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Don't waste your time.

This movie is horrible. The ending totally copies off of The Hitcher. When Nash was tied between two vehicles. Vienna had a shot gun pointing to her face. This was not worth watching at all. And the cb saying and repeating candycane. Is that suppose to be scary. Give me a break. How could Roger Ebert like this movie and not like the Hitcher? This movie gets 0 stars.

Terrific suspense (DVD REVIEW)

"Joy Ride" got many rave reviews when it was playing in theaters, and now I see why. The suspense is unrelenting. I liked the unusual villain, voiced by Ted Levine (unforgettable from Silence of the Lambs). It seemed like he had an almost supernatural hold on the trio of main characters, and his moves were certainly unpredictable. The cat-&-mouse game between the Nail's big rig and the brothers' vintage automobile reminded me of another similarly suspenseful movie called "Duel," the debut three decades ago from a director named Stephen Spielberg. That movie also featured an automobile driver being hunted by a never-seen truck driver. The DVD of "Joy Ride" has a bunch of interesting extra features. One of the alternate endings starts about half-way through the film and was about half an hour long! (And it unfolds in a very different way from the theatrical version.) And the feature that allows a side-by-side comparison of three different voices for the killer (incl. Eric Roberts) was fun.

Suspensful like Hitchcock and oscar worth acting !!!

(my english isn't very good, so sorry if I have wrong words)

Introducing: I don't know why this movie flopped. It's one of the five best I have ever seen in my life (and I've seen every Hitchcock, Spielberg and Fincher movie). But I think it wasn't succesful, because everybody thought it's another Teen-Slasher -and this movies were in past very bad- (Thirteen ghosts - bad, Jeepers Creepers - very bad, Ghosts of Mars - ARRGHH). But the director John Dahl didn't borrow from Slasher movies, he borrowed from Spielbergs Duel and Hitcher.

Acting: Leelee Sobieski, Paul Walker and Steve Zahn are the leading actors and I tell you: Everybody will win the Oscar in other movies in the future. This 3 actors are SOOO talented. They are sexy and the performances are fantastic. I think Paul, Leelee and Steve are now my favourite actors of all time. I love they.

Directing: John Dahl is a great camera worker and there are great places in this movie. The script is great written. This movie is very suspensful. I'm schocked by the ending. WOW WHAT A FLASH. I think - no, I HOPE - there should be a Sequel. I don't know because only succesful movie have a Sequel, but I HOPE I HOPE PLEASE PLEASE JOHN DAHL MAKE A SEQUEL. If they make a Sequel I wish one of this 3 (Venna, Fuller or Lewis) die and the other 2 kill Rusty Nail, but I don't know: Joy Ride 2 or not? I don't know but hope every day!

One of the most effective thrillers

I remember the first time seeing this, it was on a VHS and the tape was shaky, but I couldn't take my eyes off it. It is a creepy and thrilling movie with great humor and scares. I love the relationship between Zahn and Walker, yea they don't look anything alike but the way they play off each other it's a really nice thing to see. Another aspect I like is how this could really happen, it's very unlikely but still. I don't want to give too much away about the villain but to sum it up he is a scary truck driver with a scary voice. I remember having to pause towards the end because it felt like i just had adrenaline pumped into me and I just needed to breathe for a second, a movie has never made me do that. All in all it's a great thriller with awesome characters that you will love to watch.

Surprised!

I originally was attracted to the cinema to see this movie because, simply, i think Paul Walker is the best looking guy on the planet. The reason i entitled my review 'surprised' was because as i watched the movie i honestly found i loved it. Not because of Paul Walker, i'd be lying if i said it didn't have anything to do with him, but i found the plot captivating and strangely original, the way the three main characters stood united and finally the fact the threesome tried to turn thier backs on the enevitable evil on thier tail. In many teen horrors, ie. Jeepers Creepers, they notice deaths and they head straight for it. Silly really and fake. Not in 'Joy Ride', in this film the menace sets out to find them.
I live in England, here the film was released under the name 'Road Kill'. I'm not sure why they changed it because i think both titles are suitable. The film is still in its opening weekend and i went to the cinema last night with some friends. Background information for ya'! lol!
Many critics have described the plot in summary, which i find is hard, as i don't want to spoil it for the budding U.K audiences. Lets see, Two brothers set out on a road trip, (Paul Walker) Lewis' main aim is to score with beautiful, (Leelee) Venna. While, the other, (Steve Zahn) Fuller is desperate to move on from yet another prison visit. Crazy Fuller persuades level headed Lewis to install a CB radio. Thats when the basis of a simple joke begins and they are pulled into a fast paced flee from a ...Truck Driver. As soon as they are joined by Venna she is also thrown into the desperate struggle for survival.
As the bond between the three grows more intense and the driver constructs his (warped) revenge, comedy begins to be incorporated.
All thats left to say is i can't wait untill it comes out on Video!
Prepare to be scared!

Who says viewers no longer enjoy suspense?

At 30-something years of age I believed I couldn't be scared any longer by suspense thrillers. However, this movie had me squealing and gripping my husbands hand. Joy Ride is refreshingly different from the other Thriller/Suspense movies today. I truly could not predict how it was going to end. Additionally, I suppose I enjoyed it so much due to the reality element about road rage. Joy Ride did become slightly unrealistic toward the end but who cares! It was truly a Joy Ride. Rent it!

Masterpiece of masterpieces !

I don't know why John Dahl's movies aren't successfull, because nobody makes thriller better than he does. Joy Ride is a must-see film, because it takes quirky characters and sticks them into increasingly bizarre and dangerous circumstances. And this time around there is plenty of action to boot. Paul Walkers performance is much better here than he was in 'The Fast And The Furious', Steve Zahn is - as usual - outstanding, and Leelee Sobieski is sooo... GRRRRR ;)

Awesome Thriller Movie!!

When I first saw the preview for Joy Ride I thought it was going to be another slasher-film where there's a psycho guy going around gutting everybody. But it wasn't. Joy Ride is a well-acted movie with a good plot. It's an unique Thriller. Paul Walker, Steve Zahn, and LeeLee Sobieski do a great job of acting. This movie has a lot of parts that will make you jump. Overall this is just an awesome movie. One of my favorites.

Cross Country Travel

First of all I enjoyed the movie even though I do not like to watch movies with murders. Fortunately, the main characters come out alive.I can certainly relate to the isolation of cross country road trips as I have driven at least 45,000 miles alone in my car, and sleeping alone in lonely hotels all across the Unites States. Fortunately, I had the psychological benefit in my own travel, of staying at name brand hotels, even if they off the beaten track.The nude scene was very outstanding. However, it would be more funny if the story line (or movie) were completely different and the lead actors were NOT FORCED to do such an outrageous stunt.

Copy Cat Killer

I saw the movie Jeepers Creepers about a week ago. I liked it. I especially liked the truck chases. Anyway, I saw the preview for this movie and at first it looked cool, but then I realized that it looks like a poor take-off of Jeepers Creepers..I mean, the car chase?Where did they get that from? Hmmm... Maybe JEEPERS CREEPERS! Can't the writers of Joy Ride think of their own ideas? And, what about that lame thing the killer says "You really should get that fixed!"
"What fixed?"

"Your back headlight!" hahha how lame is that..It may have worked in Scream but I don't think it will work in this movie. My predictions for this movie is that the killer ends up to be some old guy that kills 10 people every 23 years, has a hook thingy he holds in his hand to slash people with, and wears a mask of some "ghostly image".. Oh yeah, and he probably wears a raincoat or hat when its not even raining! All I can say is, I'm waiting for this to come on T.V.

Joy Ride it to a Corn Field

A movie that made me want to kill the brother from jail, and kill the writers for a terrible ending. The beginning is gruesome and looks like someone who maims for fun, but only falls apart with a broken down script. This is a movie that could have been. Drop the corn field, the ice man, and make an ending as terribly disturbing as the beginning. This movie should be remade to go to the heights of terror as the beginning. A three star/ 70 points out of 100 movie.

1.5 STARS: Started out well, but went south for the winter.

The movie "Joyride", while not a "TRUE" Horror movie, starts out quite well and creates an element of suspense, mystery and a certain degree or lowgrade level of terror from the beginning. However, as so many modern horror and thriller movies do, the movie fails to build on its early success and starts a steady decline that begins directly after the truck scene where the ice truck explodes and the 18 wheel truck nearly smashes our two little heroes into rubbish. But, here is where the movie goes bad as it as this point where the terror part begins to decline and the suspense/mystery begins to subside.


I thought the scene where the truck was chasing these kids in the cornfield was very stupid and unrealistic...a truck like that would have gotten stuck less than 30 seconds after entering such a field. Also, these kids were pretty stupid the way they were running through that field. Notwithstanding the unrealistic portrayal of an 18 wheeler driving through a field at 35-45 miles per hour, it would have been easy for these kids to outmaneuver such a vehicle on foot while in such a cornfield.


I think the voice of this mysterious truckdriver looking for "candy cane" is quite good in the beginning, but the villain loses prowess and credibility in the fantastic and unrealistic chase scene. The movie takes away from what could have been a scary villain by giving away too much of killer's psychological state. Sometimes, in a movie of this type, it's better to not explain so much about the killer's motives and nature...I just think that the movie revealed too much of the killer to be able to sustain the creepiness, suspense and terror that the movie started out with so well.


I thought the movie was boring after the girl was picked up. I liked the return of the CB scene but I thought it would have been scarier if there had a been a dead body in the trunk with it...that would have been more effective. I really disliked the way they did the ending scene at the hotel where the girl is wrapped up and a spring gun is set up to kill her...it could have been done much better although I think this is a weak setting to conclude the movie...it should have concluded on the highway as all great "Cat and Mouse" deadly chase games conclude such as "Duel" and "The Hitcher".


Certainly, the truck attempting to ram through the hotel itself is stupid and so unrealistic it doesn't evoke any sense of horror in a sophisticated horror movie audience. It's too bad this film went south so quickly because I liked the beginning...I thought the movie showed promise in the beginning, but the directing and the script in general failed to follow up on that early promise. I thought the acting and directing was average at best in this movie from beginning to end. I would recommend better deadly "cat and mouse" chase games on the highway to the viewer named Steven Spielberg's "Duel" and "The Hitcher" starring Rutger Hauer, which are clearly superior to "Joyride".


In both "Duel" and "The Hitcher", much of the mystery about the villain remained just that, a mystery, which made the movies scarier and more suspenseful. "Duel", in my opinion, is the best...it uses the simple plot to its advantage, doesn't reveal a motive or even tries to create a sensical villain and it works beautifully through the mind of the character played by Dennis Weaver and his psychological state of increasing fear and distress throughout the movie. "Joyride" fails to use what made these two superior films great to sustain that level of fear, suspense and mystery in the audience by basically trying to be too "cute" with unrealistic scenes and ultimately making the villain into something of an idiot or a joke by the movie's end.


The scenes following the first part just fail to build on its successful theme that it initially created and from stupid scene to stupid scene, the movie ends up losing its credibility and in essence killing any sense of horror, suspense or mystery the movie produced. By the end of the movie, I had lost interest to such an extent that I did not even care what the killer looked like. Basically, "Joyride" is a disappointing film that could have been much better with a better script, better acting and direction.


Overall, I characterize "Joyride" as a common thriller movie that starts out well, but fails towards the end. I can't really give it TWO stars because even though the movie was good in the beginning, I really thought that it was increasingly bad from scene to scene after that. I disagree with these glowing reviews which I believe reflect a hope that the movie was turn out as good as its beginning which is clearly not the case...rent it if you want to see for yourself but don't buy it or overexpect and maybe you won't be so disappointed by the time the movie concludes, provided that you can stand to watch the rubbish enough to actually sit throught the entire movie. This movie is a classic example of a good horror/thriller premise but the movie suffers due to poor story development...also, just because it's imaginitive doesn't mean it's good either.

Why should I be afraid of a radio?

Paul Walker is classical as Lewis in this spectacular suspense movie. The remaining cast is luminous. The costumes are appealing. One of the good films in the genre, Joy Ride will pick the viewer up for a trail of intense proportions. 9 out of 10.

Entertaining Thriller

An entertaining thriller that has College students Paul Walker and Leelee Sobieski as well as troublesome brother Timothy Zahn being chased by a vengefull trucker who wants revenge. Along with "Jeepers Creepers" makes you want to stay off those middle of nowhere highways. Some moments of comedy, mostly provided by Zahn, helps and the tension is real and effective. GRADE: B+

Modern"Duel"

If youre in the mood for an uncommonly witty, decidedly unpredicable, savagley sardonic, and oppressively ambient adrenaline pumping suspense thriller, than look no further than Joy Ride. Starring Paul Walker (Lewis Thomas), Steve Zahn (Fuller Thomas) and Leelee Sobieski (Venna Wilcox). John Dahl's (Last Seduction, Red Rock West) effervescently dynamic Joy Ride is a psychological laced narrative that habitually leaves the viewer breathlessly craving more and hesitantly doing so. Joy Ride's unaccommodating manipulation of intelligent fear with an unadultrated depraved sense of humor that spikes the film's thrills with unexpected and uncomfortable laughs in typical Hitchcockian style. Joy Ride seems to have it all.

Scariest Thriller I've ever seen !!!

JOY RIDE is a terrifying thriller! Definiteley the scariest I've seen in my life. It's a very very rare kind of movie, that seriously scares the pants off of you, and has you shaking like a manic in your seat! The extremely talented cast features Paul Walker(as Lewis Thomas), Steve Zahn(as Fuller Thomas), and Leelee Sobieski(as Venna Wilcox). A bitof trivia: Ted Levine(who played Buffalo Bill in The Silence Of The Lambs wonderfully performs the role of Rusty Nail, the psychotic and vengeful truck driver.

For those who are looking for a scary(and quite funny)movie, go and see this! Congrats to John Dahl for a solid hit!

:0)

Steve Zahn is a good actor and also funny at times
i like this movie i was entertain by it, wasn't boring or putting me to sleep.. i love suspence/horror movies and this one is up there for me

Less Than I Hoped For, More Than I Expected

Better-than-average teen road trip flick about, well, a road trip that takes a dour turn when two brothers are stalked by a psychotic trucker who they teased on a CB radio. Paul Walker most likely will never win an Oscar, he basically is a one-trick pony -- the laid-back surfer type who hangs out in movies as opposed to acting in them -- but it will never be for the lack of trying. He is blessed with boy-band good looks and is comfortable in front of the camera.Steve Zahn, on the other hand, is quite effective as his older slacker brother who initiates the electronic head games with the trucker.
Alternately giddy and bitter at the same time, he registers more on the screen than Walker.Misses Sobieski and Lawson are simply there as the indispensible "the girl".
Leelee has given great performances on the screen, and she is really wasted here.A combination of "Duel", "Dude, Where's My Car" and the ubiquitous teen-slasher flick, "Joyride" works because it doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is -- B-level entertainment.

Mild view.

A FEW SPOILERS - BE WARNED!! * * * Sometimes I wish IMDB had half ratings, because I couldn't honestly decide whether to give this a six or a seven. I'm really mediocre on this one.
"Joy Ride" had a lot of good action sequences going for it and as a female I had to love the one prank "Rusty Nail" pulled on them, where Lewis and Fuller had to show more of themselves in the restaurant than they would have probably liked...though I didn't see much of a point in it. Aside from all that though, I think there were certain elements that could have been expanded upon. There could have been more of a focus on the relationship between the two brothers. After not seeing each other for five years, I imagine the level of comfort with each other might have been a bit more awkward in the first few scenes and they would have had more to talk about.
I think there was a lack of character development in that respect.That, and I have to wonder, why was there not more of an altercation when Lewis discovered Fuller coming onto Venna in her room? I mean he made one comment about it in the heat of the moment and then never really touched on it again. There could have been more expansion there. I was really confused toward the end, but I imagine they left it up in the air like that to commence working on "Joy Ride 2", kind of like another "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer".I really like Paul Walker's choice of roles. He never takes what he knows he can't handle. (Or maybe this is all he is offered?) This is great for a brainless watch, but still kind of fun. I jumped a lot. The sound effects were pretty loud.Overall: Don't expect too much. That's why I say I'm mediocre. Unless you really really have to see this now, it doesn't matter really what size screen you see it on. This one can honestly wait until video.

Joy Ride is a joy to watch!

When I first went to the movie with my wife, I was not expecting much. But I was really blowen away by the film. I thought it shot and edited wonderfully. I thought the acting was top notch as well.I now own the dvd and let my tell you guys and gals something. It is great. It needs to be seen to be beleaved. Take the time and bring this little gem to your own home entertainment center. You will love it.