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Joy Ride
EMAILPRINT20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 31 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 44 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Clay Tarver
Jeffrey Abrams
Directed by: John Dahl
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 5, 2001
DVD: March 12, 2002
Running Time: 96 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for violence/terror and language
Starring Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski, Matthew Kimbrough, Jim Beaver, and Rachel Singer
A contemporary thriller that finds darkness laced with humor in the heartland of America. (20th Century Fox)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Rounders The Great Raid The Last Seduction
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Turns out to be the most unnerving film of the year. Easy.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Climb into this rig and you'll be sweating bullets.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
If you're looking to have your nerves fried and your pulse pounded, this is your ticket to ride.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Terrific escapist fare, stylish, outrageous and compelling.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jessica Winter
Redoubtably hilarious as always, Zahn also lends his character unpredictable flashes of anger, pathos, and faint psychosis, even when the movie jumps the median from ticklishly discomfiting black comedy into by-the-numbers horror jolts.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
A horror film that doesn't wear out a moment of its welcome.
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
There is a kind of horror movie that plays so convincingly we don't realize it's an exercise in pure style. ''Halloween'' is an example, and John Dahl's Joy Ride is another.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The potential for action never lets up; you never know what's coming around the next corner.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Skillfully crafted, flawlessly paced, intellectually challenging tension of classics like "Bad Day at Black Rock."
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Zigzags across the conventions of genre, occasionally driving on the shoulders of black humor -- it's a road movie for the way we process suspense today.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly F. X. Feeney
Director John Dahl ("Red Rock West," "The Last Seduction") has a pronounced knack for snap reversals and out-of-the-blue shocks.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Anthony Lane
The director, John Dahl, has no intention to baffle or obscure; his objective is to scare the living daylights out of you, or, more pertinently, the dying headlights.
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
The kicker is that Joy Ride is funny, too. In fact, it would be a superbly frightening entertainment if not for the way Dahl fixates, disturbingly, on sadistic details.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
In noir, everybody's guilty, and that's one of the pleasures of Joy Ride. The three youngsters aren't exactly innocent.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
It's a snazzy, smartly made, and even hip little scarefest. As a jump-start to Halloween, it's all you could hope for.
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Joy Ride is also surprisingly funny, thanks mostly to Zahn.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
There's good pulp and bad pulp, and for most of its duration, Joy Ride is quality stuff.
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Joy Ride is plenty spooky but there's also plenty of comic relief -- mostly from the perennially goofy Zahn.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
A really satisfying suspenser, but also really, really fun.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Some of the plot twists don't really stand up to close scrutiny, but the sometimes over-the-top Joy Ride plows through them with such joyful glee, you don't really care.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
There's plenty of scary pleasure to be had from this clever, compact thriller.
The New York Times Dana Stevens
Much more effectively terrifying than the usual overplotted, underwritten Hollywood thriller.
Read Full Review >New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf
Manages to be both astoundingly derivative and reasonably entertaining at the same time.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
Even at its best, Ride never survives its shaky opening hook.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
At some point in this endless thriller the suspense turns into an extremely unpleasant ordeal that Dahl doesn't know when to stop.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
Pure, irrational, claustrophobic, gritty, unpretentious.
Film Threat Heather Wadowski
Despite its few flaws, Joy Ride does take viewers on one hell of a ride. It's one of those rare films that manages to take an overused plot and breathe some sort of creativity into it.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The sequel-ready twist at the end is a letdown, but until then this is a neatly constructed nail-biter.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Dahl, who really does know what he's doing when it comes to investing a scene with both heebies and jeebies, is a notch or two above most.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
The picture is pinched and predictable. Even with the immensely talented Steve Zahn, an actor who's known to steal scenes and, sometimes, save pictures, the movie is a yawn.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 44 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
sneki r. gave it a7:
Brilliant (also their official cite) but it is litlle predictive.
Jake B. gave it a10:
I thought the girl was hot.
Norman O. gave it a10:
It had me ticked that the Truck Driver got away but the whole show had me in the pit of my stomache and I can't wait for the sequel!
Susi gave it a10:
I just love this movie! thrilling and also funny (just thinking of the scene where the 2 guys have to go naked in a shop) And all the bonus stuff on the DVD....it's all amazing!!! Really worth watching!!!
Amanda G. gave it a 10:
I thought this movie kept you on the edge of your seat. When is Joy Ride 2 coming out thought?
Raman G. gave it a 10:
Scary.
Stephanie L. gave it a 10:
I loved the movie! Very edge of your seat and has comedy and great actors. The ending was a bit confusing though...but i can't wait for the sequel.
