Joy Ride
© James C. Hess
Put bluntly, Lewton was a genius. Because he was he often got the short end of the stick, credit-wise.
No matter. Thankfully film historians are now starting to recognize his contribution to the American cinema and are starting to realize that Lewton knew something about successful horror films and movies. Something that carried into "Psycho" as directed by the late Sir Alfred Hitchcock, and "Halloween": It is not he who tells the tale, but how, that is important.
And 'how' includes, but is not limited to, style.
I thought about Mr. Lewton recently, while watching "Joy Ride", and wondered what he would think of film- and movie-making nowadays.
"Joy Ride", directed by John Dahl, is the sort of story, I suspect, Lewton, were he still producing, would do almost anything to get at.
But as directed by Dahl comes across as status quo for the Hollywood Machine.
The reason for this? It seems because Dahl is not aware nor knowledgeable of Lewton's work and what made it successful. It seems because Dahl was more interested in producing a film school exercise in visual style than in telling a good story certain to make one wake up screaming, night after night, having seen it.
Not to put too fine a point on it: Mr. Dahl: Val Lewton you ain't.
When it came to a Val Lewton film or movie certain elements were a given: There was a predator who just kept coming no matter what; the victims in question were always one step behind the predator, who always knew their next move; the villain was rarely if ever seen (thereby forcing the movie-goer's imagination into overdrive); and the horror in question was so well-known to us we cannot help but watch until the last frame clatters through the gate on the projector.
"Joy Ride", superficially, comes across as a Val Lewton effort: It has all these elements.
But. Instead of using them to drive the story director Dahl uses them to prop up garden-variety USCinema visual cheats and tricks. For example, when it comes to the villain, Dahl provides only his voice and shows only the truck he drives.
What if, instead, at a certain point, Dahl had begun to introduce physical characteristics into the story: A glimpse of his boots--no doubt battered rattlesnake skin boots--as he enters or exits his truck; a quick shot of his hand and a massive, scarred ring on one finger as he pays for a meal of raw meat and fries; a reverse shot in a dirty mirror of the back of his head.
