Joy Ride (2001 film)

Joy Ride is a 2001 American psychological horror film directed by John Dahl and starring Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, and Leelee Sobieski. The screenplay by Clay Tarver and J. J. Abrams follows two brothers and their childhood acquaintance who are terrorized by a psychopathic killer after pranking him on their CB radio during a road trip.

Production on the film began in July 1999. Casting was extensive, with multiple actors considered prior to Walker and Zahn signing on. Principal photography took place in Nevada, California, and Utah. It was produced by Regency Enterprises, Bad Robot and LivePlanet.

Joy Ride, premiered at the 26th Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2001, and was released in the United States on October 5, by 20th Century Fox. Although it only performed moderately at the box office, grossing $36.6 million on a $23 million budget, it received generally positive reviews from critics and was nominated for Best Action, Adventure, or Thriller Film at the 28th Saturn Awards.

In the United Kingdom, the film was released under the title Road Kill, and as Roadkill in Australia. Joy Ride spawned two direct-to-video sequels, Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (2008) and Joy Ride 3: Roadkill (2014).