75
Metascore
31 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Baltimore SunChris KaltenbachBaltimore SunChris KaltenbachThe potential for action never lets up; you never know what's coming around the next corner.
- 80VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonHot-wired, white-knuckle thriller.
- 80SalonStephanie ZacharekSalonStephanie ZacharekThe kicker is that Joy Ride is funny, too. In fact, it would be a superbly frightening entertainment if not for the way Dahl fixates, disturbingly, on sadistic details.
- 80Washington PostStephen HunterWashington PostStephen HunterIn noir, everybody's guilty, and that's one of the pleasures of Joy Ride. The three youngsters aren't exactly innocent.
- 75Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezJoy Ride is also surprisingly funny, thanks mostly to Zahn.
- 75Chicago TribuneMark CaroChicago TribuneMark CaroThere's good pulp and bad pulp, and for most of its duration, Joy Ride is quality stuff.
- 75Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrIt's a snazzy, smartly made, and even hip little scarefest. As a jump-start to Halloween, it's all you could hope for.
- 75New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsJoy Ride is plenty spooky but there's also plenty of comic relief -- mostly from the perennially goofy Zahn.
- 70New Times (L.A.)Gregory WeinkaufNew Times (L.A.)Gregory WeinkaufManages to be both astoundingly derivative and reasonably entertaining at the same time.
- 60Film ThreatHeather WadowskiFilm ThreatHeather WadowskiDespite its few flaws, Joy Ride does take viewers on one hell of a ride. It's one of those rare films that manages to take an overused plot and breathe some sort of creativity into it.