Joy Ride

[ulthar]

Just watched Joy Ride.  I know I'm not the first to say this, but the first half was pretty good; the second half should have never been shot.

The premise of the flick was a bit weak to me, I have to admit. But I can accept it for face value and go from there; no biggie.

The first motel scene, the one with the two guys in the room listening, I think was wonderfully shot and directed.  That scene built some excellent suspense. If the entire movie was like that one, this would be a powerful never-forgetter.

In the end, though, it did try too hard to be The Hitcher, but adding clairvoyance to the bad guy's tallents.  The Hitcher was relentless where this one was just dumb.

If you have not seen Joy Ride, watch the first hour and turn it off.  You will remember it in better light that way.

[Jim H]

You might try looking at the alternate endings on the DVD sometime.  There are 4, one of which is an entirely different second half.

[Ash]

I liked this one.

The only complaint I had was that they used Ted Levine's voice but didn't cast him in the physical role as Rusty Nail.
Some other guy played him.
That never made any sense to me.



Post Edited (07-09-05 00:18)

[Jim H]

"The only complaint I had was that they used Ted Levine's voice but didn't cast him in the physical role as Rusty Nail.
Some other guy played him.
That never made any sense to me."

They wanted someone with an awesome voice, and the right look.  Sometimes they don't go together.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I didn't care for this one much at all.  I first watched it when it originally came out on DVD and was disappointed.  As ulthar said, the first half is decent, but by the end the viewer is contemplating suicide.

[Neville]

It is actually an OK film, but director John Dahl  looked like fish out of water this time, like in the previous "Unforgetable". The film is much better directed than most slasher films out there (just look at the wonderful scope compositions when neon lights are involved, like when the two brothers open the trunk to find the radio or when they are in a motel), but the script is ultimately too simplistic. Certainly the film works better when Dahl is allowed to play with suspense and the relationship within the trio of teenagers than in the final part, where everything seems too forced.

[Yaddo 42]

Dahl is good at modern noir (The Last Temptation, Red Rock West), rather than horror. I saw this on cable, and agree that the build up was better than the payoff. Are the alternate endings that much better? Other than for marketing, makes you wonder why they didn't use one of them instead.

[Jim H]

I think the ending in the film is the best one (though I do like one ending which has a direct confrontation between the lead and the trucker, and the trucker attempts to rip his jaw out - ouch).

Joy Ride is a pretty good film, me thinks, though I do agree the ending is considerably weaker than the first half.