Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead

Back in 2001, when J.J. Abrams was moving from Felicity to Alias, he penned a little thriller called Squelch that was intended to be a starring vehicle for young Helen Hunt look-alike Leelee Sobieski, who at the time was a hot commodity. Several re-shoots and production problems later, the film was renamed Joy Ride, given a different ending and dumped into theatres in mid-October with a minimal push. Surprisingly, however, Joy Ride wound up being a tense and effective little thriller about the danger of playing mind games with those we underestimate. Nothing about it really suggested that a sequel was warranted or even necessary, however. Nevertheless, like another failed Leelee vehicle, The Glass House, a straight-to-DVD addition has now been made with a sub-standard script and lacklustre direction, which in the case of Joy Ride 2 comes from Bats auteur Louis Morneau. Some scenarios are creative and brutal, and a couple of the leads show far more promise than what’s usually on display in outings like this, but the film is mostly forgettable if not entirely awful. Similar to the original, it follows two lovebirds — Melissa and Bobby (Nicki Aycox and Nick Zano) — as they travel across country with Melissa’s sister Kayla (Laura Jordan) and her disruptive internet boyfriend Nik (Kyle Schmid) to attend a bachelor/bachelorette party. When their car breaks down, they decide to bust into the nearest house and steal a ride, which inevitably belongs to a serial killer named Rusty Nail. With the aid of his rig, Rusty pursues the plucky youngsters, deriving pleasure from the many sadistic trials he puts them through. The DVD includes brief "making of,” "storyboard” and "make-up” featurettes that examine the difficulties of shooting in a colder climate, a rushed shooting schedule and how the gore effects worked. They are typical but above average for straight-to-DVD fare.