The big picture

• Joyride
  features a strong cast, with Paul Walker in the role of the serious man and Steve Zahn in the role of the comedian.
• Ted Levine delivers an outstanding performance as Rusty Nail, creating a terrifying and relentless villain.
• Written and directed by JJ Abrams,
  Joyride
  impresses with high tension, a character-driven plot and unforgettable thrills.

In 2001 Paul Walker was on his way to superstardom. He had consecutive supporting roles in hits from 1999 Blues And One of a kindand the first Fast and the Furious The film had just been released, with Walker and co-star Vin Diesel received most of the praise for the film. But it wasn’t yet the blockbuster franchise we know and love today, so Walker continued to star in smaller projects. One such title brought him to prominence just months after the release of The Fast and the Furiousbut it’s a totally different kind of thrill.

Joyride Walker plays Lewis, a college student traveling with his brother (Steve Zahn) to pick up a friend (Leelee Sobieski) for the summer holidays. On the way, the two brothers play a prank on CB radio, after which they are mercilessly pursued by a semi-trailer driver (Ted Levine). Co-authored and produced by J.J. Abrams at the beginning of his career Joyride is a thrilling, terrifying road movie with a perfect cast, strong characters, and a villain who isn’t just the mindless killing machine that is so common in this genre.

Paul Walker plays the heterosexual against Steve Zahn in “Joy Ride”

Paul Walker was known for his boyish charm, usually they play the role of best friend and stuffy characters like Skip in Located in Pleasantville, 1.4 km from Pleasantville Beach. (before he became a member of Vin Diesel’s adventurous family, of course). He is no different in Joyridewhere he plays a college student in California with has a crush on his childhood friend. He is so innocently in love with Leelee Sobieski’s Venna that he agrees to pick her up during the summer vacation, even though he has no car and Venna is attending college in Colorado. Frankly, Lewis is too sweet a character to be so interesting alone, so Joyride spices things up by adding a supporting character who is the exact opposite of Lewis. Enter Steve Zahn as Fuller, Lewis’ chronic failure of an older brother who has just been released from prison in Utah (and not for the first time). Zahn is a comedic actor and at the time of Joy Ride’s release, was known for playing Slackers, as well as Walker was known for his roles as charming best friends.

The styles and personalities of the two actors are very differentbut that’s exactly what the cast does. Zahn is perfect for the brash and obnoxious Fuller, but just as Walker’s Lewis would be too stuffy on his own, Fuller would be too over-the-top as the sole lead. Together, however, they complement each other effectively: Paul Walker’s calm and steadfast demeanor fits well with Zahn’s hyperactive antics. And Zahn’s character serves as a much more believable catalyst for the prank that leads to the suspenseful stalker element of the film.

Ted Levine is criminally uncredited as the voice of the villain in “Joy Ride”

Speaking of stalker elements: Joy ride has an absolutely outstanding villain in Rusty Nail, played by Ted Levine. Levine, who played the terrible Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambshas a very deep voice with a distinctive growling quality that is perfectly suited to an antagonist whose presence is almost entirely represented by a CB radio. Rusty Nail is a truck driver who is pranked by Lewis and Fuller by pretending to be a woman who wants to meet and have a tryst with Nail. He goes to a motel to meet the nonexistent “Candy Cane” but instead finds an unsuspecting man and Things quickly become much more violent than the brothers intendedAfter putting the man into a coma, Rusty Nail begins stalking Lewis and Fuller, communicating with them via the CB radio in their car.

Apparently, Rusty Nail takes his revenge to the extrememutilates and even kills passers-by to torment the brothers. But there is still a clear line between their prank – which even Lewis admits was cruel immediately after the act – and Rusty’s relentless stalking. This separates Joyride from other road horror films because The antagonist has a clear reason for wanting to hunt the brothersIn films like The Hitcher, the antagonist is just a deranged killing machine. In the case of duelthe motive is so unimportant that the killer is not even seen; he is just a faceless driver at the wheel of an omnipresent truck. Senseless violence and an inscrutable mind can, of course, make for a brutal kind of fun; but Joyride really takes its road horror premise to a new level by building up the antagonist just as much as his protagonists.

“Joy Ride” was written and directed by JJ Abrams

On paper Joyride sounds like a perfectly normal summer slasher for teenagers. The cinemas are always full of young, pretty people on the run from crazy murderers, and most of the time these films are quickly forgotten. But Joyride stands out as one of the better examples, partly due to the casting but also the script. The tension remains high, the pace hardly lets up and The characters are the driving force than bloody murders. And that really shouldn’t be a surprise; these are all trademarks of JJ Abrams, the author and producer of Joyride. Shortly after writing the blockbuster Armageddon but only a few years earlier Lost made him a household name, Joyride is a prime example of what JJ Abrams does best – building suspense and memorable characters. This is all the more impressive because this is only the sixth film JJ Abrams has ever worked on. Watching it now, it’s easy to understand how he has carved out such a successful Hollywood career.

Joyride is not a one-trick pony that relies on a unique aspect to make it worth watching. IIt’s a hit on virtually every level, from the chemistry between Paul Walker and Steve Zahn to the strength of the villain. In fact, it delivers exactly what its title promises: a thrilling yet terrifying journey that will make you look twice at every semi-trailer you see on the road from now on.

Joyride can be streamed on Paramount+ in the US.

Watch on Paramount+