Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (2008)

*Get a physical copy of "Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Joy Ride" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Joy Ride 3: Roadkill" on Amazon here*
*Get a physical copy of "Duel" (1971) on Amazon here*

A belated straight-to-video sequel to the 2001 sleeper hit directed by the same guy who directed "Bats"...what could possibly go wrong?

Melissa (Nicky Aycox) and Bobby (Nick Zano) are an engaged couple headed to Vegas, driving in an old station wagon with Melissa's sister Kayla (Laura Jordan) and her internet boyfriend Nik (Kyle Schmid). Nik is a Goth jerk, and succeeds in getting the group lost in the desert. They break into a derelict farmhouse and "borrow" a car, leaving their phone number so they can make amends once they find civilization again. It turns out the house belongs to the psychotic truck driver known as Rusty Nail (played in the shadows by Mark Gibbon), and he stalks the foursome to get his prized car back.

I remember seeing the original "Joy Ride," but nothing about the film stuck with me. I do remember it being a little more intense than this. This film was shot in British Columbia, which does NOT make a convincing stand-in for the deserts of the southwest United States. Morneau's direction is pedestrian with the exception of one or two imaginative scenes, but the script is a mess. The film may have worked better as a dark comedy since we have been sitting through this type of back roads suspense for decades. The cringe opening scene is an unsubtle exposition dump, before boring the viewer for the next half hour. Schmid plays a jerk too well, as eventually I came to hate Nik, and only hoped the worst for him. The foursome find themselves in incredibly stupid situations (the funeral home scene is especially ridiculous), so there's little tension to be had. All the highway horror tropes are here, including the stupid character behavior and violations of most laws of physics and speed limits.

The "Joy Ride" franchise limped to its thankful conclusion with "Joy Ride 3: Roadkill," but with today's penchant for remakes and reboots, I'm sure "Joy Ride: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?" is on some Hollywood executive's desk as we speak.

Stats:
(2008) 91 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Louis Morneau
-Written by James Robert Johnston & Bennett Yellin based on characters created by Clay Tarver & J.J. Abrams
-Cast: Nicki Aycox, Nick Zano, Kyle Schmid, Laura Jordan, Mark Gibbon, Krystal Vrba, Kathryn Kirkpatrick, Rob Carpenter, Gordon Tipple, Gardiner Millar, Rebecca Davis, Daniel Boileau, Lyle St. Goddard, Mackenzie Gray
(Unrated)- Physical violence, some sexual violence, gore, strong profanity, some nudity, strong sexual references, adult situations, some drug use, strong tobacco use, alcohol use