DVD Review: Rest Stop
Rest Stop – Unrated (2006)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: October 17, 2006
Directed By: John Shiban
Cast: Jaimie Alexander, Joey Mendicino, Deanna Russo, Joey Lawrence
Review By: Marc Patterson
My first impression of Rest Stop was less than stellar. Surprisingly, I remember the very moment. I caught a full-page magazine ad. The ad featured a bloody and near topless nubile being run down by a truck that was lit up like it was full of piss ass drunk rednecks out poaching deer on a Sunday night. Here’s the slogan if you haven’t seen it: “The First Stop on the Road to Hell”. You don’t need to convince me. I believe it. My eye continues down the page and the ad heralds our young vixen, Jaimie Alexander, as “One of Penthouse Magazine’s 20 Hottest New Stars”. Well, isn’t that just the fucking honor? Next comes the all time kicker. Joey Lawrence. You mean Joey “Whooah!” Lawrence from that wretched television show Blossom? Yep. That’d be the one.
Well, I don’t think I need to tell you that I wasn’t off to a great start. Then came the trailer. I watched the trailer with much skepticism, spitting out snarky comments like I had suddenly channeled the lost soul of David Spade. But you all know me by now. I love pain and this film looked like a bowl of self-deprecation. I was completely set up for a pile of shit that only a mongrel coy dog could churn from its twisted innards. I couldn’t wait to dive in.
Jess (Joey Mendicino) and girlfriend Nicole (Jaimie Alexander) are two young, naïve, fresh out of high school teens running off and leaving Texas behind for beautiful sunny California. Los Angeles here we come! Things start to go wrong when Jess catches a bit of road rage after being nearly run off the road by some crazy in a yellow pickup truck (flashback to Jeepers Creepers). Well, the yellow pickup disappears and our journey continues. Jess manages to get lost while taking a short cut and we all know what happens when you leave the main road (Hills Have Eyes). Nicole being the girl she is needs the use of a ladies room. Jess finds a less than pristine rest stop and pulls off. And we keep seeing that damn yellow pickup truck.
Nicole, emerging from the ladies room discovers Jess has disappeared, and left her behind. But has he abandoned her? The only help nearby is in the form of a whacked out family residing in a lone RV (think Texas Chainsaw Massacre hits the road). With sixty miles in either direction Nicole has to face down the family and then take on the mysterious man in the yellow truck if she plans to survive and get her boyfriend back.
So, was Penthouse right? Is Jaimie Alexander one of the 20 hottest new stars? Jaimie Alexander is one heck of an actress, for horror that is. She steals the scene when she’s in it, and can scream like a banshee. My only real problem with her acting is that in the early bathroom scene, she actually sat down on the toilet without puking. Let me back that up though to give you the full effect. Think of the most disgusting, vile, vomit inducing public toilet you can imagine. And then see yourself walking in with not so much as your gag reflex tripping out. Then, just waltz into a stall, pop a squat, and let it flow. Come the fuck on! The director equally deserves to be slapped for letting her get away with that.
Aside from Miss Alexander’s acting, it can naturally be assumed we’re going to see some tits. I mean, after all, what horror flick about a raging psychopath with his good ol’ boy pickup truck wouldn’t be complete without a gratuitous sex scene? My only problem is that this one featured someone far more endowed than Miss Alexander is. I may be a bit of a sucker, and a guy who never got a masters degree, but when it comes to boobies, I have a PH fuckin double D. I know my shit, and you’d have a hard time convincing me of anything less than a body double. Go ahead – prove me wrong.
Titty’s and toilets aside, Rest Stop had a lot going for it. First, while not entirely unoriginal, this film has more allusions to other films that look/sound/feel the same as. Nonetheless, it managed to stay compelling and interesting. Despite the inherent predictability, and the fact that I was constantly one step ahead of the on-screen action, I didn’t turn away. There were a few times when the acting became over the top, (see Joey Lawrence), but when the film started to veer in that direction, it came back fairly quickly.
The production values were shockingly top notch. The film looked great, sounded great, and was visually fun to watch. The gore was surprisingly nasty as well. Granted, the torture scenes in the old school bus nodded a bit too blatantly in the direction of Hostel, but were effective anyway.
Director John Shiban manages to successfully utilize all the elements, twists, and turns a great horror film should contain. Nevertheless, something felt lacking. Something felt ripped off. Something felt like it just wasn’t complete. Without a doubt Rest Stop could have been a solid 3 ½ star film should it have backed away from some cliché motives, and employed a bit more originality in story and structure. But, what do you expect from a guy who’s made his career writing material for FOX and the CW? Despite the overused clichés the film still delivers. It manages to be raw, even if the grit was a bit slick. Overall, it was sharp and snappy, with a satisfying ending.
The DVD didn’t feature much in the way of extras. Being that part of the marketing was the big “direct to DVD” push, I would have expected a bit more. The main feature of the extras is the three alternative endings. None of them are very good, and rightly sit where they deserve, on the cutting room floor.
If you feel like this review is one big ass backhanded compliment, then you’re reading it right. I’ll admit it. But listen. For me, it’s all about entertainment value, and the bottom-line, folks, is that it is indeed entirely possible to have a great time with this film. If you like your horror quick and easy, and just a little bit sleazy, then Rest Stop might be the next Friday night flick for you.
Brutal As Hell Rating:
2 ½ out of 5
