The first JOY RIDE film that hit theaters back in 2001, didn’t even break even at he box office, so you figure why make a sequel to a film that didn’t fare well on the big screen. Well the thing is JOY RIDE did do good business in DVD rental and sales. So thus, we get a direct to DVD sequel, while I can say the first film was real good surprise of a movie this sequel falls short of being better than the first, but we do get somewhat a decent film epically during the second half.
JOY RIDE 2: DEAD AHEAD, is about three people (Two sisters and one of the sisters fiancé) traveling to Las Vegas to celebrate their bachelor/bachelorette parties. They decide to drive there instead of fly and on the way pick up a punk kid whom the other sister meet on myspace. They agree to take a back dirt road that is supposed to be a short cut to Vegas, but of course the usual horror movie cliché kick in and the car breaks down and cell phones don’t seem to work. They come across an abandon house and break in, while searching around they find a car in the garage and decide to take it. One of the girls leaves her phone number just in case the owners return and find their car missing. Big mistake! Turns out that it’s the truck driver killer back for some more action and a whole new set of young adult travelers to mess with. They better listen up and do what he says or else one member of their party might end up dead as well as themselves.
The script was up and down with this one. The first act was filled with cliché one liners involving pop culture and the internet, cell phones and dumb decisions. Honestly, the whole first act was horrid. But then the second act got a lot better, more serious dialogue, crazy situations and decent character development. The story got better also, and it bought us back to that helpless feeling the first film did. So as the script goes, I have to look at this film like a two part movie, the first half which was full of pointlessness and the second half that had some suspenseful and unpredictable scenes.
As far as the acting goes, it’s the same as with the script, the first half of the film along with the witty dialogue made the performances look pathetic, but after we get passed all the trendy MTV lingo, the second half of the film provides us with some serious characters who’s lives are in danger, and the actors in this film did a good job in acting like their lives were at jeopardy in the hands of a mad trucker.
The movie does have some very good production value for a direct to DVD film. Usually studios will give the production team of a direct to DVD film the leftover sets and such from bigger pictures, such might be the case with some of the set pieces, but most of the the film looks like it was shot on location. The killers home looked like something out of your normal Texas Chainsaw Massacre like ranch in the middle of nowhere, and that’s fine because it works, however it is not the most original as it is something that seems to be the theme of ever killer’s place of residence lately. As far as the effects go, we do get some pretty decent Make-up effects and some car crashes, explosions and chase scenes. There is some slasher type torture scenes that do have that similar HOSTEL and SAW feel to them, especially a scene that involves the game of craps. I’m not going to say that the movie relies on it’s gore and effects to scare the audience, but it does have an effect. I think if you look at it from a certain point of view however you’ll find that this movie relies more on it’s psychological effect to scare it’s audience more than it does it’s kill scenes and gore.
Overall, JOY RIDE 2: DEAD END is not anything special, I can see a lot of hardcore horror fans being turned off by this film within the first ten minutes of watching it. You need to let the first act pass by, and then watch the second half of the film where the real story begins and all the annoying trendy clichés go out the window, and the real horror begins. I personally think it’s not as bad as a lot of other people are saying it is. It has it’s up and downs but the second half is pretty decent and worth watching if your local movie chain has nothing great in terms of thrillers to watch.
The DVD has a few features such as a behind the scenes featurette about the making of the film, there is also a featurette on the make-up effects of the horror scenes called “Blood and Guts” as well as a Storyboard-to-Scene Comparison. Not a lot of features but it’s a decent disc.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
