A witness to a mob assassination flees for her life from town to town, switching identities, but cannot seem to elude Milo, the chief killer out to get her.
Acting
Hopper and Foster's volatile, genuinely unhinged on-screen dynamic.
Direction
Hopper's wildly inconsistent but occasionally inspired visual choices.
Director
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Milo
Jodie Foster
Anne Benton
Dean Stockwell
John Luponi
Vincent Price
Mr. Avoca
John Turturro
Pinella
Fred Ward
Pauling
Julie Adams
Martha
Tony Sirico
Greek
Charlie Sheen
Bob
Catherine Keener
Trucker's Girl
Sy Richardson
Capt. Walker
Frank Gio
Frankie
Satya De La Manitou
Car Thug
Helena Kallianiotes
Grace Carelli
John Apicella
Man at Refinery
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hopper famously tried to remove his directorial credit; the studio released 'Catchfire' while he secretly re-edited 'Backtrack' for European release with 12 extra minutes.
This bombed so hard it essentially ended Hopper's directorial career, yet it predicted the 'hitman falls for target' trope that dominated 90s cinema.
US
