REST STOP: DON'T LOOK BACK

This movie is to horror what porn is to romance.

Somewhere out there is a short list of things the world doesn't need, and right near the top (I'm sure) is the movie Rest Stop: Don't Look Back. I enjoy a good horror movie as much as the next person, but when it drifts into the territory of guts, eyeballs, torture, shock value, and certain doom, I tend to drift as well... toward the "skip" button on my remote. What really is the point in watching expendable characters stumble into bizarre and disturbing situations only to die overly-elaborate deaths? There are some images we just don't need burned into our brains, and this movie is full of them.

One year after Jesse and Nicole were terrorized, tortured, and killed in the original Rest Stop, three of their friends set out to retrace their steps and find the missing travelers in Rest Stop: Don't Look Back. Unsurprisingly, history repeats itself in similarly gruesome ways as the protagonists cross paths with the Rest Stop Killer and the horrifying Winnebago family, all of whom seem to fall into the category of The Undead. Mind games, ghostly encounters, and all manner of torture ensues in such a graphic way that the human element becomes lost. Basically this movie is to horror what porn is to romance.

In theory, the Winnebago family should be hilarious. There's a Bible-beating father, a religious zealot of a mother (who you'll probably recognize as Simone from Pee Wee's Big Adventure), spookily silent twin boys, and poor little Scotty, a midget with giant teeth who cannot speak and is forever falling victim to his brothers' torment. He communicates and interprets his world through his trusty camera, and though he may be the least threatening of the bunch, his mere presence is as unsettling as it is tired. How many times has the token little person been used to inject a bit of circus freakiness into a story? Come to think of it, haven't we already encountered weird twins in movies like The Shining? Regardless of these hackneyed conventions, the Winnebago family could be really interesting...if they were doing anything at all besides, say, tying people to tables and poking their eyes out with their thumbs. Instead, they just make you want to scream. Forever.

Delving into the extra features, it's clear that Shawn Papazian did his best to expand upon the mythology laid down in the first movie. In fact, he has so totally perfected the world of Rest Stop that unwitting travelers can keep stumbling upon it in sequel after sequel after sequel. Unfortunately, no amount of back-story or character development compensates for the fact that if you watch this movie, you're in for a total freaky-deaky bloodbath. I guess that's great if you're into being scarred for life, but I'd say the average viewer would do well to follow the movie's advice. When you pass Rest Stop 2 on the rack at the video store, seriously, don't look back.