Joy Ride (Paul Walker)

REVIEW
The open highway provides a sturdy backdrop to terror, but eventually it's the human element of Joy Ride that takes it slightly off course. Director Dahl, no stranger to producing a thrill or two (The Last Seduction, Red Rock West), begins the ride with a solid set-up, introducing two estranged brothers, Lewis (Walker) and Fuller (Zahn), beginning a cross-country trek to pick up Lewis' girlfriend Venna (Sobieski). Bored on the open road, they play a prank on a trucker with their CB radio: Lewis pretends to be a woman and arranges a rendezvous. However, things take a horrific turn when the trucker shows up and murders the customer staying at the prearranged motel room. Then the jilted would-be lover sets out to exact revenge against the siblings - and Venna. Joy Ride keeps its momentum throughout most of the film, maintaining a good amount of suspense for the first hour. Afterwards, though, the film steers its way towards the routine shadings of the slasher genre, unable to fully capitalize on the ingenuity that started it all.