Rota Mortal: Não Olhe para Trás

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")

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...

Who in their right mind would green light a sequel to Rest Stop? And from a major studio. Ok, I have another question, but I know the answer. How is it possible to make a movie worse than the original Rest Stop? A: You can't. I'm giving this sequel an extra star for a couple things I appreciated: They go back and explain the origin, as well as exactly what was going on in the first movie. Also, seems like they were allowed to use real equipment this time, as this movie looks rather good. So, things make slightly more sense, but are there any good ideas? Absolutely not! Rest Stop: Don't Look Back is full of unintentional laughs, has some embarrassing performances, a silly curse (and resolution to it), plus a comically bad villain ("The Trucker"). Why did they give him a fake moustache? He looked like a dork. Assuming, he's supposed to be menacing. The actor they used is not intimidating to begin with.

So, it's a year after the first film, and the original couple, Jesse and Nicole, were never seen again. Jesse's brother Tom comes back from Iraq, and vows to find them. Along for the ride is his girl, and... Jared. 13 minutes into this thing, and I realize this insanely annoying character is in it for the long haul. At one point, Tom rescues Jesse... and BAILS! Leaving the other two behind to fight for themselves (in a losing battle).

Let's see, they really amp up the torture porn, so be warned. Also, this score blew as much as the first one (same person, who has gone on to a highly successful and prolific career, composes and conducts orchestral scores! Nowhere to be found here). Yeah, scratching on a low E string... real creative.

By far, the best part of this movie is the bible thumping family in the RV, who are given an expanded role, on the road looking to punish all sinners (and in the wife's case, get off as much as possible -- she is ecstatic in proving someone is sinful). I sort of liked the alternate ending better. The ending they used was just a setup for another sequel. The alternate was low key, and anti-climactic, but the idea was there (not even an original idea, but the one they went with was kind of dumb).

This follow up for the original "Rest Stop" is fast paced, entertaining, humorous (Jared taking a crap and being ambushed by a truck by later getting a crap shower! in the likes of "Slumdog Millonaire" or the having sex with a ghost scene), and gory at some points.

The plot twist that worked in the original tries to repeat the success in this sequel but it didn't make an impact at all.

The whole explanation towards the legend of death is pretty interesting and gruesome if you take in account the opening murder. The creepy twins, the midget, the sexual sadistic mother, and the preacher; now that's material for a b-direct to video sequel. The gore is just good and it's all about eye gouging and stabbings. The acting is just regular by the standards of these kind of movies.

The lead actress is pure hotness! Most of the characters are likable, heck even Jared. I liked how it kept connected with the events of the original.The "ends here" line was pure gold and gave a darker tone to the movie.

Watch it if you're fan of direct to video horror. It has the "b" feeling all over it.

The ending left me wondering "what the hell?!". And I'm sure a sequel is on it's way. But for the better it should "ends here".