Switchback (1997)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Jeb Stuart

Writer (WGA):

Jeb Stuart (written by)

Release Date:

31 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The hunter is tracking the killer. But the killer is setting the trap.

Plot:

FBI agent Dennis Quaid tries to catch a serial killer who kidnapped his son.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Bare Chested Male | Train | Twist In The End

Cast

Claudia Stedelin	...	Missy, the Babysitter
Ian Blake Nelson	...	Andy LaCrosse
Brent Hinkley	...	Man on Porch
R. Lee Ermey	...	Sheriff Buck Olmstead
Walton Goggins	...	Bud (as Walt Goggins)
Ted Levine	...	Deputy Nate Booker
Louis Schaefer	...	Sim
William Fichtner	...	Chief Jack McGinnis
Jared Leto	...	Lane Dixon
Robert L. Somers	...	Rancher
Lexie Stuart	...	Ranchers Daughter
Danny Glover	...	Bob Goodall
Ted Markland	...	Bartender
Gregory Scott Cummins	...	Rick
Tommy Puett	...	Ben

Also Known As:

Going West (USA) (working title)
Going West in America (USA) (working title)
Zig Zag (USA) (TV title)
Dönüsüm (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
La piste du tueur (France) [fr]
Linea di sangue (Italy) [it]
Lovac i ubojica (Croatia) [hr]
Secuestro (Switchback) (Spain) [es]
Switchback - Gnadenlose Flucht (Germany) [de]
Switchback - kilpajuoksu kuoleman kanssa (Finland) [fi]
Um Assassino à Solta (Portugal) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and several views of nude pin-ups.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:16 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:15 (video premiere) | USA:R (certificate #34897)

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Company:

Pacific Western

Trivia:

According to an interview with Jeb Stuart in Premiere magazine, he had originally intended to make this movie back in the early 1980's under the title 'Going West in America', with Sidney Poitier, 'Robert Duvall (I)', and Kevin Bacon in the three main roles.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The scene where a rancher drops off "Doc" is filmed in a desert. The part of New Mexico, along the route from Amarillo to Raton, N.M., does not pass through any desert country. That is a rolling-prairie region, with a few small volcanic peaks in the region as you get closer to Raton.

Quotes:

Sheriff Buck Olmstead: He told the truth, and once you tell the truth, everything else is just cheap whiskey.

Movie Connections:

References Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

A different kind of serial killer

Switchback was an enjoyable mystery/thriller with a few nice action sequences. Quaid's character seemed a bit cliche to me (like he was impersonating a dour Harrison Ford) but Glover's character was unique and interesting. This movie didn't have a lot of surprises or plot twists, but director Jeb Stuart managed to keep my interest high by using well drawn and likeable characters and by keeping a lot of balls in the air from the beginning of the movie. With the exception of the serial killer himself, the conflicting motivations of the characters played well with the story and provided plenty of tension. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of the serial killer himself. This is possibly the first movie I've seen where the killer had a human face and was not a psycho mastermind genius or a low-life loner with a chip the size of Manhattan on his shoulder.