Joy Ride 3: Road Kill

I enjoyed the first two "Joy Ride" movies, so I was definitely up to watching the third one when it came my way. But I found this entry to be somewhat unsatisfying. Now, I will admit it's far from the worst direct to DVD movie I've seen. It's not boring, the production values are okay (if somewhat restrained at times), and there is some serious splatter here and there. But something prevented me from enjoying what I saw. It may be that it takes a long time to get going after the admittedly wild pre-credits sequence. It may be because the youthful protagonists were annoying and lacking real personality. It may be because there are some confusing moments in the story. It may be because Rusty Nail in this entry seems more of a mindless psychopath instead of the scarily intelligent brute of the first two movies. It may be because the movie gives us several looks at Rusty Nail's face instead of hiding it like the first two movies. It may be because the atmosphere for the most part feels workman-like instead of building terror as it goes along. Whatever the reason(s) may be, I found it hard to sit back and enjoy what I was watching. If they make a "Joy Ride 4", I will give it a chance, but I'll be hoping the filmmakers will have learned from their mistakes from this one.

But not as good as the first. This entry finds a group of young people driving cross country on the way to take part in a race in Canada. They make a bad decision and take a detour down a road known for its disproportionate amount of disappearances. Of course we know this is the road traveled by Rusty Nail, the villainous trucker obsessed with both his CB radio and destroying anyone that dares insult him.

Our core group of young people cut off Rusty Nail, played by yet another actor after the previous two entries. Here, it is Ken Kirziner, best known as Jason in Freddy vs. Jason. He's actually pretty good, although not as nearly as great as Ted Levine in the first. And Rusty is a much more present villain here, as we actually see him committing the violent acts that were usually kept off screen in the first movie. And the kills here are unique and genuinely creative, even impressive, especially for a straight-to-DVD flick directed by a guy that makes his living doing cheap sequels to theatrical releases.

I'll also say that the movie is fairly unpredictable and you generally won't know exactly who will die and when. The plot is less impressive, becoming repetitive and unbelievable as it goes. But it cleans up in the action-oriented and impressive finale.

The supporting cast is fair, the effects are pretty solid, and the movie is generally pretty good, if not great. The second movie, which made the dubious decision to try and force Joy Ride into the then popular "torture porn" sub-genre, was pretty terrible. This is actually pretty entertaining. I'd say give it a look. It's not a bad little movie.

Based on no less than 3 sequels in the "Wrong Turn" franchise, 1 sequel in the "Joyride" franchise and 1 bizarre creature-feature experiment called "Sharktopus", I think it's safe to assume that director Declan O'Brien will probably never win any Academy Awards, but you can definitely rest assured that his films deliver lots of deranged monsters/psychopaths, nauseating gore effects and excruciatingly painful on-screen death sequences! And, as I'm sure many horror genre fanatics will agree with me, sometimes those are exactly all the things you require in order to have a good time! Last weekend, I attempted to start watching no less than three other (more ambitious and classier) thrillers, but I was too tired and kept falling asleep. I had almost given up my desire to watch something, but then "Joyride 3" started on television. This movie didn't have any problems whatsoever to keep me awake and entertained, and sometimes that's simply the best possible compliment you can write about a horror movie!

The plot of "Joyride 3: Road Kill" – hardly an imaginative subtitle, by the way – is a non-stop spitfire of the most derivative and overused horror clichés. You know, there's even a variation on the good old-fashioned, mad-raving local who tries to warn the dumb kids not to take Highway 17! That scene certainly brought back a lot of fond 80s slasher memories! Every single one of the main and supportive characters are walking & talking stereotypes and the chronological order in which they are most likely to get slaughtered is easy to foretell from the moment they open their mouths. There isn't any tension building whatsoever, lots of stuff doesn't make any sense and there are numerous errors in continuity (unless you're willing to believe that giant cumbersome 18-wheel truck travels quicker than a race car). But the most crucial question to ask here is: does it all matter? No, absolutely positively not!

The simple truth is that "Joyride 3" is about a psycho-trucker who goes after a bunch of amateur street racers because they nearly drove him off the road. Well, in all likelihood he was going to go after them even if they didn't drove him off the road. While the group falls apart, our trucker – Rusty Nail – cheerfully massacres them one by one. The cool thing is that he uses his truck or assets the truck as murder weapon, so naturally it gets very messy! If you're a true gorehound, there are some marvelous rewind-sequences here. I like your movies, Mr. Declan O'Brien. That "Sharktopus" thing is an insult to the intellect to every living creature, but the "Wrong Turn" sequels are fun and so is "Joyride 3".

"You don't want to take that road, trust me." A group of street racers head off to a race and they stop in a small town for lunch. While there they ask what the quickest way to get to their destination is. When they are told to avoid the fast road because of its history they laugh and take it anyway. As a joke they decide to cut off a truck driver. This little action pits them against the dangerous Rusty Nail (Kirzinger). There really isn't a whole lot to say about this movie. The original was good and tense because it was new and different. A harmless prank that you could see yourself doing leads to something no one can imagine. Much like everything in the last 10 years if enough people like it a franchise begins. The second one was a bland version of the original and this one isn't much better. The thing that made the first one so interesting was the originality of it. This one has no surprises at all and you can see everything coming a mile away. All that said though because this is the third movie in the series and since it is a straight to video B-rate movie you really can't expect much more then that. Overall, exactly what you would expect from the third movie in a series that didn't need a sequel to begin with. I give this a C.

The movie would have been better if they didn't make the driver and his trucks supernatural. The truck driver could be in several places at once and his trucks were faster than anything on the road and were practically indestructible. I just think they could have made it more believable without losing too much.