Viewer discretion is definitely advised for this extremely violent film about the I-5 freeway killer in the corridor of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. Randall Brent "Randy" Woodfield, a former Green Bay Packer draft selection, committed fourteen murders and fifty robberies, prior to apprehension. This is the story of how he was eventually arrested.
The film unfolds from the perspective of Beth Williams, one of Woodfield's victims, who was shot in the head and miraculously survived. We follow Beth as she is traumatized by both the assault on her and witnessing the death of her best friend.
The most interesting part of the film is the bonding of Beth with the kind police detective Dave Kominek. The performances were first-rate as the detective feels empathy for the distraught woman, whose life was changed forever in a heartbeat. One of the best scenes in the film is when Kominek invites Beth to a family meal with his wife and children. It is a rare occasion that allows Beth brief moment to transcend her grief and her pain.
It is unfortunate that the filmmakers had to show so much gruesome violence. There could have been a way to report the deaths verbally, as opposed to dramatize them in such graphic detail. Still, the choice to focus on the relationship of the detective and the victim sustained the drama and left an indelible impression on a true story of senseless and tragic crime.
The film unfolds from the perspective of Beth Williams, one of Woodfield's victims, who was shot in the head and miraculously survived. We follow Beth as she is traumatized by both the assault on her and witnessing the death of her best friend.
The most interesting part of the film is the bonding of Beth with the kind police detective Dave Kominek. The performances were first-rate as the detective feels empathy for the distraught woman, whose life was changed forever in a heartbeat. One of the best scenes in the film is when Kominek invites Beth to a family meal with his wife and children. It is a rare occasion that allows Beth brief moment to transcend her grief and her pain.
It is unfortunate that the filmmakers had to show so much gruesome violence. There could have been a way to report the deaths verbally, as opposed to dramatize them in such graphic detail. Still, the choice to focus on the relationship of the detective and the victim sustained the drama and left an indelible impression on a true story of senseless and tragic crime.