Movie Info:
Writer: John Shiban
Director: Shawn Papazian
Cast: Richard Tillman, Jessie Ward, Graham Norris, Joey Mendicino, Julie Mond, Brionne Davis, Diane Salinger
Rating: Unrated
Studio: Warner Home Video

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: Direct to DVD
DVD Release Date: September 30, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $13.99

I normally don’t watch sequels before I watch an actual movie, but that is just how it happened with the Rest Stop movies. I initially saw Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back and then a few days later, I saw Rest Stop. I decided to wait until seeing both of them before writing this review. I’ve given it a few days and let the movies and their messages sink in.

I like a good horror movie, but sadly, there aren’t too many of those anymore. I wasn’t sure whether I’d like Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back or not. It is a sequel movie and generally, sequels aren’t nearly as good as their predecessors. It is important to watch these in order merely because you pick up on more in two once you know what happens in one. Still, the two movies are made with two distinct storylines connected by a back story. If you took that connection out, Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back could stand on its own. That’s why I don’t think I like one more than the other. While both were decent movies, I can’t say they are the best I’ve seen.

What I liked most about the original Rest Stop had to be Joey Lawrence (who is virtually unrecognizable – I had to IMDB to find out it was him). It’s always nice to see what Blossom’s brother is up to these days, and he did well in the movie in the role he had. Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back obviously doesn’t have Lawrence in it, but it still is nasty fun. The creepiest part of the story is what is discovered about the people in the trailer, who are seen in the original Rest Stop, but their purpose isn’t really explained in that movie. The entire beginning of the sequel is enough to give me the heebee jeebees, and I’ve been watching horror movies since I was five.

Beyond that, the acting isn’t too bad. The story is suspenseful enough to keep me going. Some of the scenes are a little disturbing and while the lead girl is kind of annoying she isn’t so bad that I wanted to stop watching. Marilyn (Jessie Ward) is a bit of a bitch, especially to her boyfriend Tom’s (Richard Tillman) annoyingly nerdy friend, Jared (Graham Norris). Of course, the guy was kind of a douche, so I couldn’t fault her too much. Either way, the movie isn’t going to win any awards, but then again, it’s not that bad.

The Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back Plot
Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back happens a year after the end of Rest Stop. The story revolves around three young adults. Tom Hilts (Richard Tillman), a soldier on a ten day leave from the military returns home and intends to find his missing brother, the protagonist of Rest Stop, Jesse (Joey Mendicino). Jesse and his girlfriend Nicole (Jaimie Alexander in the original and Julie Mond in the sequel – I prefer Alexander myself) have disappeared and Tom sets out to find them.

Tom’s girlfriend, Marilyn (Jessie Ward) and his nerdy, geeky friend, Jared (Graham Norris) go with him. Of course, Marilyn won’t let Jared ride in Tom’s truck, so he comes along in his own, falling apart piece of crap vehicle. Of course, Jared has an ulterior motive for coming along. He has been in love with Nicole for a long time. He’s desperate to find her because he thinks he actually has a chance with her.

The three head out west, taking the same general trip that Nicole and Jesse took on their quest to head to California, where they planned to live. Along the way, they stop at a gas station, where the shifty owner initially says he’s never seen Jesse or Nicole, but later recants his story. They head down the road where Jesse and Nicole found the rest stop and they are separated from Jared due to his burrito lunch.

With Tom and Marilyn at the rest stop, the two wait for Jared, looking around for a sign Jesse and Nicole stopped there. The Driver in the yellow truck is lurking around, after he attacks Jared at a nearby port-a-potty. He heads to the rest stop to kidnap Tom and leaves Marilyn alone to discover want happened to Jesse and Nicole, all while trying to find Jared and Tom.

In the meantime, Marilyn encounters the creepy people in the trailer. The Mother, Father, twins, and creepy little freaky son from the first movie are back and in the very beginning of the movie we learn exactly who they are, who the man in the yellow truck is and what both their purposes are in this movie.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back offers a 1080p transfer with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. This transfer can best be described as gritty. There are some grainy spots, but that just seems to go with the look and feel of the film. There is a good amount of detail throughout the film, which adds a lot considering this is a horror movie, so the look and feel are going to be very important. The image is sharp, too, which doesn’t hurt. The only bad part, and this isn’t a huge complaint, is the specks that are visible enough to notice, but light enough to not be completely problematic.

Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back is sporting a TrueHD soundtrack that is packed as tightly as one could hope. The score is strong, the dialogue is easy to hear, and the sound effects have the kick you would want a horror track to offer. As in other horror movies, there are a number of sounds that are placed in the film to add onto the fear and push things to a higher level until the climax is reached. It’s a solid track overall and that isn’t anything to complain about. In addition to the main audio track there are Dolby Digital tracks in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Subtitles are also included in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Surprisingly, there is not one special feature on this disc. I am pretty sure that the DVD had some features, so this is even more shocking. I know that often times, sequels like this do not receive a lot of attention. Still, if the standard DVD had some features, one would think that they could have at least ported them here. Either way, Warner disappoints.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
I had not seen the first Rest Stop when I watched Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back, so in the beginning I had no clue what to expect. Come to find out, this sequel wasn’t so bad. This is not the kind of movie that is going to be in anyone’s top movie of the year list. That being said,I did like it. I would even go as far as to recommend it. Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back has a sort of charming (in a horror sense) appeal to it. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out. You don’t need to see the first one before this one, though it won’t hurt as there is a back story there. Either standard or Blu Ray is fine, though the Blu Ray version is so affordable, you might as well choose it in BR for the slightly better quality.

Overall Rating:

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