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Joy Ride

Joy Ride

Mystery · Thriller · Drama · 2001

Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer.

Movie details

Joy Ride

“It started as a joke. Now the joke is on them.”

2001 Mystery · Thriller · Drama 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Joy Ride?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Fallen

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The Client

The Client

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A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.

Stolen

Stolen

Crime · 2009

A detective becomes obsessed with solving a child's 50-year-old murder, uncovering striking similarities between the case and his son's disappearance.

They Drive by Night

They Drive by Night

Drama · 1940

Joe and Paul Fabrini are Wildcat, or independent, truck drivers who have their own small one-truck business. The Fabrini boys constantly battle distributors, rivals and loan collectors, while trying to make a success of their transport company.

Barron's Cove

Barron's Cove

Crime · 2025

When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician -- the father of the kidnapped boy.

The Iceman

The Iceman

Thriller · 2012

The true story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man.

Righteous Kill

Righteous Kill

Crime · 2008

Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?

Killer Joe

Killer Joe

Crime · 2012

A cop who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister.

Cape Fear

Cape Fear

Thriller · 1962

Sam Bowden witnesses a rape committed by Max Cady and testifies against him. When released after 8 years in prison, Cady begins stalking Bowden and his family but is always clever enough not to violate the law.

The Killers

The Killers

Crime · 1946

Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Dahl

Written by

J.J. Abrams · Clay Tarver

Steve Zahn

Steve Zahn

Fuller

Paul Walker

Paul Walker

Lewis

Leelee Sobieski

Leelee Sobieski

Venna

Jessica Bowman

Jessica Bowman

Charlotte

Stuart Stone

Stuart Stone

Danny (Lewis's Roommate)

Basil Wallace

Basil Wallace

Car Salesman

Brian Leckner

Brian Leckner

Officer Keeney

Court is in session

Put Joy Ride on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.