Review of Joy Ride (2012) by Shaun M — 18 Jul 2009

I was really impressed by how good this movie was. Obviously it will be compared to Duel, and while that comparison is understandable, I think it has enough to distinguish it. The unseen killer is so effective, and John Dahl builds suspense so well that at one point I was actually taken aback by how on edge I was feeling.

Steve Zahn is always watchable, and Paul Walker manages to not be terrible in it. They are just two guys who make a silly mistake, and I never felt that they became cartoonishly stupid like characters in this type of movie can often be.

I've only seen two of John Dahl's films, but I like him a lot. Like John Carpenter, he is an A level talent who chooses to work with B movie material, and he elevates it to a level it may not have had any right to reach.

Of course JJ Abrams working on the script helps as well.