a comeback vehicle for cult filmmaker Doris Wishman, the Bright-directed Freeway II tells the story of a bulimic hustler (Natasha Lyonne) and a mentally ill lesbian serial killer (María Celedonio) who escape from a mental hospital and set out in search of a mysterious healer named Sister Gomez (Vincent Gallo), whom they find "working" with children in Tijuana. Trafficking in the cheeky, camp outrageousness of its predecessor to much less satisfying results, Freeway II only comes alive during its last 30 minutes. At that point, the original's loose retelling of Little Red Riding Hood gives way to a sketchy but eerily effective take on Hansel And Gretel, with the ever-eccentric Gallo making a profound impact as a creepily soothing, androgynous charlatan with sinister intentions. The normally excellent Lyonne is wan and sedate throughout, and while the finale packs an appropriately nasty punch, Freeway II remains unworthy of its pedigree.