Switchback
Release date: 1997-10-31
Votes: 240
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
After FBI agent Frank Lacrosse believes his son was kidnapped by a notorious serial killer, he travels to Amarillo, Texas, where he believes the murderer is in hiding. Although officially taken off the case because of its personal significance to him, Frank continues to pursue the killer, causing concern for local sheriff Buck Olmstead. When another victim pops up at a nearby car garage, Frank knows that he is as close as he'll ever be to tracking down the elusive killer.
Reviews
John Chard
Cause he told the truth, and once you've heard the truth, everything else is just cheap whiskey. Switchback is written and directed by Jeb Stuart. It stars Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, Ted Levine and William Fitchner. Music is by Basil Poledouris and cinematography by Oliver Wood. FBI agent Frank LaCrosse (Quaid) is tracking a serial killer who he believes kidnapped his young son. Switchback is a standard serial killer based thriller that flopped at the box office. It's not a bad film but it never delivers on its potential. The location travelogue of the story is most impressive, especially the last third once we get to the snowy mountains of Colorado, but it's the scenery that grips and holds the attention more than the plot. The red herrings have interest value enough for us to stay with what is at just under two hours a long film, but resolutions are either anti climatic or too obvious. Cast are a mixed bag, with Quaid just okay as the perpetually bleak protag and Glover sadly winding out as miscast once film shows its hands. Thankfully Leto and Ermey are on hand to keep a rein on things, playing the intended thriller tone just right as per their respective characters. It's perhaps unlucky to have followed far superior/intelligent serial killer based thrillers, rendering it then and now as weak offerings. It's not the dead on stinker the box office suggests, and trimmed of 20 minutes it would have been a decent time waster, but as it is it plays out as unoriginal and lacking in directorial focus. 5/10
Movie Recommendation
Stranger in My Pocket2018-02-02The seven old friends decide to come together for dinner. Everyone is seated at the table, chatting, eating laughing accompaniment. During the meal, it is decided to play a game. The game is pretty simple; everyone will put their phones on the desk, every incoming message and notification will be read aloud. Their relationship begins to deteriorate. The group who thinks they are very close friends for so long are in fact alien to each other.More...
Supernova2000-01-14Set in the 22nd century, when a battered salvage ship sends out a distress signal, the seasoned crew of the rescue hospital ship Nova-17 responds. What they find is a black hole--that threatens to destroy both ships--and a mysterious survivor whose body quickly mutates into a monstrous and deadly form.More...
Tin Men1987-03-06A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.More...
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering1996-10-08A bright young medical student must solve the frightening mystery that plagues the children of a small Midwestern town.More...
The Governess1998-07-31When the father of privileged Rosina da Silva violently dies, she decides to pass herself off as a gentile and finds employment with a family in faraway Scotland. Soon she and the family father, Charles, start a passionate secret affair.More...
Matter of Trust1998-10-06Michael D'Angelo is a washed-up alcoholic cop. Demoted from his job and living in the past, he takes out his pain by exploring the nightlife of Los Angeles. Theresa, the only woman he's ever loved, is a powerful Assistant D.A. married to a prominent doctor, Peter, and is about to take on the most important case of her firm's history. But all things erupt when personal issues that have been repressed begin to surface in horrifying ways, bringing everyone together in an explosive triangle of betrayal.More...
Bombay Talkie1970-11-18An English novelist travels to Bombay to watch one of her novels translated to film. She chases after the movie's leading man while the screenwriter chases after her.More...
Forever Young1992-12-16A 1939 test pilot asks his best friend to use him as a guinea pig for a cryogenics experiment. Daniel McCormick wants to be frozen for a year so that he doesn't have to watch his love lying in a coma. The next thing Daniel knows is that he's been awoken in 1992.More...
Fletch Lives1989-03-17Fletch is a fish out of water in small-town Louisiana, where he's checking out a tumbledown mansion he's inherited. When a woman he flirts with turns up dead, he becomes a suspect and must find the killer and clear his name.More...
Men at Work1990-08-24Two garbage men find the body of a city councilman in a trash can on their route. With help from a supervisor, the duo must solve the case and find the man's killer while hiding the body from the cops.More...
The China Syndrome1979-03-16While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicize the incident, but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret.More...
Beverly Hills Ninja1997-01-17Haru, an orphaned American who washes ashore in Japan and is mistaken for the great White Ninja of legend. Raised among the finest Ninjas, Haru grows strong and big - very big. With the grace of all Three Stooges rolled into one body, Haru is an embarrassment to his clan. But when a beautiful blonde pleads for his help, Haru is given one dangerous, disastrously funny chance to prove himself.More...
The Good Shepherd2006-12-11Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded OSS. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.More...
Virus: 322022-04-21A virus is unleashed and a chilling massacre runs through the streets of Montevideo.More...
Stigmata1999-09-02A young woman with no strong religious beliefs, Frankie Paige begins having strange and violent experiences, showing signs of the wounds that Jesus received when crucified. When the Vatican gets word of Frankie's situation, a high-ranking cardinal requests that the Rev. Andrew Kiernan investigate her case. Soon Kiernan realizes that very sinister forces are at work, and tries to rescue Frankie from the entity that is plaguing her.More...
The Long Kiss Goodnight1996-10-11Samantha Caine is a small-town schoolteacher and mom with no memory of her life before washing up on a beach eight years ago. After a car accident and a violent home invasion trigger flashes of her past, she discovers she used to be a deadly CIA assassin. Teaming up with a wisecracking private investigator, Mitch, she uncovers a secret government plot to stage a terrorist attack in Niagara Falls. When her daughter is kidnapped, Samantha must return to her old ways to stop the attack, rescue her child, and take down the people who tried to erase her.More...
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids1989-06-23The scientist father of a teenage girl and boy accidentally shrinks his and two other neighborhood teens to the size of insects. Now the teens must fight diminutive dangers as the father searches for them.More...
Trick 'r Treat2007-12-09Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank, and a bitter old recluse receives an uninvited guest.More...
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation1989-11-30It's Christmastime, and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration. But things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen, and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going, knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.More...
That Awkward Moment2014-01-29Best pals Jason and Daniel indulge in casual flings and revel in their carefree, unattached lives. After learning that the marriage of their friend Mikey is over, they gladly welcome him back into their circle. The three young men make a pact to have fun and avoid commitment. However, when all three find themselves involved in serious relationships, they must keep their romances secret from one another.More...
Similar Movies
1BR
2019-07-18When Sarah lucks into a sweet one-bedroom at Asilo Del Mar Apartments in Los Angeles, she thinks she's hit the jackpot. It's got plenty of space, friendly tenants, group BBQs and even a cute neighbour next door. All is not what it seems: loud noises start keeping her awake at night; her cat is missing; everyone seems to be a little too helpful and friendly, except for the weirdo, Lester. Soon, Sarah learns she didn't choose this apartment — it chose her.The Big Sleep
1946-08-23Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.The Lady Vanishes
1938-10-07On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country, young Iris befriends elderly Miss Froy. When the train resumes, Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared. The other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate with another traveler and, as the pair sleuth, romantic sparks fly.Halloween
1978-10-24Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.Mission: Impossible I...
2006-04-25Retired from active duty, and training recruits for the Impossible Mission Force, agent Ethan Hunt faces the toughest foe of his career: Owen Davian, an international broker of arms and information, who's as cunning as he is ruthless. Davian emerges to threaten Hunt and all that he holds dear – including the woman Hunt loves.The Maltese Falcon
1941-10-18A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.The Manchurian Candid...
1962-10-24Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.Dirty Harry
1971-12-23When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.Double Indemnity
1944-07-06A seductive housewife draws an insurance salesman into a plot of adultery and crime to collect on her husband's life insurance.Blow-Up
1966-12-18A successful mod photographer in London whose world is bounded by fashion, pop music, marijuana, and easy sex, feels his life is boring and despairing. But in the course of a single day he unknowingly captures a death on film.Arlington Road
1999-03-19Threats from sinister foreign nationals aren't the only thing to fear. Bedraggled college professor Michael Faraday has been vexed (and increasingly paranoid) since his wife's accidental death in a botched FBI operation. But all that takes a backseat when a seemingly all-American couple set up house next door.Point Break
1991-07-12In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. Believing that the members of the gang could be surfers, the F.B.I. sends young agent Johnny Utah to the beach undercover to mix with the surfers and gather information.Lonely Hearts
2006-04-30In the late 1940s, a murderous couple known as the 'The Lonely Hearts Killers' kills close to a dozen people. Two detectives try to nab the duo who find their targets via the personals in the paper.Dead in 3 days
2006-07-21When Nina and her high school friends receive eerie text messages declaring that they will all die within three days, they dismiss it as a hokey prank - until one by one, the pals start turning up dead in the alpine countryside. With the cops stymied, Nina and her remaining friends must scour their past for clues to identify the madman before he kills them all.Street Kings
2008-04-10Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.American Psycho
2000-04-13A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.First Blood
1982-10-22When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.D Company
2013-09-13D Company is a 2013 Indian Malayalam action portmanteau film. It is an anthology of three independently shot action films directed by M. Padmakumar, Vinod Vijayan and Diphan. Its cast includes Jayasurya, Anoop Menon, Unni Mukundan, Fahad Fazil and Asif Ali. The film is produced by Vinod Vijayan, Seven Arts Mohan and Faisal Latheef under the banner of D Cutz Film Company. (From Wikipedia)Blue Velvet
1986-09-19The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.The Omen
2006-06-06A diplomatic couple adopts the son of the devil without knowing it. A remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1976.