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 | 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)

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:

Continuity: We see Frank hanging above the moving train, the locomotives having already passed him. Then we are shown what is happening on board the train. When we return to Frank, the tops of the locomotives are passing under him again.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Remake of Kidnapped (1994)

A solid thriller

I was surprised by this film quite a bit. I thought it would be another mediocre paint-by-the-number genre piece. To my amazement Switchback is a taut and suspenseful film. Its fun to see Danny Glover cast against type. By no means a masterpiece, but well worth watching by thriller fans