Freeway Killer (Blu-ray)

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I was in the mood for a good old-fashioned horror flick the other day. You know, the kind with the strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, drug use and foul language. Well low and behold a package from Image Entertainment arrived with the "Freeway Killer" Blu-ray enclosed. Success, right? Well, sort of.

In theory, "Freeway Killer" is an uncomfortable story because it deals with a man who preys on vulnerable individuals when they are at his command. In reality, it is chilling because it actually happened. During the late 1970s, William Bonin cruised around southern California streets and freeways, picking up hitchhikers and others looking for a lift. Very few left his vehicle alive, as Bonin sexually assaulted and murdered at least 20 individuals. Dubbed by local law enforcement and media outlets the Freeway Killer, Bonin´s real claim to fame is his role in the California State Penitentiary System´s long and twisted history. On February 23, 1996, Bonin was the first man in California to die via lethal injection, dubbed more humane than the previously used gas chamber.

Of course, this is no space to debate the death penalty, and for that matter, neither is the film. Instead, it gives us a look at the man behind the madness. Well, it´s more like a glimpse. We don´t get much back-story on Bonin until the film is near its end. No real mention is made about the reasons he might be so compelled to kill others (often, his victims were young teenage boys). Some things you might anticipate do surface in passing, including an abusive father and alcoholic mother coupled with time in the Vietnam War. But they don´t shape the tale that "Freeway Killer" tells us. Scott Anthony Leet´s performance as Bonin himself is responsible for this one.

The story opens as Vernon Butts (Dusty Sorg) is hitchhiking with another young man along a busy street corner. A royal blue minivan rolls up, and Bonin (Leet) invites the men inside. After driving for a few miles, Bonin stops and offers his new passengers a joint. As the three get high, Bonin probes both for information about who they are, what they believe and other complete randomness. Something the second hitchhiker states pisses him off, and Bonin throws him into the back. Rather than react, Butts stands by motionless, watching as Bonin wraps a t-shirt around the young man´s throat and uses a tire iron to twist and tighten its grip. After he suffocates, the pair dumps his body by the roadside and goes for a cheeseburger.

Later, Bonin stops at a convenience store and observes Kyle (Cole Williams) getting read the riot act from his boss. After staying an hour late to make up for his errors, Kyle´s girlfriend ditches him and Bonin offers him a ride. The two share a joint, and eventually arrive at Butts´s house, where they look through the pair´s "family album." Bonin and Butts have documented their murders in photography, and Kyle reacts with an awkward fascination and confusion.

Eventually, Kyle helps Bonin with a killing. He stabs a boy Bonin picked up, and the pair enjoys brutally ending his life. Butts isn´t all that happy about this. He and Bonin had a good thing going, and he fears that Kyle will not only disrupt this relationship, but also cave in and tell the authorities. This tension blows up in a violent argument between the trio, and eventually all part ways. Bonin can´t go more than a few minutes without calling Butts or Kyle, and begins to emotionally implode. He tracks down a few more victims, but one escapes before Bonin can train him as he´s trained Butts and Kyle.

The film concludes with Bonin´s capture, moments before claiming another victim. We learn he´s told these events as a flashback to a victim´s mother who has come to see him weeks prior to his execution, seeking closure. He wickedly provides it to her, setting off a verbal tirade that spills into the old gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison, where his lifeless body provides the witnesses with a degrading, albeit historic, execution.

"Freeway Killer" only goes as far as Leet takes it. His performance is graphic and real, personifying everything the phrase "serial killer" might conjure in your mind. He also bears a scarily similar appearance to the real Bonin, complete with the long brown hair and bushy mustache. His demeanor and timing throughout the short 88-minute run time are on point, and if this weren´t a smaller release, he might have hit more radar screens for awards consideration. I was genuinely unnerved watching Leet grip that old blue van´s steering wheel as he pursued his victims, and even more creeped out as he screamed, yelled and sweated feverishly during each murder sequence. The performance was strong, lifelike and memorable.