The lesser known of all Bad Robot's movies to date, Joy Ride - released back in 2001 - was also the company's first production. Given that it's a movie with a car-based title and it stars Steve Zahn, Paul Walker and Leelee Sobieski, one would likely assume that this is some awful, straight-to-DVD schlock. Amazingly, that isn't the case: Joy Ride is a bit of an underrated gem, and a way better film than its cliche poster and B-list cast would have you believe. Penned by J.J. Abrams, it was clearly inspired by Steven Spielberg's '70s classic, Duel, which saw Dennis Weaver as a terrified motorist going up against a truck driver intent on running him off the road.; the plot of Joy Ride echoes is about three students who wind up being stalked by a psychopathic truck driver. It's purely an exercise in B-movie aesthetics and it doesn't have much depth to speak of, but it offers a few interesting things nonetheless: the plot keeps you gripped and there's an eerie tension that drives the movie to its final reveal.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
