Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead

I felt tormented watching this film. Not that it was a bad film, but it was really hard to rate. For example the opening scene was soo awesome! Then I got to meet a few of the main (somewhat cheesy characters). Then I liked the acting of a few from their group. I mean they were a group of quirky people. There was pretty good dialog in this movie, which almost shocked me at first. This movie also had some cool twists. Not in a twisted ending type way, but more like "wow that was pretty messed up" kind of way. There also wasn't a huge build up. Nothing really jumped out at you. There wasn't anything terribly original or cliché about this film. If you want to see a decent movie you can watch it. I wouldn't go out of my way to see it, but if you cant think of anything else go ahead. I say if you want to watch a movie similar and yet better than this, watch Duel! Now thats a suspenseful movie.

I loved Joy Ride. It was a very amusing and well balanced thriller that you were pleasantly surprised to admit you enjoyed, and that is really the only reason I gave the sequel a chance. Well, if this would have been given a different title, quite honestly people would have thought immediately while viewing that it was a rip-off of the first. Except for the same killer, nothing resembles the first, which goes back to my summary of how it is a slap in the face. I would have appreciated minor acknowledge to the first in some shape or form, but sadly I did not receive that. I know though how most sequels of this caliber are quite mediocre and disappointing, so I guess that is allowed to be my major disappointment for this one.

Still, with that peeve stated, I rather enjoyed this. It was very entertaining and, in ways, very smart and cunning where you did not think it would be so brilliant, but I am not exactly calling this a masterpiece thought-provoker with those words at all. I also thought it had decent and interesting characters enough to where you were actually amused with the story, though at times a lot of them were very faceless due to the casts' lack of strong acting ability, though I honestly can't state that I was expecting that in the first place. Also, the plot was very acceptable, to say the most. The movie entertains, and it was a satisfying enough sequel to a very great first. Certainly don't be expecting it to live up to Joy Ride if you are going to watch it, though/

Cheese is a matter of taste. Some people like strong Cheddar. You can even get seriously strong Cheddar. It's the same with skiing. Extreme skiing is not for everyone.

Extreme horror is not for me. I think many enthusiasts would regard this as being mild horror. Oh well, it's strong enough for me. Not really up my street. I prefer monsters and the supernatural, but this film is well-produced, well-acted and delivers the good.

The usual tradition with teen slasher films is that the teens are not very nice from the first and we perversely do not wish them well. Here, for a change, three of the people involved are eminently decent. There is an annoying character but he is the agent of the action. Fair play to him, he acted well through several different emotional situations.

The villain is appropriately sadistic. A kind of Johnny Cash, I would say, and everything Johnny Cash represents in my limited world view.

Production values good. A limited play set but the pieces are handled well.

Oh, the scene where the irritating Facebook guy doesn't want to do something is very good. That's where he's arguing that he doesn't want to buy something. I've been in that situation and the Joy Ride version is very true to life.

While the original "Joy Ride" was a classy, suspenseful and stylish film, its direct-to-DVD sequel, "Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead," goes more for the gore and cheap thrills, playing as sort of a cross between the first film and films like "Hostel" which derive much of their horror from placing their characters in excruciatingly uncomfortable situations.

In the original film, we had characters we cared about, who found themselves at odds with an unstable trucker known only by the handle Rusty Nail after a seemingly innocent prank. Here, the characters -- as cardboard as you would expect from a cash-in sequel -- seem to be making as many poor decisions as they can at every turn and are just begging to be a part of Rusty's game. Rusty himself, who has been re-cast from Ted Levine to Mark Gibbon, comes across less-human than before and seems to have an even meaner streak. Here, the attempt is made to cast Rusty Nail as some sort of franchise villain, worthy of carrying future films on his back, but unfortunately, the film adds nothing new to the character's mythology or motivations. He's just a mean guy who can't be reasoned with.

In spite of its flaws and the fact that it can't hold a candle to the original, "Dead Ahead" gets a pass for delivering some decent thrills and for attempting to milk some tension in its final act. Also, the actors seem to be trying to deliver more than just the stereotypes they were written as, and for that, they should be commended. For the most part, it works, and to be honest, there have been much, much worse direct-to-DVD sequels in recent memory. It's also a bit tough to follow-up such a strong act as the first, so with that in mind, you'll be able to turn off your brain and enjoy a ride with "Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead."

While driving to Las Vegas for the bachelor party of her sister Melissa (Nicki Aycox) and her fiancé Bobby (Nick Zano), Kayla (Laura Jordan) stops the car in the gas station to meet her date Nik (Kyle Schmid) that she met in Internet. Nik convinces her to take a secondary road under the protest of Bobby and the car stops with melted engine. They find a house in the middle of nowhere and decide to take the car parked in the garage to the next city, and return with a rented car to pay for the damages provoked by Nik; Melissa leaves her cell number. However, they discover that the owner of the place is the sadistic truck driver Rusty Nail (Mark Gibbon) and they have to pay a high price for what they did.

"Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead" has a stupid story using with elements of "The Hitcher" and "Duel" with the pretext of sadism. Unfortunately the argument is too silly and never works. When Bobby is abducted, for example, the attitude of Melissa is ridiculous since they knew where the deranged driver lived. Rusty Nail is unreasonably omnipresent and indestructible and the conclusion with the intention of a sequel is also awful. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Perseguição 2 – O Resgate" ("Pursue 2 – The Rescue")