Search - Joy Ride 2-Pack on DVD

Road Kill.

Puzzle box | Kuwait | 03/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This double feature looked really interesting and since I haven't seen both Joy Ride and it's sequel, I decided that this would be a great time to check them out. Joy Ride or Road Kill as it is known in the U.K. was an entertaining road-set horror/thriller that was surprisingly quite good. The film is about Lewis (Paul Walker), a college coed who decides to buy himself a car and take off across the desert to pick up a would-be-girlfriend, Venna (Leelee Sobieski) in Colorado for a road trip together. He then learns that his older troubled brother, Fuller (Steve Zahn) has been arrested so he picks him up on the way. After having a CB radio installed into the car, the two take off to pick up Venna but end up pulling a prank on an anonymous trucker who goes by the name of "Rusty Nail" (excellently voiced by Ted Levine) on the CB radio. After the trucker learns about the prank, he attacks the brothers with his large truck but they manage to escape. But soon after they pick up Venna, the menacing truck driver begins harassing them again, seeking revenge for the joke they decided to play on him - he'll stop at nothing to get it, and he's looking for more than an apology. O.K. so the film was exactly original and you could tell that it was inspired by alot of other flicks like Duel, The Hitcher and Breakdown but it wasn't trying to be a copycat. The characters were great and very interesting and had more depth than your average and typically annoying teenager in a horror flick. The film also uses mystery and suspense instead of blood and gore and I think it worked out just fine with some nice direction by John Dhal. The tension builds slowly during the first 40 minutes or so, and from there it just develops into a fast pace thrill ride. Some of the acting was nice especially from Steve Zhan who had a couple of funny lines and it was obvious that he was the best character in the film, not sure about Leelee Sobieski though, she was just average. Overall I would have to say that Joy Ride was a very entertaining popcorn movie which had plenty of thrills and twists, highly recommended 4/5 stars the film was also released in 2001.

Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead, this sequel was less serious than the first flick and alot more cheesy. It also had more blood and gore and seems like most straight to dvd horror sequels released nowadays. The film was a mixed bag and the main problem was that the script just wasn't good enough. The storyline was predictable and it didn't have any smart twists and turns like in the first film, but it was still watchable and had some decent acting. Engaged couple Bobby (Nick Zano) and Melissa (Nicky Aycox) travel along the country road on their way to Las Vegas for a joint bachelor party/hen night. Also along for the ride is Melissa's sister, Kayla (Laura Jordan). They stop off at a gas station and to the couple's surprise, "third wave emo punk" Nick (Kyle Schmid) turns up as Kayla's date. She's met him on MySpace and her sister clearly doesn't approve with the way the pair start necking upon first sight of each other. Nick then jumps in the car and reluctantly the group agree with his advice on taking a shortcut to Vegas. This inevitably takes them onto a beaten track where their car overheats and they can't get a signal on their mobile phones. They decide to proceed on foot, the group then turn up at a remote house. Seemingly abandoned, Nick breaks in and they have a look around and they soon find a car in the garage and decide to take it since their stuck in the middle of nowhere and they have the brilliant and generous (yeah right) idea of leaving a note behind. You can tell where this is going to lead and this is basically where it becomes predictable but still fun. And there's the problem with Joy Ride 2. Whereas the original film relied on old-school tension and suspense, the sequel dispenses with these in favor of episodic bursts of bad taste and gore. The cast are pretty but two-dimensional, Schmid comes across like a poor man's Matthew Lilliard while Zano is about as interesting as watching paint dry. Whereas the predecessor gave us the likeable Steve Zahn and charismatic Paul Walker, this quartet of potential victims are boring and lifeless in comparison. While the gore and action scenes was pretty good and made the film much more interesting than it should have been, there was also some nudity (a brief topless scene) and you also get a nice little strip tease by Nicky but she doesn't get completely naked (I'm sure some people might get upset over this ;-)). I still wasn't as convinced by this flick, it just wasn't as good as the first and Rusty Nail wasn't as creepy or menacing like he was in the first flick. Anyway I would say that it was slightly disappointing but still watchable 3/5 stars, the film was released in 2008.
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Perfect!

Gina L. Steege | 11/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Joyride was a stunning movie... I used to work in a fuel stop and after seeing that movie it made me think twice about messing with truckers!... lol.. joyride 2 was pretty good... a little different from the first but overall a great flick!..."