Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead
Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead is a 2008 American horror film and the sequel to Joy Ride (2001). The film was directed by Louis Morneau and stars Nicki Aycox, Nick Zano, Kyle Schmid, Laura Jordan and Mark Gibbon. The film was released direct-to-video on October 7, 2008. It was followed by a sequel, Joy Ride 3: Roadkill (2014).
| Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Louis Morneau |
| Produced by | Connie Dolphin |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Characters by J. J. Abrams Clay Tarver |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Joe Kraemer |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Mike Jackson |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
The film begins at a truck stop where a prostitute gets into a large, black Peterbilt and offers her "services" to the trucker inside. The trucker is revealed to be Rusty Nail. He asks the hooker to go out into the rain to get wet. She is unnerved by his strange behavior and tries to leave, but Rusty Nail locks the doors and tells her to leave through the open window. He traps her in the window with half her body outside the truck. Rusty takes off, decapitating the hooker as he drives alongside another truck trailer.
Meanwhile, Melissa and her fiancé Bobby are on a cross country road trip to Las Vegas, to get married. Joining them for the ride is Melissa's sister Kayla. Along the way they pick up Kayla's online boyfriend Nik.
When their car breaks down in the desert, the four find an abandoned house. In the barn is a silver 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle in working order with a full tank of gas. Melissa and Bobby are reluctant to take the car but, due to Kayla and Nik's persistence, they relent. However, Melissa leaves a note in the house with her contact details for the owner of the car.
The next day, Melissa receives a phone call from the person who owns the car they stole: it’s Rusty. He calls Melissa "Goldilocks", revealing that he can see her. Soon after, Bobby disappears from a diner restroom. The others find a CB radio in the car, through which Rusty Nail orders them to destroy their cellphones and obey his orders if Bobby is to survive. Rusty Nail promises them that they will all be reunited. He requests for Kayla to cut off her middle finger, giving an earlier incident when she had flipped off a trucker who turned out to be Rusty. The group heads to a mortuary hospital, where Kayla cuts a finger from a corpse. Rusty, knowing they have broken the rules, cuts off Bobby's finger and puts it in the glove compartment of the Chevelle, where it is eventually discovered by the group.
Rusty soon pulls up at a bar in Utah, and Bobby tries to escape. He gains the attention of a barman but Rusty catches him and uses a chainsaw-chain to cut off the barman's jaw. He then commands Nik to walk through a party, dressed as a female hooker, to buy crystal meth. In the process, Nik gets kidnapped by Rusty. Melissa and Kayla chase them in the Chevelle. Rusty manages to ram the car several times, overturning it with his truck. Kayla's leg is pinned and she is killed when he backs up and rams the car again but Melissa escapes.
Rusty takes Bobby and Nik back to his home and has them play a sadistic game of dice. In this game, Bobby's kneecap is struck by a hammer with his nipple branded by the letter R, while Nik is killed with steel bar through the top of his head. Melissa breaks into a police station, steals a motor bike and races off to find Bobby. Melissa finds them and uses the motor bike to distract Rusty. She repeatedly hits him in the back with a shovel. As she drives away in his truck, the trailer disconnects and leaves Bobby behind. Rusty manages to grab on to the side of the truck and climb on the roof. She jumps from the truck as Rusty takes control, but it's too late. He drives off a cliff and the truck explodes on impact. Bobby escapes from the trailer and meets back up with Melissa.
Later, a girl's car has broken down. A big truck drives past her and stops. As the truck door opens, it is revealed that the driver has a badly burned arm. The girl climbs in and a familiar voice is heard, revealing that the driver is Rusty, having survived the explosion. The film cuts to black as Rusty's laugh is heard.
Cast
- Nicki Aycox as Melissa Scott
- Nick Zano as Bobby Lawrence
- Laura Jordan as Kayla Scott
- Kyle Schmid as Nick "Nik" Parker
- Mark Gibbon as Rusty Nail
- Krystal Vrba as Lot Lizard
- Kathryn Kirkpatrick as Big Wheels Waitress
- Rob Carpenter as Trucker #1
- Gordon Tipple as Trucker #2
- Rebecca Davis as Woman Stuck in Snow
- Daniel Boileau as Bald Trucker
- Lyle St. Goddard as Kenny Chesney (credited as Goofy Looking Truck Driver)
- Mackenzie Gray as Bartender
- Sean Tyson as Drunk Trucker #1
- Chris Kalhoon as Drunk Trucker #2
- Gardiner Millar as Mortician
- Colette Hills as Female Corpse
Development
Originally titled Joy Ride 2: End of the Road in promotional artwork, Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead was filmed in British Columbia, Canada, at Cache Creek, Kamloops and Vancouver.[1]
Like the original film, Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, although unlike the original it was direct-to-DVD.
Release
The film was released on DVD on October 7, 2008 in the United States and opened at #9 at the DVD sales chart, making $1,492,635 off 62,000 sold DVD units. As per the latest figures, 200,000 units have been sold, translating to $4,307,361 in revenue. This does not include Blu-ray sales/DVD rentals.[2]
References
- Cameron McGaughy, "Review of Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead," DVD Talk (September 28, 2008).
- "Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (2008) - Financial Information". The Numbers.