Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead

A slight cut above its direct-to-video horror brethren, Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead nevertheless suffers from many of the same problems that one tends to associate with low-budget efforts of this ilk – including scarcely-developed characters, derivative storytelling, and a sporadic emphasis on needless elements. The film follows four fun-loving youths (Nicki Aycox’s Melissa, Laura Jordan’s Kayla, Nick Zano’s Bobby, and Kyle Schmid’s Kyle) as they embark on a road trip to Las Vegas, with their ill-advised decision to steal a car from a seemingly abandoned garage placing them squarely within the sights of a vicious trucker known only as Rusty Nail (Mark Gibbon). There’s little doubt that Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead suffers from the absence of Ted Levine’s voice this time around, as the actor’s exceedingly menacing delivery certainly stands as one of the more overtly indelible horror-movie performances in recent years. And while Gibbon’s Levine impression is actually pretty decent, the actor is simply unable to capture the goosebump-inducing nuances of Levine’s sinister take on the character. It probably doesn’t help that screenwriters James Robert Johnston and Bennett Yellin seem to be going out of their way to transform Rusty Nail into a run-of-the-mill psychopath, as the shadowy figure’s rationale for pursuing the four central characters is awfully weak – while his newfound penchant for torture smacks of a desperate attempt to ape the success of the Saw and Hostel series. The uniform lack of compelling protagonists only exacerbates the film’s various problems, with Schmid, trapped within the confines of an obnoxious emo douchebag, offering up an unusually irritating performance that effectively forces the viewer to root for his demise (and his hopelessly bland costars don’t fare much better). Despite such deficiencies, however, Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead basically comes off as a watchable (if entirely forgettable) piece of work that’ll probably have a more positive effect on grizzled horror junkies.

** out of ****