User reviews

If only he hadn't bowed to cliché, Mr Shiban could have actually made a good film from this story. It was just different enough to keep you interested, so for the same amount of time, energy and money as was spent on this stinker, we might have had something good instead of eye-rolling.

Production-wise, it is as good as one could really expect from a hand-held camcorder, so he gets good marks there. It's really the script that's at fault, as the acting wasn't all that bad, either, considering what the actors had to work with.

I thought the days were long gone when we would see someone, finding a radio transceiver they desperately wish to operate, first turn every knob on the thing from end to end, bash it on top 6 or 7 times, and then expect it to work. This story is ruined by a continuous string of stupid moves by all the characters except the bad guy. It's as though we are thought to be too shallow to grasp all the plot devices, so they are all spoon-fed to us to make sure we get them.

I don't know about you, but that doesn't work on me. My attention ends up being occupied by the plot holes and over-dramatizations, not the story.

So, since I found this to be not so bad in the technical sense, I think Mr. Shiban should try again, only with a proper script next time; then he might give us something worth watching.

Young couple on the road, minding their own business and having casual sex in their car during broad daylight. Yet, suddenly, they're being menaced and terrorized by a deranged psychopath in an old and rusty pick-up truck. Hmm, where have I seen this premise before? Oh yeah, now I remember, we've seen this a THOUSAND times before already, and approximately nine hundred and ninety-nine of the other cases were much better than "Rest Stop"! This weak and pitiable new movie is insulting even to the intellect of the most undemanding horror fans, as it doesn't feature a single original twist or memorable gimmick. It's very sadistic and nasty, but every teenkill-slasher flick is sadistic and nasty nowadays, so that's no real surprise anymore, neither. The absolute main problem with this production is the incredibly large amount of dumb plot holes and meaningless sub plots. Writer/director John Shiban damn well realized that the ultra-thin basic storyline nearly wasn't enough to fill a whole movie with, and thus he stuffs up his film like a Thanksgiving turkey with imbecile and nonsensical padding material. Nicole's boyfriend vanishes at an abandoned and filthy rest stop in California. Killing off her character right away wouldn't result in a very long movie and thus she subsequently encounters a motor home family of freaks, suffers from visions (?) in which she talks to the deranged killer's previous victims and she has deeply emotional (and boring) conversations with a police officer who just won't die even though a truck ran over him...twice! The dumb sub plots never lead anywhere and they're definitely the most pathetic and desperate attempts to stretch a movie's length I've ever seen. Instead of all the pointless padding, Shiban should have paid more attention to building up tension and make his lead characters a little more likable. Jaimie Alexander's character Nicole is an annoying and brainless girl, and you won't really care whether she'll survive the ordeal or not. Her boyfriend Jesse as well as the cop are both whining losers and their brutal deaths still weren't painful enough, if you ask me. I counted exactly three sequences, all including torture and gratuitous mutilation, that were gory and exciting enough to bring a sadist smile on my face. That's still way too few for a nowadays horror movie. Basically, "Rest Stop" is simply a miserable attempt to cash in on the success of such films like "Wolf Creek" and "Hostel", but you're better off watching the originals. This was the first film of the new production company called 'Raw Feed'. They're promoting themselves as the new name in great horror, but they'll have to come up with something much better than "Rest Stop" if they want us to believe that.

I do not write reviews here often but I can not stand by and let other people suffer through this movie without a least trying to warn them. This movie is horrible and it is not because "I do not know what the director was trying to convey" or "I am too stupid to understand the plot"; this movie is horrible because of poor direction, screen writing and acting. This is the "trifecta" of bad move making and the reason the film was direct to video. It tries to be something like "High Tension", "Hostel" and "TCSM" with the lifting of some of those ideas but it just does not work. I did not have high expectations or even medium ones going into the film but was still very disappointed. It had potential to be very good with a nice setting and good idea for a film but it was wasted.

*minor spoilage*

It's sad to see the current state of horror movies...so many of them are unimaginitive, formulaic scribbles 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 groundbreaking and shocking, but today this stuff is all just business as usual(a troubling thought, really, but save that rant for another time).

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

Amidst the ho-hummery of "fight for your life" action, be ready for an atrocity exhibition of tongue-cutting, flesh-drilling, bone-crunching torture...graphic scenes served up as "highlights" in films of this type. Admittedly, they are fairly potent. Sadly, REST STOP succeeds only in the gross-out department(though the performance of the leading lady, while strained at points, is distressingly believable despite her character being poorly written)

The worst part of it all is the vague, frustratingly non-resolute finale, and any bit of intrigue this film manages to generate becomes nullified by it. I generally have no problem with oblique endings in movies, but when so many key queries are met head-on with a shrug, the overall feeling one gets is that there was never a solidly devised basis to build upon in the first place.

A mean-spirited amateur undertaking at best, recommended only to preponderant gorehounds who toss off with back-issues of FANGORIA. 3.5/10

This movie has got to be the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced with a film. The acting is horrific, the suspense build up minimal, and the plot overall is ridiculous. I found myself rooting for the victim to just hurry up and become a victim, because she obviously needed to be put out of her misery. Anyone with rudimentary knowledge of how the world works will immediately be disgusted at the leaps we're asked to make in logic, and the so-called suspenseful buildup would be lucky to get a 3 year old to be mildly worried. I'm dismayed that a sequel is planned, because it means they'll be asking us to once again swallow a sub par plot line. If this is an example of Raw Feed's work, I think I'll be avoiding any and all future films by them.

About a year ago, Gregg Dumont wrote a review pleading, "I beg you to take a pass" for Rest Stop, the first feature film from Raw Feed. Gregg ended up giving the film a 2.5 but really didn't state in the review anything that would lead you to understand why it got to the 50% mark. Gavin Schmitt, another featured contributor to the killerreviews site wrote a review for the same film giving it a 4 out of 5.

It was time for me to find out which of the two I most resembled in taste. Would I hate the film for its generalities and ridiculous situations that the lead character puts themselves in, or would I resemble more the optimist Schmitt who wrote about it being a "Great movie for those who love bad movies".

Rest Stop stars Jaimie Alexander as Nicole, an aspiring actress that leaves her family behind and runs off with her boyfriend Jesse on a road trip to Hollywood. Their terror begins when a mysterious pick-up truck runs them off the road. A confrontation between Jesse and the driver is avoided when the pick-up drives away before Jesse could open a can of road rage whoop ass.

Soon after, Jesse and Nicole stop at a Rest Stop for a bathroom break. While Nicole is using the facilities, Jesse and the car disappear, leaving Nicole stranded in the middle of nowhere.

It is here where the movie really falls off the rails for a few chapters (like the rest of them). We watch as Nicole talks to herself in an effort to figure out what has happened and what action she might take to better her situation. Her conversations with herself come across as lazy storytelling. I know the audience for these types of films might not have Master's degrees, but for Christsake! Nicole's first mistake is taking a ride in a RV with a family of misfits. It was as if director John Shiban attempted to cross elements of The Vanishing, Joy Ride and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre into his film rather than just developing his own story.

Nicole then finds herself back at the Rest Stop where she finds a naked and bloodied Tracy hiding in a supply closet. Tracy talks about how the man in the pick-up truck took her years ago and tortured her endlessly leaving her bloodied and deformed.

But then Tracy disappears, literally, and we are left trying to figure whether Nicole dreamt up the entire thing. Thing is, by this point, we don't give a crap. Then it just gets stupid.

When a police officer stops by, instead of ending it and getting everyone to safety, he puts himself in peril and eventually ends up being run over. Twice. Sorry, but he deserved to die.

By this point, we were only 51 minutes into the 85 minute Unrated running time, and I couldn't wait to get on with my day. The dying officer goes on and on and if I could have reached into the television and help his nose and mouth closed to smother him, I would have. And when Nicole gets her finger bit off, I thought she deserved that too.

Luckily, the killer provides Nicole with a video camera that shows him torturing her soon to be ex-boyfriend. A box cutter here, a cut-off of the tongue there, did provide the only thing worth watching outside of the one scene of brief nudity at the onset of the film.

But then when the cop asks Nicole to use the last of his bullets on him rather than saving them to protect herself, I completely lost it.

Mr. Dumont wrote how the production values of the film were above average. For that, I give the film credit. There was even a slow motion explosion scene that kind of caught me off guard (I also have no idea why or how a bathroom can explode, but no matter). But that's where the praise stops. Everyone in this film does exactly what they shouldn't, and for that I want to slap them. And just when Nicole has a chance to get away, she sits by a tree and we have to endure a flashback. Dear God! I didn't buy into the situation, the mood, the characters and certainly not the McGyver Nicole we get at the end of the film that has problems lighting a match. And the ending. WTF! This puts me more in line with Gregg Dumont's review. I was incredibly confused in a simple film and I still can't tell you if it was all a dream or if it really happened. What I do know is that it was crap.

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Rest Stop hits home for me. I've made many trips through the country and used rest stops frequently, even sleeping in them. Always felt a little creepy when everyone else left and you're the only one there. This film was about a young couple traveling from Texas to California who take a wrong turn (of course) and are attacked by a weirdo driving a pickup. They go to a small remote rest stop so the girl can pee and the boyfriend along with the car disappear leaving the girl to fend for herself. As the story progresses you learn that the pickup driver is a killer that taunts and tortures people for fun. It moves along at a pretty good pace and there's lots of suspense as the lone girl tries to outwit the killer. Some of the clues are just too convenient and it leaves you wondering of it is all some kind of surreal dream or flashback. There are some ghosts and other strange characters that show up, but the film is relatively well made.

I won't spoil it for you. Although you probably could care less if it was spoiled (you'll know what I mean after you watch it) Poor story. B-rated movie quality. Typical horror -stupid situations- rare timing. I should of known, when they try to push a lot of hype in their advertising or even add "quotes". Just tells me that the movie bombed big time. And they are trying to pull in everyone just so they can break even with to cost of making this bomb. I wish I could take back the time I spent watching this. I was stupid and thought that there just had to be something great around the corner. But I kept getting let down. I don't usually waste my time adding comments to any movie. In fact, this is my second post. I just felt maybe I could spare a few of you from wasting money on something that had a bunch of hype on it.

I've never made one of these before, but this movie was literally so bad I had to say something about it.

I'm all for independent film-making as the past year has seen of the worst (in my opinion) of Hollywood's showings, the mainstream just seems to have lost touch with what making good films is all about. That being said movies like this really give independent film a bad reputation.

The characters are boring and too stupid to empathize with. The direction is horrible, the plotting is horrible, the plot itself is horrible, stay away, far away. Only one brief scene featuring a female's nude breasts, and even that wasn't worth a second look.

The scariest thing about this movie is the idea of ever having to watch it again. I gave it a 2 and not a 1 simply because the actors were visible and the sound was audible - it earns one point for each of those traits.

But it's not. The plot isn't all that bad, the actors aren't all terrible so it should be decent. Instead though despite a good starting point the plot just drags on and suffers from a lot of those "I can't believe he/she is so dumb" moments so often used in horror movies to keep things going. It frustrated me at times watching some of the decision made by the lead character. Also it took way too long to get to the good part of the movie. Anticipation is great but you can't spend over half the movie building it up. A shame too since it got decent exposure upon release and hit right before the big Halloween season. Even so I have a feeling this is going to get at least one sequel, if not more so maybe they'll be able to build on the strong general plot to eventually release something decent.

I have come to suspect most people sit in they're living rooms watching movies and have no other experiences. Movies often go from good, to great simply because you can relate to the situation. People giving this 1 out of 10 stars have obviously never spent the night sleeping in they're car at a rest stop. I watched this movie with my son about 4 months after we had done just that, so we could relate to being in the middle of nowhere at some rest stop on the side of the highway sleeping in our car and it made the movie much more intense for us.

Remember when Nightmare on Elm Street came out? EVERYONE could relate to nightmares and that's what made those movies legendary at the time. So go outside and get some experience in real life, maybe you'll appreciate your movies more :P

This movie definitely does not deserve the 9 I gave it, but its definitely better then a 1 as a lot of others gave it.

I didn't expect to enjoy this movie but was pleasantly surprised. I've seen several movies with the same theme (the names of which escape me) but this one is the best of the bunch.

The opening scenes build up a picture of the relationship between boyfriend and girlfriend and it leaves you with the impression that they are both going to be the main characters throughout the film. Their relationship is filled with passion but it is obvious that they kind of get on each others nerves.

When they stop off at the "rest stop" (10 minutes or so into the film) he mysteriously disappears leaving her stranded 60 miles away from the next town. Then the horror begins.

A psychotic murderer is toying with her fear and it becomes apparent that he has been torturing and murdering visitors to the rest stop for the past 30 years or so. The villain in the film is somehow supernatural as inexplicable things happen, for example; when he smashes his pickup truck into the couples car the pickup truck miraculously escapes without a scratch.

The thing that separates this movie from others in the same genre is the superb acting. I ws totally drawn int the movie from start to finish. As you might expect, it ends with a supernatural twist.

This is really a great genre film that has the best of both worlds in Horror: Slasher and Supernatural. I think it is because it was televised on sci-fi that people are giving it such a bad wrap, but the raw uncut version of this film is truly nothing short of a great horror film.

Not a cookie cutter movie at all, I highly recommend this to genre lovers who like a good story and a decent mystery. It took me a few viewings to fully grasp all the angles and clues given and I think those are the best kinds of horror movies. The characters are solid and acting top notch. Jaime Alexander is sexy as always as the victim of a macabre supernatural horror fest.

I, like another reviewer gave it 8 stars not because I think this movie is fully worthy of 8 stars, but much more worthy then the 1 star votes so many, I can only say sorry individuals left. This movie is far from a 1 and there is nothing left unanswered. There is not one plot whole if you take the time and pay attention. This isn't your loud explosion, kill a minute horror fare, but it has its share and some decent gore for the gorehounds. Most of all it has suspense which is lacking in a lot of today's Horror fares. There is some decent character development which is always welcome to me. I'm a little older so the explosion a minute thing is just not enough for me anymore. I am a die-hard Horror fan who loves a decent back story.This movie doesn't disappoint in that way either.

I had heard about Rest Stop a couple of weeks ago and had seen the cover art of the DVD, which had me sold. I then heard that it would be on Scifi to promote the DVD, but was skeptical. Watching it on TV could take out any shock value the DVD might have in store for its buyers. Deciding to watch Rest Stop on TV, it was an OK movie. My main issue with it was that it was severely edited. It was about 70 minutes where as the real version is 80 min. and the unrated edition is 85. The killer would appear for only a second, and had barely any presence. The gore parts were good, and the ghost/purgatory angle was interesting, it was just way too short. commercials kill everything. But, i fully intend on buying th unrated DVD.

This movie was on Showtime tonight, so I decided to give it a shot. It was pretty bad, but kept on watching. Until...the victim finds a cop. The cop talks to the bad guy, and lets him go. Then, the bad guy runs the cop over with his truck. What does the cop do?

In the most calm voice ever...

"Nicole....Help me."

SERIOUSLY? Not only is this the worst acting ever....it's the worst writing, screenplay, special effects, etc...EVER!!!

Then she gets him into the bathroom and says.... "What can I do to help?"

And the cops says... "Shoot me."

She the girl says... "I'll just clean you up a bit."

Really? REALLY? I turned it off.