It’s rare that a horror sequel is decent. Rarer still that a
direct to DVD movie that received no promotion whatsoever that also happens to
be a horror sequel and has a ridiculous pun like “Dead Ahead” for a title is
not only decent, but WAY BETTER than the first movie. Not just better, I’d say
it blows the first one out of the water. Within the first five minutes you get
a grizzly murder that makes one thing very clear: this flick is all sorts of
fucked up.
Normally I wouldn’t bother with a direct-to-DVD sequel. I’d
just assume it’s going to be terrible. But I caught this one on TV one day and
was shocked by how brutal it was. The only tie to the plot of the first one is
the trucker character antagonist. Is the acting great? Actually, it’s not bad.
They didn’t get any big names for the teenagers (you don’t have to deal with
Leelee Sobieski!), but they cast people that are convincing enough, manage not
to be over the top, and actually do a decent job of winning you over and/or
pissing you off when they’re supposed to. (One of the male characters is the
typical obnoxious asshole that you hate right off the bat, but you actually
feel REALLY bad for him near the end. An actor with less talent would not have
been able to pull this off.)
This is NOT the same trucker from the first “Joy Ride.” I
mean, it IS. It’s still “Rusty Nail.” They have a different actor playing him,
(though you never really see his face and the voice is similar so you really
don’t notice a continuity change.) But this version of the character is a much
more worthy and intimidating foe. He is a sadistic douchebag who delights in
murdering strangers. There’s none of that whiny, “But I wanted to talk to Candy
Cane! You mean Paul Walker’s SPOT ON impression of a sexy lady wasn’t actually
a sexy lady?!” stuff happening. And the writers at least gave Rusty a slightly
better motive this time for going on a little killing spree. Maybe not FULLY
justifiable for what he does, I mean he overreacts a TAD, but it’s certainly
more believable and less laughable than a horny old man defending his wounded
Dixie pride.
The stakes are much higher in this story. Remember in the
first movie, when Rusty Nail told Paul Walker and Steve Zahn, (poor, lovable
and underappreciated Steve Zahn), to walk into a crowded truck stop diner
completely naked or else he’d do something drastic? Oh, MAN! That’s like
something a college frat would do! Absolutely TERRIFYING! Well, this time he
actually asks things of the characters that not even the ballsiest drunken
college dick would be willing to try, even if the big man on campus was
watching. Without getting too detailed, for example: Would you cut something
off of your body to save someone close to you? Think about it. That SUCKS,
right? Talk about a deal breaker! That makes a relationship real awkward real
fast. Rusty Nail is playing a twisted game with the teenagers this time around.
He wants them to suffer for his own enjoyment, because that’s just the sort of
charming dude he is. I want to give you this warning, since I know there are
all sorts of different types of horror fans out there: there IS a very graphic
torture scene somewhat late into the movie, so if you have a weak constitution
for that sort of thing this may not be the horror flick for you.
One of the things I personally loved (that’s right, I said
it-“loved”), about this movie, is the way the characters think. These aren’t
your average dumbass teenagers getting chased by a psychopath and proceeding to
make the most frustrating decisions imaginable. They’re SMART. They actually
think things through and try to be inventive. Whether or not their ideas work
is up for you to find out, but it’s refreshing to see a movie, with female
protagonists no less, in which you DON’T find yourself wanting to yell at the
people involved for doing insanely dumb things. You actually sympathize.
I always try not to get too spoilery with my reviews,
because the primary intention of this blog is to encourage people to watch
these movies. (Except for the one or two here and there that I may HATE. But
those are rare.) So I’ll just mention a few more things without ruining them
for you. There are some pretty ballsy, extreme things in this movie that really
impressed me. Have you ever seen someone be murdered with just the chain from a
chainsaw? Not like THIS, you haven’t! Also, if you sit down to watch this movie
prepare for a little bit of an emotional shot to the chones because while I
consider myself capable of being somewhat heartless sometimes, one or two of
the kills made me think “Wow, I can’t believe they went there.” Brutal.
My only issue with the movie, really, is the ending. But I
guess it’s tough in Hollywood when you’re writing a direct-to-DVD horror script
and you’re expected to please a studio by following certain money-making “rules”
for the genre. There’s not a lot of wiggle room for creativity. Horror can only
go so far with reinventing the wheel unless you’re working with an indie
studio, releasing the thing yourself, etc. I wasn’t expecting a groundbreaking conclusion
from this one. I still say it’s worth watching.
This movie gets 4 out of 5 Pints of Blood.
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