About a year or two ago, I was sent the first REST STOP movie to review, right before it was about to première on the Sci-fi Channel in it’s cut version. Of course you always figure the uncut version will be better than the cut on television. In the case of the first film, to me it didn’t matter. Sure the first film had it good elements and many people gave it good reviews, I just didn’t care much for the overall story. The same can be said for REST STOP 2: DON’T LOOK BACK, for me this film is just a rehash of the first film with different characters looking for the characters from the first film.
REST STOP 2: DON’T LOOK BACK pretty much takes place a year after the first film does. In an effort to find his brother; Tom Hilts (Richard Tillman) and his girlfriend Marilyn Culve (Jessie Ward) along with their friend Jared (Graham Norris) go on a trip to the area where they were first seen. They come across a local highway joint and are told by the owner that there is a old highway, where an old rest stop is. He gives them directions and pretty much they get there, and the same thing that happens in the first film, begins to happen to them. The crazy guy in the yellow pick up trick. The religious nuts with the troll like midget kid, and of course the ghosts of the characters from the first film are all around waiting for new victims. It soon becomes a struggle for survival as the killer tries once again to take the lives of those who dare enter the rest stop.
The script for the movie is not half bad, although tit did start off very slow as an attempt to develop the one dimensional characters. I honestly were not feeling the characters in this film at all, and felt they were all expendable from the get go. However as the movie moved on, I did begin to like the characters and the script story did get better by the second act. The dialogue was alright, nothing special, just your normal horror movie dialogue most of which explained the plot of the movie as it moved along.
The acting was alright in the film. While I can’t say the performances were stellar, I did think Richard Tillman did a great job as Tom Hilts and Joey Mendicino was also good as his brother Jessie. The rest of the cast was just alright, nothing special in their performances, there were were even times where I noticed some of the actors seem to have been really trying not to laugh while saying their lines. But overall, nothing great, but nothing bad either within the films performances.
One thing that the first film, had that the second film does better is the production value. Not only are the sets very freaky and trashy looking, but the overall feel you get and the atmosphere, the way that the film is shot and of course all the special make-up and visual effects, all look good. Overall, the films production value was very good compared to most of the low to mid budget horror films out there.
Overall, my beef with REST STOP 2: DON’T LOOK BACK is that not only does it play off of the first movie plot, but it also tries to be a movie that seems to be going along with the trend of the torture film. This movie does have a few torture scenes that are pretty intense, with plenty of blood and gore along with the tongue ripping and drilling. As a film the story is alright, but I found myself getting into and them out of this one. While some scenes kept my attention, other’s made me drift. While I did like this sequel slightly better than the first movie, to me it’s just another one of those new trendy torture films to add to the pile. Nothing more, nothing less.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
