I’ll go ahead and get one thing out of the way... Breakdown, Hitcher, Duel. I thought of every one of the movies while watching Joy Ride. It wasn’t so much comparing, just coming to mind. That’s not a knock against this film, since Breakdown and Hitcher are two of the best pure-adrenaline thrillers I have seen. The comparisons will be there, but it does not detract from the movie...
Storyline:
Interstate trip for two brothers, on there way to pick up a friend. Brother prank-call (on CB) random truckers, picking up the signal of ’’Rusty Nail, ’’ who has no sense of humor. Payback time for the pranksters.
The Good:
John Dahl (Red Rock West), does a great job keeping the pace of the film, adding humor (through Zahn) at the right moments.
While it’s not Oscar-caliber direction, the quality rises above most thriller/horror movies put out today. Paul Walker is an alright actor, fitting into his ’’pretty-boy’’ roles like a glove (The Fast and the Furious, Skulls, Meet the Deedles, etc.), and Steve Zahn is great as his wisecracking, albeit careless, older brother.
What really stuck with me, though, was the voice of ’’Rusty Nail’’ (the CB handle of the psycho-trucker), done by Ted Levine (the killer in Silence of the Lambs). He’s downright creepy. You never see him, but his when he talks, he’s unnerving.
The movie is effective not because of gore or gleaming blades (there is surprisingly little of both), but because of atmosphere. Much in the same way Hitchcock (no I am not comparing it to his movies, just his style) brought tension from situations...
The first ’’Room 17’’ scene shows nothing of the trucker or the victim, but relies on the expressions of the brothers, ears to the wall of their Room 18, and the muted sounds from the confrontation.
The Not-So-Good: Leelee Sobiesky, is bland throughout, except for the highly-effective second ’’Room 17’’ scene. She reminds me of a young Helen Hunt, who also would not be very good in this film. Some may not like being reminded of other movies, while watching this one.
For Families:
Language is not pervasive, but it is R-rated, so please keep in mind. No sex (a nice surprise) or nudity, but an adult movie plays in a hotel room, though nothing is seen and the sound is very low. Gore is at a minimum, but some scenes are extremely tense.
Bottom Line... One of the best thrillers I have seen in a long while. Probably since Breakdown :-)