After forays into film noir, thrillers, dramas, and even documentaries, director John Dahl tries the teen horror genre on for size. Paul Walker stars as Lewis Thomas, a college freshman embarking on a cross-country road trip during summer break to pick up his girlfriend Venna (Leelee Sobieski). Along for the ride is Lewis' brother Fuller (Steve Zahn), a practical joker who uses the car's CB radio to play a cruel prank on a lonely trucker known only by the handle Rusty Nail. The victim of Fuller's gag turns out to be a psychotic murderer and soon the brothers are being pursued by the relentless stalker, who gets his revenge in gruesome fashion. Joy Ride, which co-stars Matthew Kimbrough, was produced under the working title "Squelch." ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
Creepy, thrilling and tense. Much better than Duel. My only complaint is that Ted Levine was the voice of the crazy stalker truck driver. So when you finally saw the lunatic why did they find some less than frightening guy to play the part when Ted Levine would have been more credible? Hey, Ted can a play serial type better than some portly redneck. After all ... he was a pretty scary Buffalo Bill.