Joy Ride (2001 film)

Joy Ride is a 2001 American horror-thriller film directed by John Dahl and written
Joy Ride
by J. J. Abrams and Clay Tarver. The film stars Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, and Leelee
Sobieski. The film follows after three university students and friends going out to a
ride on the highway and eventually coming into a terrifying conflict with a
mysterious yet murderous truck driver.

Contents
Plot
Cast
Production
Alternate footage
Release
Box office
Critical response
Sequels
References Theatrical release poster

External links Directed by John Dahl

Produced by J. J. Abrams
Chris Moore
Plot Written by J. J. Abrams
University students Lewis Thomas (Paul Walker) and Venna Wilcox (Leelee Clay Tarver
Sobieski), Lewis's childhood friend and crush, prepare to go home for the summer Starring Steve Zahn
holiday. Lewis offers to come by Venna's campus (they go to different universities) Paul Walker
to drive her home instead of both of them flying back; Venna happily agrees. After Leelee Sobieski
refunding his plane ticket to buy a 1971Chrysler Newport, Lewis calls his parents to
Music by Marco Beltrami
announce the change of plan and learns that his older brother Fuller (Steve Zahn),
the family's black sheep, has been arrested once again. Lewis drives to Salt Lake Cinematography Jeffrey Jur
City and bails out Fuller, who then tags along for the trip. Edited by Eric L. Beason
Scott Chestnut
At a gas station, Fuller has a CB radio installed on Lewis's car for $40, and the two
Todd E. Miller
begin listening in on truckers' chatter. Fuller coaxes Lewis into playing a prank on a
Glen Scantlebury
truck driver nicknamed 'Rusty Nail' (voiced by Ted Levine (uncredited)). Lewis
pretends to be a woman named Candy Cane and sets up a meeting with Rusty Nail in Production Bad Robot
companies Productions
the motel where Lewis and Fuller will be spending the night. Lewis tells Rusty that
"she" is in room 17, the room of an irritable businessman with whom Fuller had LivePlanet

earlier argued, but the guys are actually in room 18. When Rusty Nail arrives at the New Regency
man's room, an argument and sounds of a scuffle are briefly heard. The next Regency
Enterprises
morning, Sheriff Ritter announces to Lewis and Fuller that they found the
businessman on the highway, still alive with his lower jaw ripped off. Ritter figures Distributed by 20th Century
out the two are involved in the incident, but lets them go, as he already has his hands Fox
full, and they do not know anything other than the man's nickname. However, he Release date October 5, 2001
orders them to leave the state by sundown.
97 minutes[1]
On the road, Rusty Nail is heard again on the CB radio looking for Candy Cane. Running time 97 minutes[1]
Lewis talks to him and reveals that he is Candy Cane. Rusty Nail demands an Country United States
apology, but Fuller insults him, instead. Rusty Nail simply notes that they should get
Language English
their taillight fixed, indicating that he is right behind them, causing the duo to panic
Budget $23 million[2]
and speed up. At the next gas station, they unsuccessfully attempt to contact Ritter.
Seeing an ice truck pulling into the gas station, the already paranoid pair drives Box office $36.6 million[2]
away. The ice truck driver chases them down. However, the driver turns out to be
merely trying to return Lewis's credit card, which he left behind in panic. The real Rusty Nail then shows up in his truck and crushes
the ice truck and its driver. He then slowly pins Lewis's car against a tree. The two hysterically apologize, and Rusty Nail drives
away, declaring his actions to be simply a retaliatory joke.

Believing themselves safe, the brothers arrive at the University of Colorado and pick up Venna. They stop at a motel and drink at a
bar. Lewis goes to sleep, but Rusty Nail calls him, revealing he knows of Venna. The three flee the motel. Rusty Nail contacts them,
announcing that he has kidnapped Charlotte, Venna's friend. He directs them to a cornfield, where he gets them to split up, and
kidnaps Venna.

Rusty Nail sets up a meeting at another motel in room 17, mirroring the false date with which he was pranked. He sets up a trap that
will kill Venna if the room door is opened. Fuller attempts to get in the room by a window, but is injured by Rusty Nail and stuck
outside the room. Rusty Nail's truck appears uphill and begins rolling down towardenna's
V room. Lewis frees Fuller, and the brothers
save Venna just in time. As the police investigate Rusty Nail's truck, they see a dead body in the driver's seat and Charlotte, still alive,
on the floor.

Lewis, Fuller, and Venna are treated for their injuries at an ambulance. At this point, the dead man turns out to be the ice truck driver.
A CB in the ambulance is on, and the group hear Rusty Nail's voice, learning that he is still alive and free.

Cast
Paul Walker as Lewis Thomas Jim Beaver as Sheriff Ritter
Steve Zahn as Fuller Thomas Hugh Dane as Man at door
Leelee Sobieski as Venna Wilcox Jay Hernandez as Marine
Jessica Bowman as Charlotte Dawson Basil Wallace as Car salesman
Matthew Kimbrough (uncredited) as Rusty Nail. He is Rachel Singer as Gas station manager
credited after all cast and crew in Spanish as "Clavo" Satch Huizenga as Mr. Jones
meaning "nail".
Luis Crtes as Night manager
Ted Levine (uncredited) as Voice of Rusty Nail
Kenneth White as Ronald Ellinghouse
Stuart Stone as Danny, Lewis's roommate
Walton Goggins (deleted scenes) as Cop
Brian Leckner as Officer Keeney
Anna Malle (uncredited) as Cable TV porn actress

Production
In his screenplay for Joy Ride, J. J. Abrams was influenced by the first film directed by Steven Spielberg, Duel, and there are
numerous references to it. For example, in one scene, a seemingly maniacal ICE truck pulls up to a gas station that the brothers have
pulled up to. In Duel, a likewise maniacal truck pulls up the protagonist, and a small billboard for ICE is visible in the background.

The central antagonist, "Rusty Nail", remains almost entirely unseen throughout the film and was portrayed by hulking actor
Matthew Kimbrough in the brief shot of the villain towards the end of the film. Rusty Nail's voice heard on the radio throughout most
of the film was provided by veteran actor Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) due to his distinctive voice tone, and was added in
post production. Eric Stoltz and Sylvester Stallone also auditioned for the role of Rusty Nail.[3] Rusty Nail's truck is a359 Peterbilt.

Alternate footage
On the DVD release, there is a 29-minute-long alternate ending, and four other shorter alternate endings. The main one featured
Rusty Nail's shotgun suicide and numerous bodies are found by the police in his trailer. One featured Rusty Nail being arrested,
another being beaten in a fight with both Thomas brothers, another wherein he is blown up in his truck, and another saw Rusty Nail
run over with his own truck. The ending featured in the actual theatrical cut of the film is the only ending in which Rusty Nail lives.
There are also numerousdeleted scenes.

In the alternate ending where Rusty Nail's truck explodes, you can see a water tower behind the truck as it burns. The original
intention was to have the truck hit the water tower and have the water come down and put the flames out so that it would be
believable if Rusty Nail survived. However,time constraints kept the scene from being filmed. Thewater tower cost over $100,000.

Sobieski filmed two different romantic interludes, one with Zahn and one with Walker during the shooting and re-shooting of the
film. Both scenes ended up getting cut. This may explain why eVnna appears to be romantically interested in both of them.

Release
The film also goes under numerous other titles in other countries. In Australia, Sweden, Finland, Ireland and some other European
countries the film was retitled Roadkill, Never Play with Strangers in Israel and Spain, Radio Killer in Italy, Never talk to strangers
in Greece, Road Killer in Japan, (What a ride!) in Russia andMortal Frequency in Mexico.

The film went under the working titles ofCandy Cane, Highway Horror, Deadly Frequency, and Squelch.

Box office
Joy Ride opened theatrically on October 5, 2001 in 2,497 venues and earned $7,347,259 in its opening weekend, ranking number five
in the domestic box office.[4] By the end of its run, the film had grossed $21,974,919 domestically and $14,667,919 overseas for a
worldwide total of $36,642,838.[2]

Critical response
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 73% rating
based on 113 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's consensus states: "A well-constructed B-movie thriller, Joy Ride
keeps up the necessary level of tension and chills. Critics also liked Zahn's performance as the goofball older brother."[5] Metacritic
[6]
reports a 75 out of 100 rating based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Sequels
The film was followed by two direct to video sequels,Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead(2008) and Joy Ride 3 (2014).

References
1. "ROAD KILL (15)" (http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/road-kill-film). British Board of Film Classification. January 30, 2002.
Retrieved October 1, 2015.
2. "Joy Ride (2001)" (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=joyride.htm). Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie
Database. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
3. "Trivia for 'Joy Ride'" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206314/trivia). IMDb. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
4. "Weekend Box Office Results for October 5-7, 2001"(http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2001&wknd
=40&p=.htm). Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. October 8, 2001. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
5. "Joy Ride (2001)" (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/joy_ride/). Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved October 1,
2015.
6. "Joy Ride Reviews" (http://www.metacritic.com/movie/joy-ride). Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 1,
2015.
External links
Joy Ride on IMDb
Joy Ride at Box Office Mojo
Joy Ride at Rotten Tomatoes
Joy Ride at Metacritic

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