Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer.
A group of hotheaded street racers are on their way to the Road Rally 1000. As they drive through a desolate shortcut on the way to the race, a man starts tracking, teasing and torturing them until the end of the road.
Director:
Declan O'Brien
Stars:
Ken Kirzinger,
Jesse Hutch,
Benjamin Hollingsworth
A married couple becomes stranded at an isolated motel and finds hidden video cameras in their room. They soon realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film.
College student Lewis decides to drive across the country to see Venna, a friend who doesn't know that Lewis is interested in her romantically. Unfortunately for his plans, Lewis gets saddled with his raucous-spirited older brother, Fuller, whose on-the-road pranks get the brothers and Venna sucked into a nightmare when a psychotic truckdriver takes offense.Written by
Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
As Lewis is looking at his map in the car, his finger follows the road from Red Rock past Green River and down SW. Director John Dahl's earlier motel based thriller was Red Rock West (1993). See more »
Goofs
When Fuller and Venna are outside the motel room, Fuller takes her key and uses it to open the lock. When he turns the key, the whole knob turns, indicating that the knob was never locked. (See Goodfellas for the same mistake.) See more »
It would be very easy to overlook 'Roadkill' (the title 'Joy Ride' is known by here in Australia), especially considering the leads are mainly known for asinine teen movies. But dig a little deeper and you will see that it is directed by the underrated John Dahl, also responsible for the crackerjack thriller 'Red Rock West' a decade ago. Paul Walker ('The Skulls') is very effective as your average joe college kid, and Steve Zahn ('Out Of Sight') is even better as his smart ass older brother. Zahn is a talented comic often better than the movies he appears in, and he is in fine form here. The chemistry between the two is believable and amusing without becoming tired. Leelee Sobieski ('Eyes Wide Shut') has yet to make much of an impact on me, and there's very little to change that here. She is passable but little more than eye candy as Walker's potential love interest. The real star of the movie is the mysterious and frightening trucker Rusty Nail ('The Silence Of The Lambs' Ted Levine). Of course the whole scenario is hugely indebted to Spielberg's suspense classic 'Duel', but Dahl and co. manage to put a fresh and exiting spin on familiar material. 'Roadkill' won't change your life, but it is a genuinely exciting and effective thriller, a real rarity in Hollywood these days. Hitchcock it ain't but it's a very entertaining popcorn movie with plenty of thrills and twists. Recommended.
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It would be very easy to overlook 'Roadkill' (the title 'Joy Ride' is known by here in Australia), especially considering the leads are mainly known for asinine teen movies. But dig a little deeper and you will see that it is directed by the underrated John Dahl, also responsible for the crackerjack thriller 'Red Rock West' a decade ago. Paul Walker ('The Skulls') is very effective as your average joe college kid, and Steve Zahn ('Out Of Sight') is even better as his smart ass older brother. Zahn is a talented comic often better than the movies he appears in, and he is in fine form here. The chemistry between the two is believable and amusing without becoming tired. Leelee Sobieski ('Eyes Wide Shut') has yet to make much of an impact on me, and there's very little to change that here. She is passable but little more than eye candy as Walker's potential love interest. The real star of the movie is the mysterious and frightening trucker Rusty Nail ('The Silence Of The Lambs' Ted Levine). Of course the whole scenario is hugely indebted to Spielberg's suspense classic 'Duel', but Dahl and co. manage to put a fresh and exiting spin on familiar material. 'Roadkill' won't change your life, but it is a genuinely exciting and effective thriller, a real rarity in Hollywood these days. Hitchcock it ain't but it's a very entertaining popcorn movie with plenty of thrills and twists. Recommended.