Rest Stop (2006) (V)

Director:

John Shiban

Writer:

John Shiban (written by)

Release Date:

23 July 2007 (Greece)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

The film follows Nicole Carrow, a young woman who is threatened by a maniac serial killer, after her boyfriend Jess, is abducted in a rest stop.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Highway Rest Stop | Truck Stop | Stapler | Foot Torture

Cast

Jaimie Alexander	...	Nicole Carrow
Joey Mendicino	...	Jess Hilts
Deanna Russo	...	Tracy Kress
Diane Salinger	...	The Mother (as Diane Louise Salinger)
Curtis Taylor	...	The Ranger
Joseph Lawrence	...	Officer Michael Deacon
Gary Entin	...	Twin #1
Edmund Entin	...	Twin #2
Jennifer Cormack	...	College Student
Mikey Post	...	Scotty
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Childers	...	Father

Also Known As:

Rest Stop: Dead Ahead (Australia) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

80 min | 85 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:R21 | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (cut) | Portugal:M/16 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

Flame Ventures

Goofs:

Continuity: Nicole cuts her arms several times through the movie, yet when you see the insides of her arms in other scenes, most of the time she doesn't have a scratch on her and other times she has a really horrible gash in a place where she wasn't cut before.

Movie Connections:

References Superman (1941)

Soundtrack:

All That Remains

Yet another "hurt-merchant in the middle of nowhere" offering.

*minor spoilage*

It's a shame to see the current state of horror movies...just useless crap built around graphic images of people being cruelly tortured to death. Once upon a time, films like BLOOD FEAST and BLOODSUCKING FREAKS were at least shocking, but today it's all just business as usual(a disturbing thought, really, but save that rant for another time)

Enter REST STOP...an ambitious indie movie in the above-mentioned category, but not a particularly GOOD one, wherein a runaway and her lover meet their grisly fate at a roadside toilet. Along the way, we are introduced to characters who appear and disappear mysteriously, lending this film a slightly supernatural slant(the only element which distinguishes it slightly from other titles of it's type)

Amidst the "fight for your life" thrills, witness an atrocity exhibition of tongue-cutting, flesh-drilling, bone-crunching torture...graphic scenes intended as the "highlights" in films of this type, and they are potent, indeed. Still, REST STOP succeeds only in the gross-out department...all else fails(aside from the performance of the leading lady...her acting, while strained at points, is distressingly believable despite her character being poorly written)

The worst part of it all is the frustratingly non-resolute finale, and any bit of intrigue this film presents is sadly nullified by it.

A mean-spirited amateur attempt, at best. 3.5/10