Rest Stop: Don't Look Back

I wasn't particularly impressed with the 2006 movie "Rest Stop", after having sat down not too long ago to watch it, so I was in no particular hurry to watch the 2008 movie "Rest Stop: Don't Look Back". But I mustered up and sat down to get it over with, you know, like yanking off a bandage from a deep wound.

The storyline in "Rest Stop: Don't Look Back", as written by John Shiban, was a fine mess of a scrambled heap of an inconsistent one if there ever was one. The narrative made little sense, and there were plot holes so big that I am sure the city depart of roads were ready to roll out and cover them up. I especially enjoyed how the brother named Jesse could just manage to disappear from a moving vehicle at a blink of an eye, but even more impressive was the fact that his brother didn't even go looking for him. I could go on with the lazy writing and plot holes here, but it is so bad that you have to watch it yourself to take it all in.

Was it the same actors and actresses from the 2006 movie? I don't know. Nor do I really care. Because both movies were subpar entertainment. But at least I can check them off of my watched-movies-list.

Visually, then "Rest Stop: Don't Look Back" has a little bit of gore and visceral mayhem, but nowhere enough to make up for all the shortcomings of the movie.

This is by no means a movie that will ever grace my screen a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend horror fans to waste their time, money or effort on. But hey, having a sequel as bad as the predecessor must count for something, huh?

My rating of director Shawn Papazian's 2008 movie "Rest Stop: Don't Look Back" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.

I realize I may be in the minority liking the first, then again the IMDb boards seem to be there only to complain.

Rest Stop was a bit of slasher with a ghost story thrown in. There were several places where you just kinda went "oh...didn't see that coming". In part 2, it seems like they tried to duplicate those, but after seeing the first one, they didn't have the oh-wow value.

The ghost sequences were all pretty obvious (sans one) and the whole Family is a known from the first one so that wasn't a surprise.

As for the background they tried to give the people from the first one, while somewhat interesting, it just didn't seem to fit or feel quite right. One can only hope that if they make a third one it will all payoff. However, they need to finish the story instead of trying to keep stretching it out as it's getting a bit thin and there will not be much more you can do with the story.

If you liked the bit of gore from the first one, this one has taken it up a few steps. If you like the spooky atmosphere, that is there, but not as present as the first one. If you like old Ford trucks, you're in luck!

One year after the disappearance of Jesse and Nicole, Jesse's brother Tom (a corporal in the Army, fresh on leave from Iraq) and two friends are on the trail. Although the police were unable to do anything, these three quickly stumble on the same path from a year before... encountering the religious family, the driver... and more. Will they meet the same fate? I really enjoyed "Rest Stop" and seeing that the same people -- most of the original cast (Jaime Alexander is noticeably absent), plus John Shiban and Shawn Papazian -- had returned, I figured this one couldn't be too bad. But my feelings are mixed. While some of it was pretty good, other aspects came across as lacking. I'll start with the defects and then go back to the merits.

The casting confused me. Both Tom Hilts (Richard Tillman) and his friend Jared (Graham Norris) weren't overly likable, and they came across as awkward. I had no interest in caring about them. The girlfriend (Jessie Ward) was good as far as being the "sexy chick", but beyond that had little to offer. Was I supposed to care about her? The other big concern was that while the creators had said they wanted to expand the mythology of the first film, almost every scene was covering the same territory all over again. It's true that new details about the driver emerged, and there was some added mythology, but not really enough to make this film seem progressive.

My final concern was the use of torture. I understand torture was used in the first film on the bus, but it seems like it was increased for this flick. For no particular reason. Having one character be turned on another? Excruciatingly painful incidents that do little or nothing in punishing sin, as near as I can tell. If you're going to use torture, use it sparingly. The torture meme has taken over horror and I have been sick of it for some time now... it's not scary, it's just getting played out and boring.

But the film is not without its merits. There's a great bathroom scene... an intense sex scene which could have gone further but goes pretty far as it is... and more of those creepy twins. The use of gritty filming (like in "Devil's Rejects") returns, which I think adds a lot of character (and should be used more, not less). And for those who liked the first film, this fills in some blanks that may have been lingering in the minds of viewers.

Overall, "Rest Stop: Don't Look Back" was not a necessary part of the series and could have gone without being made. I feel that for what was added, it wasn't nearly enough. At the same time, the film sets the stage for a "Rest Stop 3", since now there's bound to be questions needing answers for some people. I'm curious. I don't know if they can adequately answer my concerns about the plot, but they have my endorsement if they are willing to try. Just please... more plot, less torture.

I'm in a minority here, but I really enjoyed the movie.

The gore scenes were pretty good, a few good jump-scares, and just creepy and fun scenes make it a fun movie to watch. Very weird, hard to understand and a lot of problems with it, but it's better than the first, and at least worth a rent.

One of my main problems is the characters were annoying, and I often kept wanting to smack Marilyn across the face.

But, considering a lot of the straight-to-DVD crap that gets put out, this was an okay film that I actually enjoyed, maybe a little more than I should have...

The corporal Tom Hilts (Richard Tillman) returns from overseas to his hometown Argyle, Texas, for a ten days leave with the intention to seek our his brother Jess (Joey Mendicino), who disappeared one year ago while heading to California with his girl-friend Nicole (Julie Mond). He drives his truck with his girlfriend Marilyn (Jessie Ward) and followed by his friend Jared (Graham Norris) in his old car to California trying to track his brother. While in the old highway California, Jared needs to stop his car in an old rest stop to go to the toilet and is attacked by the driver of a yellow truck. Meanwhile Tom and Marilyn wait for him in the next rest stop where Tom is also attacked and kidnapped by the driver of the yellow truck. Marilyn sees the ghost of Nicole in the restroom and realizes that they are facing supernatural evil forces.

"Rest Room" had a good premise but the writer did not know how to end the story. However "Rest Stop: Don't Look Back" is a disappointing mess, with a non-likable lead characters – Tom, Jared and Marilyn – and an invincible sadistic ghost. The greatest "attraction" of this flick is the sick tortures inflicted by the driver to his victims, removing eyes and drilling knees and legs, with lots of gore and pain. But the plot itself is very weak and worse than in the original movie. My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "Rota Mortal: Não Olhe Para Trás" ("Mortal Route: Don't Look Back")