We are barreling through the month of October at breakneck pace, and in honor of that speed, today’s entry is all about the film “Joy Ride”. “Joy Ride” is a 2001 American thriller written by the now iconic J.J. Abrams along with Clay Tarver. Before LOST, before Cloverfield, before possibly ruining Star Trek movies, J.J. was in the horror business! I must say this is actually my favorite project J.J. has ever worked on.
“Joy Ride” stars Paul Walker and Steve Zahn with appearances by Leelee Sobieski, and Buffalo Bill himself Ted Levine. Paul Walker plays Lewis, a college student who is involved in some type of long distance love affair with a girl named Venna (Sobieski). They stay up late at night talking on the phone, wishing of more adventurous days. It’s through this wishing that Lewis comes up with the idea of taking a road trip to see Venna and finally getting himself out of the friend zone. Lewis cashes in all he’s got and buys a pretty decent clunker (71 Chrysler Newport), complete with an old fashioned CB radio. Almost as soon as his road trip begins he receives a call from his brother who is in jail and needs bailing out. Being the good brother he is, Lewis arrives to bail his brother out. His brother Fuller (Zahn) is clearly the less responsible of the two, and really has nothing to his name. He begs Lewis to take him along for part of the trip, and with some hesitation, Lewis allows it.
The two brothers embark on the road trip and to kill the boredom they start using the CB Radio. The brothers begin chatting it up with local truckers, mostly to find out cop locations and incoming weather. While doing this the two notice a particularly creepy trucker named Rusty Nails is monitoring the channel. Fuller, being the goofball he is, decides to mess with Rusty. Fuller begins to pretend he is two different truckers, a male and a female. He communicates back and forth with the two personalities and tricks Rusty into thinking these are two separate people. Almost immediately Rusty becomes attached to the female trucker that Fuller is voicing. Fuller finds this hilarious, while Lewis is the logical apprehensive one. This leads to Fuller crossing the line and setting up a fake meeting between Rusty and “Candy Cane”, which will have devastating results. Fuller gives Rusty the room number of a rather rude fellow the two had met earlier in the movie, thinking it will produce hilarious results. Unfortunately for the brothers, this prank triggers a homicidal maniac and Rusty soon figures out who’s behind it.
For the remainder of the movie the brothers are chased by Rusty in his semi-truck and have many close calls. It’s very similar to the film “Duel”, another car horror classic. After pleading with Rusty through the CB radio, the boys think it’s over, but Rusty subjects the boys to a series of mental games, and exacts his revenge. At one point Rusty even involves Lewis’s beloved Venna in his games. The entire film is pretty much a nonstop tense car chase and the scary vibes rely heavily on the eerie voice of Ted Levine. I can’t think of anyone better to play Rusty. Levine’s voice is so unsettling and the things the character says will send chills down your spine. The final confrontation is also quite intense and not quite what the viewer expects.
The film itself is shot beautifully and the use of colors are pretty unique. You will notice a green tint to the hotel they stay in, which provides a sense of discomfort, and then at the end it switches to red lighting to match the intensity of the climax. The cinematography and the voice of Rusty are really the two best things about this film. Eric Stoltz and Eric Roberts also auditioned for the role of Rusty, but after watching this film several times, I could never imagine that. I believe the casting director made the best choice possible. Paul Walker as Lewis is fine, and Steve Zahn as Fuller is quite lovable. Fuller has many shining moments where you really feel for his character and the distance he has from his own family. If you weren’t a Steve Zahn fan before this film, you will be after it. The film also features a lengthy alternate ending, so if you are unhappy with the ending on the DVD version, you can probably youtube the alternate one.
Overall “Joyride” provides a more detailed perspective on the classic horror film “Duel” and shows just how scary being on the open road can be. The idea that the guy in the car behind you could easily be a homicidal maniac is disturbing to think about, but entirely plausible. The film was popular enough that it’s actually spawned 2 straight to DVD sequels, though I would not recommend those.
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