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Warner Home Video presents

Rest Stop: Don't Look Back (Blu-Ray) (2008)

“I tried to steer them away. I did. I told them I’ve seen a lot of sh**, and they’d better watch their asses. Or they’d end up sh** under somebody’s shoe.”- Gas Station Guy (Steve Railsback)

Stars: Richard Tillman, Jessie Ward, Graham Norris
Other Stars: Steve Railsback
Director: Shawn Papazian

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for Violence, gore, sexual situations, nudity and language
Run Time: 01h:29m:02s
Release Date: 2008-09-30
Genre: horror

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
D FCC- F

 

DVD Review

Somewhere between Silent Hill and Hostel lies Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back, a sequel to the 2006 direct-to-video effort, Rest Stop. I passed on the original simply because I’ve tried to curb my blind-buying habits over the past few years. It’s currently on my Netflix queue with about 400 other movies, so it’s going to be a while before I finally get around to seeing how this whole crazy saga got kicked into motion. Perhaps if Don’t Look Back had done a little to pique my curiosity I’d be in more of a hurry to brush up on the Rest Stop mythos, but as it stands, it’s going to be a while before I feel like journeying back to the titular destination.

We open in 1972, where we meet a mysterious family traveling across rural California in a Winnebago. They encounter a stranded motorist whom they promptly murder as part of their bizarre “cleansing” mission. The family gets their comeuppance immediately, however, when the motorist inexplicably rises from the grave and butchers them. Then, we flash forward thirty-five years and we’re onto the main story. It’s been one year since the events in the first film and Jess and Nicole are still missing. Jess’ brother Tom (Richard Tillman), a soldier on 10 days of R&R, is convinced his brother is still alive, so he sets out to “retrace his steps” in the hopes of finding out what really happened. Tom is joined on his quest for answers by his girlfriend (and Nicole’s friend) Marilyn and third wheel Scotty.

Linear storytelling is abandoned almost immediately in favor of pseudo-surrealism and droves of nonsense. It doesn’t take long before our main characters are separated and targeted by a mysterious killer known only as "The Driver" (yeah, the same one that was offed in the pre-credits sequence). There’s also that pesky rest stop of the title which alternates between clean and dilapidated at any given moment and for no reason whatsoever. Ghosts, both good and evil, and a spooky gas station attendant stolen right out of The Hills Have Eyes are also thrown in for good measure.

Unfortunately, though, nothing gels. In the prologue we see The Driver butchered by the creepy Winnebago family. Why, then, do they seem to be in league with one another in the later narrative? The ghosts, victims of The Driver, appear before our main characters at various points and serve no real purpose. They all say things like, "you should’ve saved me.” I’m assuming this was intended to illicit chills, but director Shawn Papazian demonstrates he has no understanding of what makes a horror film work. Instead of generating scares he gets shrugs and sighs. Lots of them.

I could deal with the nonsense had the film merit elsewhere, but it doesn’t. Our three main characters run the gamut from bland to obnoxious and offer no good reason to root for any of them. Then there’s the astounding lack of common sense that belabors each one. Take the scene where the most unnecessary of the characters stops to use the bathroom: He’s almost rundown by The Driver while using an outhouse. Instead of hurrying to catch up with his friends, he stops to wash his clothes and even finds the time to have sex with a bloodied woman who has been missing (and presumed dead) for a year. It’s an example of the non-writing that’s painfully evident in each and every scene of the film. These characters never come close to resembling real people and the situations are even more ridiculous.

The story seems like something that a ten-year-old might have written, insofar as it tosses in so many elements that add up to absolutely nothing. Late in the game we find out that the only way to stop the madness is to locate a cache of severed eyes and destroy them. Why? Who knows. Does it work? Not really. But if we’re dealing with ghosts, why is Tom able to cut loose on the Driver’s truck with an M-16 and blow it to smithereens? Furthermore, why does Tom have a machine gun packed away in his truck? I guess we’re supposed to assume that it’s because he’s in the service. I’ve got two friends enlisted who’ve never once returned home packing an assault rifle. Nice job, script.

So maybe there’s some good gore to overlook the shortcomings of the script and direction? Nah. Aside from a few messy close-ups of drills slicing up thighs and legs there’s not much here. In fact, every death occurs off-camera and far too late in the proceedings to generate any scares and tension. And while we’re at it, you can forget about suspense. There isn’t a modicum to be found in these 89 minutes.

Don’t Look Back is preposterous in its execution. Apparently the first film didn’t involve any supernatural elements. Why, then, does this sequel go off the charts with ghosts, curses, and more tomfoolery than I can cover in this review? Did the filmmakers really think anyone out there was clamoring to learn more about The Driver? It’s not like horror fans were abuzz with praise for that guy after the first film. It’s like someone making a sequel to Hide and Go Shriek with the intent to delve into the backstory of the killer. Ummmm … thanks? It’s also fascinating to consider what the filmmakers deemed an acceptable explanation for the Driver’s evil. Once you see this guy in the opening scene as a redneck drunk whose literally caught with his pants down, it’s sort of hard to fear the buffoon in the rest of the film. Also, why the hell is his truck a ghost!?!?

I can’t think of any reason to recommend this. As a horror film it fails on every level. It’s not quite terrible enough to illicit unintentional laughter (actually, it is, but I still don’t suggest it). Things are left wide open for a third film, but if anyone could genuinely express interest in another trip to that old California rest stop after this debacle, they are a better person than I.

Rating for Style: D
Rating for Substance: F

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio2.40:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicyes


Image Transfer Review: Inconsistent. Most of the outdoor scenes offer a sharp image with lots of texture and detail. The same can not be said for the interiors. It's here where the blacks become crushed and detail isn't as available. This is a reasonable way to view the film, but the high def image isn't terribly flattering.

Image Transfer Grade: C
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
Dolby Digital
TruHD
English, French (5.1 only), Spanish (5.1 only)no
SurroundEnglishyes


Audio Transfer Review: My favorite thing about horror films in HD is often the audio tracks. TruHD tracks are very capable of recreating jumps just as effectively as a theatrical experience. The track offered on this disc is a bit of a disappointment, though. For a TruHD track, it seems largely confined to the front and center speakers, springing to surround only in those instances where a "jolt" is necessary. The standard 5.1 track is simply pathetic, lacking any semblance of audio texture. Of the two tracks, go with the TruHD one, but even that disappoints.

Audio Transfer Grade: C- 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 20 cues
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish with remote access
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extras Review: Strangely enough, the standard DVD release of Don't Look Back does contain some extra material. I have no idea why it was all jettisoned from this release, but this Blu-Ray is as barebones as they come.

Extras Grade: F
 

Final Comments

Bland and illogical to the nines, Warner's Blu-Ray presentation of Rest Stop: Don't Look Back is an underwhelming offering for a lousy film. I can't recommend a rental, much less a purchase.

Matt Serafini 2008-10-06