The defence The Cool Ironist
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Switchback
Thriller · Mystery · 1997
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.
Movie details
Switchback
“The hunter becomes the hunted.”
1997 Thriller · Mystery 1h 58m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
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.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Switchback?
For the defence
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Hitcher
Crime · 2007
While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim successfully throws him out of the car. This sets off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever.
Surveillance
Horror · 2008
An FBI agent tracks a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims - all of whom have wildly different stories to tell.
Cult Killer
Mystery · 2024
A private investigator is forced into a dangerous alliance with a killer in order to uncover a quiet town’s grisly criminal underbelly and clear the name of her mentor, who is implicated in the crimes.
Secret in Their Eyes
Thriller · 2015
A tight-knit team of FBI investigators, along with their District Attorney supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.
I See You
Horror · 2019
When a 12-year-old boy goes missing at a local park, a detective investigates the case to help the boy's family find answers.
Longlegs
Crime · 2024
FBI Agent Lee Harker is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer. As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.
Cop Car
Crime · 2015
Two kids find themselves in the centre of a deadly game of cat and mouse after taking a sheriff's cruiser for a joy ride.
Kalifornia
Thriller · 1993
A journalist duo go on a tour of serial killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.
Breakheart Pass
Thriller · 1975
At the height of the frontier era, a train races through the Rocky Mountains on a classified mission to a remote army post. But one by one the passengers are being murdered, and their only hope is the mysterious John Deakin, who's being transported to face trial for murder.
Silver City
Comedy · 2004
The discovery of a corpse and the ensuing probe by an idealistic journalist threatens to unravel a bumbling local politician's campaign for governor of Colorado.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jeb Stuart
Written by
Jeb Stuart
Dennis Quaid
FBI Special Agent Frank LaCrosse
Danny Glover
Bob Goodall
R. Lee Ermey
Sheriff Buck Olmstead
Jared Leto
Lane Dixon
Ted Levine
Deputy Nate Booker
William Fichtner
Chief Jack McGinnis
Walton Goggins
Bud (Deputy)
Court is in session
Put Switchback on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Prestige Tourist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.