Anne Benton is a conceptual artist whose electronic pieces flash evocative statements, and her work starts drawing major media attention. One night, near an isolated road, she witnesses a mob killing. She escapes and goes to the police, but the mafia sends a hitman, Milo, to silence her, and Anne must try to stay one step ahead of him.

How it was made

The script passed through several hands. Ann Louise Bardach rewrote the original draft, and Alex Cox polished the script while filming went on, all amid tension between Dennis Hopper and Jodie Foster. In post-production, the producers removed Hopper from editing, cut roughly half an hour of footage, and replaced most of Michel Colombier's score. Hopper disowned the theatrical version and took the Alan Smithee credit.

Reception and legacy

Critics received the film very negatively, and it underperformed at the box office. In 1992 Hopper released his own extended cut, titled Backtrack, which runs 18 minutes longer, features an alternate ending, and restores his directing credit.