''Quicksilver Highway'' is a 1997 made for television

comedy horror Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

directed by Mick Garris. It is based on

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...

's 1985

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

" The Body Politic" and

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's 1992 short story " Chattery Teeth". The film was originally shown on the Fox Network on 13 May 1997, before being released on home media.

Plot

The main story is centered on Aaron Quicksilver (played by

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and television shows since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''B ...

), a travelling showman who tells horror stories to the people he meets. He first runs into a newly married couple who are

hitchhiking Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...

, to whom he tells the story "Chattery Teeth", about a man who is saved from a dangerous hitchhiker by a set of wind-up toy teeth. He later runs into a

pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...

to whom he tells "The Body Politic", a story about a man whose hands rebel against him.

Cast

: Aaron Quicksilver *

Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV film and 1987 Max Headroom (TV series), television series of the same name. He became prominent when ...

: Charlie/Dr. Charles George * Raphael Sbarge: Kerry Parker/Bill Hogan *Melissa Lahlitah Crider: Olivia Harmon Parker/Lita Hogan * Silas Weir Mitchell: Bryan Adams *

Bill Nunn William Goldwyn Nunn III (October 20, 1953 – September 24, 2016) was an American actor known for his roles as Dougy in James Bond III's movie '' Def by Temptation'', Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's film '' Do the Right Thing'', Robbie Robertso ...

: Len * Veronica Cartwright: Myra * Bill Bolender: Scooter * Amelia Heinle: Darlene *Cynthia Garris: Ellen George *

Kevin Grevioux Kevin Grevioux (; born September 9, 1962) is an American actor, screenwriter, Film director, director, and Comic book creator, comic book writer. He is best known for his role as Raze in the ''Underworld (film series), Underworld'' film series, wh ...

: Sergeant * Christopher Hart: Lefty * William Knight: Rhinoplasty Man *Shawn Nelson: Driver *Sherry O'Keefe: Harriet DaVinci *

: Anesthesiologist *

Constance Zimmer Constance Zimmer (born October 11, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence playing Dana Gordon on the HBO series ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'' (2005–11) and List of Boston Legal characters#Claire Simms, Claire Sim ...

: Patient * Mick Garris: Surgeon *

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978), The Blues Brothers (f ...

: Surgical Assistant

Production

Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency, LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. With 1,800 employees in March 2016, it is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous client ...

met with Garris about him writing the pilot script for a possible horror television series directed by

John McTiernan John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American former filmmaker best known for his action films. His work as director includes ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), ...

and produced by his wife, Donna Dubrow. The agency suggested multiple ghost stories and

urban legends Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...

to write about, but Garris had another idea. The series would follow a mysterious character who describes himself as "only a storyteller" but is actually much more than that. Each episode would be set in a different location, with the same actors playing different characters. Just after

Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was head of the entertainment division of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with several ...

signed on as producer, Garris pitched the idea to staff at the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

; the heads of the network weren't interested as they didn't want any horror material in their broadcast schedule, but a couple of the network's executives like Greer Shephard got on board. After writing a pilot script based on

's short story " Chattery Teeth," Garris pitched the series to Fox. However, Fox wanted a two-hour television film. He wrote a screenplay of

's " The Body Politic" to serve as the film's second part after "Chattery Teeth." Casting director Lynn Kressel, who previously worked with Garris on '' The Stand'' (1994) and '' The Shining'' (1997), came up with the idea of

as Quicksilver; while the network loved the decision, Garris was a bit skeptical, reasoning that he want a "little more seductive" actor to play the part. In the end, however, Garris loved the decision. The moment Fox began developing the project, McTiernan left the director's seat on the project, leaving Garris to have to direct the screenplay himself. "The Body Politic" was filmed at the Santa Monica Pier, while "Chattery Teeth" was filmed in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

. When playing Dr. Charles George,

had a tough time making the hand move as if it had a separate mind; it took around three days for him to master the trick, and by the third day was having "hand nightmares" while resting between shoots. Steve Johnson handled the chattery teeth effects, while Flash Film Works and Bill Mesa was responsible for the moving hands. Around 90% of the hands were digitally animated with

LightWave 3D LightWave 3D is a 3D computer graphics program developed by LightWave Digital. It has been used in films, television, motion graphics, digital matte painting, visual effects, video game development, product design, architectural visualization ...

and composed in the shots with the Chyron program Liberty. The more practical hand effects, such as George's left hand, were performed by Christopher Hart, whose work as a magician got him hand-only characters in projects such as three '' Addams Family'' films. The same trick for composing Hart's hand into the shots of ''The Addams Family'' films was used in ''Quicksilver Highway''; Hart wore a rubber prosthetic on the top of his hand and a green sleeve, and by using green screening and footage that matched the background of the shots of Hart's hand, his arm was removed. Four days were spent shooting Hart's hand.

Home media

The home media version of ''Quicksilver Highway'' switched the orders of the two stories from the television version, where "The Body Politic" comes first and "Chattery Teeth" last. Fox required this change, which Garris disliked as he felt "The Body Politic" was more climactic than "Chattery Teeth."

References

Works cited

* *

External links

* {{Clive Barker 1997 television films 1997 films 1997 comedy horror films American horror television films 1990s supernatural horror films Television shows based on works by Stephen King American supernatural horror films Films directed by Mick Garris Films based on multiple works Films based on short fiction American horror anthology films Films based on works by Clive Barker Films based on works by Stephen King Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh Films shot in Los Angeles County, California 1990s American films Films about hitchhiking 1990s English-language films English-language comedy horror films