First film: Bob Wolverton is an obvious stand-in for The Big Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. A sadistic murderer and pedophile known as the "I-5 Killer", Bob abducts troubled young girls off the freeway and, after gaining their trust, proceeds to rape and murder them. Kidnapping his latest target, Vanessa, Bob taunts her about her sexual abuse she received from her stepfather, before being shot by her, leading to his disfigurement. Seeking revenge, Bob drives to Vanessa's grandmother's trailer, where he proceeds to kill her. When Vanessa arrives, Bob immediately tries to gun her down, shooting a bystander in the process when he walks in on the scene. When asked why he kills, Bob justifies himself by claiming that his victims are garbage, showing a total Lack of Empathy or remorse for his actions.
Confessions of a Trickbaby: Sister Hermana Gomez appears to be a kind nun, but is actually a stand-in for the Wicked Witch in Hansel and Gretel. In truth a crossdressing, cannibalistic witch, Gomez lures in parents with his religion, keeping the kids locked up in the church's basement to be fattened up and killed for Gomez's tamales, keeping some alive to make child pornography. Having been responsible for turning Cyclona into the psychopath she is today by having her raped as a child for his movies, once she's back in Gomez's clutches, he kills two children in front of her and forces her to watch videos of her getting raped as a child, cursing her and White Girl with the wrath of Jupiter before being forced into his own oven.
Crosses the Line Twice: "My dick may not function but I have not lost my smile!" This sums Michael T Weisse's entire performance. He's a scumbag pedophile drug addict who regularly molests his stepdaughter Vanessa, but he's so DAMN ENTERTAINING TO WATCH
Cult Classic: Freeway became a cult classic over a decade the film came out.
Esoteric Happy Ending: Wolverton has been exposed as the I-5 killer and Vanessa has been vindicated of her actions. But, she still escaped from custody, assaulted a guard, is an accessory to the murder of another guard, auto theft (and supposedly the owner's murder), kidnapped a man, robbed him, stole his car, locked him in the trunk and left him more-or-less for dead. One way or the other, she's going back to Juvie. Oh, and her grandmother is dead.
Both Reese Witherspoon and Brittany Murphy collaborated in two episodes of King of the Hill. Also, Vanessa was known as Pooh Bear. Both Witherspoon and Alanna Ubach collaborated on Legally Blonde and its sequel.
In an interesting case, in Monsters vs. Aliens, both Witherspoon and Sutherland's accents were switched.
Vanessa likes calling police officers "pigs". Two decades later, Reese Witherspoon would voice a literal pig in Sing.
Jerkass Woobie: Vanessa. Sure, she curses to an insane level and she's rude to everyone she meets, even liking to provoke people by calling them ethnic slurs, but she's lived a horribly screwed up life. It doesn't quite excuse her actions throughout the film, however it does explain why she acts that way.
Les Yay: In the sequel, Cyclona continuously hits on Crystal, much to her annoyance. They later have a drug/alcohol/depression fueled sexual encounter.
She Really Can Act: Those who only know Reese Witherspoon for Legally Blonde and her other romantic comedies were in for a treat watching her here and understand why she's the Oscar-winning actress she is today.
Tear Jerker: Chopper's death, and Vanessa's subsequent reaction to it.
Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The gritty nature can make people uncomfortable since most of the characters are morally grey at best and complete assholes at worst.
The game:
Tear Jerker: In the Action 52 port, seeing the dog not only be run over and killed, but get smushed into pieces.
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