Joy Ride (2001)
Also known as "Roadkill"
Teen Action Road Thriller
Starring: Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski
Director: John Dahl
Running Time: 97 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 15
Action, Horror, Thriller
On DVD Lewis Thomas (Walker) is driving to pick up girlfriend to be Venna (Sobieski) when he gets a phone call to say his brother has been arrested. He stops off along the way to bail Fuller (Zahn) out of jail.
You know immediately that Fuller is a bad penny, for where he goes, trouble always follows. The clean living Lewis gets dragged into a game where through his car's CB radio he pretends to be Candy Cane, an attractive woman that attracts the attention of the grizzly sounding Rusty Nail. Lewis (as Candy Cane) suggests that Rusty Nail pays her a visit at her motel room at midnight.
Hiding in the next room, Lewis and Fuller hear Rusty Nail arrive and amused by their prank, listen eagerly through the wall.
But their amusement quickly turns to terror. The boys find out the next morning that the original occupant of room 17 was found on the highway in a coma with his jaw torn out.
The brothers flee the scene intent on getting as much distance between them and Rusty Nail as possible. But Rusty Nail tracks them down and subjects them to a nightmare of terror as he pursues them, and when they finally pick up Venna, Rusty Nail seems intent on killing them all.
Roadkill ("Joy Ride" in the US) is a good film. Nicely suspenseful with some genuinely scary moments, the decent into the terror of the Walker boys is nicely portrayed. Only the rather confusing (and implausible) ending lets this film down.
DVD Extras: Good. 29 minutes of alternate endings and deleted scenes. Of course, they're all pointless and it makes you wonder why they even bothered to film them. However they are mildly interesting if you enjoyed the film enough to want to see an entirely different ending.
It's Got: Nicely paced. Good male characters
It Needs: To have a more plausible storyline.
Alternatives: Breakdown
Summary: Good. Roadkill maintains suspense nicely throughout, but I can't help but wonder how Rusty Nail keeps on tracking those boys down. A herculean effort on his part.
Review Date: 2nd May 2003
External Links
Joy Ride at the IMDB
Comments3 Comments |
| I think Roadkill was brilliant. Paul Walker especially, MEGA hot! |
| Comment by:- Carla | | 04 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| i dont understand the ending.. can some1 explain please |
| Comment by:- sas | | 23 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| Roadkill - fantastic film. It's moving, it's amusing sometimes, it's savage and tender. Main comments are that this film is a good horror, with good actors. It's a good build-up for suspense too, as Rusty Nail remains a mysterious man over a radio, who eventually you see as a megalomaniac hauled up in a truck. Paul Walker and Steve Zahn were good in it, too. With good acting experience, they really make the film something, and to complete it, they have seriously sexy bums.It's just the ending I don't understand. |
| Comment by:- J. M. Mailer | | 24 December 2004 | ip: logged |
