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Route 666

2001

One Way In, No Way Out

Smith, a mob informer hiding out with the Witness Protection Program, decides to make a break for it and hide out in the Arizona desert. The Feds catch up with him and rescue him just before a group of hitmen can manage to silence him for good. In the course of getting Smith away from the mafia thugs, the pair of agents assigned to protect him turn onto an abandoned stretch of highway nicknamed 'Route 666' after the mysterious death of a prison chain gang. As the three continue on their way, they soon discover just what happened to the chain gang, and how the highway earned its name.

Lou Diamond Phillips Lori Petty Steven Williams L.Q. Jones Dale Midkiff Mercedes Colon Rob Roy Fitzgerald Adam Vernier Chester E. Tripp III Alex McArthur Dick Miller Anne Lockhart Sven-Ole Thorsen Michael Chance Peewee Piemonte Rhino Michaels Gary Roberts

Theatrical

30 Oct 2001

USAR

04 Mar 2002

UK15

Physical

05 Sep 2002

Germany18

Germany

05 Sep 2002

Physical18

UK

04 Mar 2002

Theatrical15

USA

30 Oct 2001

TheatricalR

86 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Jayson Kennedy ★½ 1

Federal marshals transporting a runaway witness along an abandoned stretch of Route 666 in the New Mexico desert encounter the phantom zombies of a roadside prison chain gang.
A light action/horror blend that actually hurts to ultimately dislike; especially coming from the writer/director of Scarecrows (1988) after a thirteen year hiatus. A solid cast with supporting cult appearances by L.Q. Jones, Sven-Ole Thorsen, and Dick Miller can't save a story that remains fizzling and stuttering right out of the gate. An easy-to-guess "spell that must be broken" artifice surrounds the ghostly cracked cement-looking dead that the living can't escape despite blazing sun and wide-open spaces.
While Route 666 looks nice framed at 2.35:1 (only seen this on cropped VHS previously),…
Review by Zay ★★½

I caught this on syfy channel many years ago and wanted to give it a rewatch. Federal agents and a runaway witness battle the evil ghosts of four former chain gang prisoners on a cursed and sealed off road in the desert. It's silly but entertaining. The four prisoners look great with their dead black eyes, cracked grey skin, and dusty prisoner coveralls. Lou Diamond Phillips and Lori Petty are steady as the US Marshals. While Steven Williams stands out as the runaway witness/comic relief just trying to survive.
Would I recommend to anyone? No. Probably not but I enjoy it for what it is.
Review by Pube ★ 1

A half star for each of Steven Williams’ earrings.
Review by Amos Lange ★ 1

Ich hätte diesen Film wirklich gerne gemocht, ich mein der absolut dumme Plot hatte wirklich Potential für ein Trash-Spektakel der extraklasse, aber hier hat es dann leider an Geld, Motivation und Kreativität gefehlt, absolut enttäuschend.
Das der Film kein cineastisches Meisterwerk sein würde, war mir schon klar als ich ihn für 50 Cent auf dem Flohmarkt gekauft habe, das der Film aber so blass und uninteressant sein würde, hätte ich nicht gedacht. Der Film ist weder brutal noch lustig, das einzige was für ihn spricht, ist das ein paar der Beteiligten, wie zum Beispiel Steven Williams oder Lou Diamond Philips wenigstens etwas Charisma auf die Leinwand bringen, um im Falle des zuerst genannten, einen sogar zum Lachen bringen können.
Wäre der Film blutiger gewesen, und die Kamera bei jeder Actionsequenz nicht komplett verwackelt, hätte das hier unterhaltsamer Low-Budget Trash sein können, so ist es eben nur Low-Budget Trash.
(Der Soundtrack ist wenigstens ganz nett.)
Review by KLucius87 ★★

If you’re in your late 20s/early 30s and your parents had HBO, you probably sat through this piece of shit several times while scarfing down a plate of pepperoni pizza rolls. Lou Diamond Phillips squares off with a bunch of highway worker, chain gang ghouls, one of which is his dad or something. I don’t really remember much else but please clap this review if you remember this bonafide turd.
Review by Learic Life ★★

Mildly enjoyable as a B-movie about zombies on a closed-off stretch of highway known as Route 666. Given the poor level of filmmaking, it’s watchable mostly due to some offbeat moments of dialogue and its cast of veteran actors — Lou Diamond Phillips as an ex-CIA op and his partner Lori Petty, who are transporting prisoner Steven Williams when all hell breaks loose — literally — and they find themselves in the midst of mayhem. Throw small-town sheriff L.Q. Jones in the mix, and a connection to past atrocity, and you’ve got enough of a plot for the movie to stand on for at least one low-key viewing.
Review by i_am_human ★★★★

The film is a concept piece. Detective Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba) and his team transport loud-mouth Steven Williams. He and his partners take an abandoned road nicknamed Route 666, unaware that anyone who crosses it will meet the spirits of a chain gang whose mysterious deaths have led them to wander the earth for eternity. One by one, the detectives and police officers become dead meat. The ghosts materialize and use axes, shovels, and jackhammers to turn them into red pulp. The premise takes itself seriously, allowing world-building to occur creatively. Phillips knows one of the late convicts and has hallucinations of their past. Williams has a hilarious recurring bit where someone handcuffs him onto an immovable object like…
Review by Dan Gorman ★★

Directed by William Wesley, their first in 13 years since 1988's Scarecrows.
You want to root for this one, because it has: a game cast, a fun set-up and some decent gore but it's plagued by a pretty lame script that feels more than a little "post-Tarantino-y" and overly shaky direction in an attempt to make things feel.. I don't know, earthquake-y? It's wildly overused, I guess to add energy but it just makes everything feel false or put-on.
It's certainly not terrible, but that's all I got.
Review by mattstechel ★★½

Dumb but watchable. Dick Miller shows up at the very beginning as a bartender. Lou Diamond Phillips and Lori Petty are U.S. Marshalls escorting a witness (played by Stephen Williams from early seasons of The X Files) to be at a trial thru the badlands, upon being chased by Russian hitmen, they attempt to go thru an accursed closed off (by padlock no less) stretch of the famed Route 66 highway which is referred to by others as Route 666 and soon enough they find out why its accursed. Its haunted by the ghosts of four former chain gang members wielding pick axes who murder anyone who dares set foot on the road. Turns out ol Lou has a direct…
Review by FilmFan1970 🎞 🔪 🪓 🔥🌩🧨🔍🔦🪦 ★★★½

TUBI 🖥
"First Time Review Re-Watch"
Started this one last weekend and finished it tonight. I rented this one out on release snd enjoyed it and still do. A rarity that it's a Horror film all set in the day in the desert, a good cast with Lou Diamond Phillips, Lori Petty and Steven Williams, stranded out in the desert and a murdered prison crew turn up to kill the all. A great idea and fun watch but I just wish the gore was turned up more and on the screen to see.
Review by Travis Lytle ★★½

Straight-to-video horror that feels a decade older than its release date, "Route 666" is a watchable throwback to the days of the 49 cent grocery store rental. The film, following a pair of US Marshals who run afoul of a ghostly chain gang while spiriting a witness across the desert, sports an intriguing genre premise. Its cast is decent-enough, and the flimsy effects and narrative silliness add to the questionable near-fun. This is a time-waster that does not feel like a total waste of time.
Review by 🎃 Kyle 🎃 Johnson 🎃 ★½

Steven Williams must have come to set with a huge chip on his shoulder because he’s going hard in Route 666. Otherwise, you’ve got a mostly competent but overwhelmingly dull action-horror flick that’s nowhere near as entertaining as Scarecrows.

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Route 666

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One Way In, No Way Out

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Theatrical

30 Oct 2001

04 Mar 2002

Physical

05 Sep 2002

Releases by Country

Germany

05 Sep 2002

UK

04 Mar 2002

USA

30 Oct 2001

Popular reviews

Where to watch

Route 666

Synopsis

One Way In, No Way Out

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Editor Editor

Cinematography Cinematography

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Lighting Lighting

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Studio

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Theatrical

30 Oct 2001

04 Mar 2002

Physical

05 Sep 2002

Germany

05 Sep 2002

UK

04 Mar 2002

USA

30 Oct 2001

Popular reviews

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Writers

Casting

Editor

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Lighting

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