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Joy Ride (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:111
Fresh:82
Rotten:29
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: A well-constructed B-movie thriller, Joy Ride keeps up the necessary level of tension and chills. Critics also liked Zahn's performance as the goofball older brother.
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: Director John Dahl knows his way around a thriller as few contemporary filmmakers do. He revitalized the film noir with his darkly witty films, RED ROCK WEST and THE LAST SEDUCTION. With JOY RIDE,... Director John Dahl knows his way around a thriller as few contemporary filmmakers do. He revitalized the film noir with his darkly witty films, RED ROCK WEST and THE LAST SEDUCTION. With JOY RIDE, Dahl streamlines the plot and ratchets up the tension. Two brothers, Lewis (Paul Walker) and Fuller (Steve Zahn) are driving home cross-country. Fuller bullies Lewis into using the CB radio ("Prehistoric internet," Fuller calls it) to play a mean-spirited practical joke on a trucker, and it backfires horribly. The psychotic trucker comes after them, but they get away. Foolishly thinking they're out of danger, they pick up Venna (Leelee Sobieski), the girl Lewis has been pining for, on the way home. The mysterious trucker, who they know only by his CB handle, "Rusty Nail," goes further than they could ever imagine to exact his revenge. Zahn is pitch-perfect here, capturing both Fuller's charm and his stupid recklessness. Dahl builds the suspense beautifully, creating a real sense of being out on the highway in the middle of nowhere. The script, by Clay Tarver and J.J. Abrams, brings three strong characters to life with sharp, funny dialogue, fleshing out the bare bones of the plot. [More]
Starring: Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski, Jessica Bowman
Starring: Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski, Jessica Bowman, Stuart Stone, Basil Wallace
Director: John Dahl
Director: John Dahl
Screenwriter: J.J. Abrams, Clay Tarver
Producer: Chris Moore, Arnon Milchan, Patrick Markey
Composer: Marco Beltrami
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Joy Ride
Things are pushed over the top rather successfully, but breaking momentum is a pretty big mistake for movie that wants to wow us with ruthless efficiency.
...boasts a number of genuinely exhilarating sequences and set-pieces.
America's dark and lonely back roads are the prime location for stories about relentless, psychotic stalkers preying on the youth.
Nothing special -- it just devotedly does its job to give the audience a string of suspense scenarios.
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August 20, 2001:
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