Saw 'Rest Stop', being fond of horror regardless of budget (even if not my favourite genre) and being intrigued somewhat by the idea. Being behind on my film watching and reviewing, with a long to watch and review list that keeps getting longer, it took me a while to get round to watching and reviewing it.Giving 'Rest Stop' a fair chance with being interest and apprehension, it turned out to be far better than expected. Won't say that 'Rest Stop' is a great film (mediocre actually) because it isn't and the potential, while not wasted, is not fully lived up to. Considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre and less and wasting potential, was expecting worse and was relieved that while wanting in a fair few areas it was actually one of my better recent low-budget viewings.'Rest Stop' started off quite well, the first twenty minutes or so starting the film off on a promising, unsettling and atmospheric note that really does intrigue. Production values did have some eeriness and nowhere near as cheap as expected.The setting is effectively spooky. Initially, there are spooky and suspenseful moments, it isn't dull, and the storytelling initially does intrigue. Admired that it tried to be more than a standard slasher film, the supernatural element does intrigue but that it's open to interpretation so divisively says a lot for things feeling confused and muddled too often. However, the story was severely wanting in the second half after starting off promisingly. It is very disjointed and after the promising start the final third especially loses atmosphere, one loses interest and things start to not make sense. Too much of the film is vague and doesn't explore some elements and story strands enough, some dropped soon after being introduced, go nowhere or serve much point.Ending is unsatisfying, on top of feeling hasty there are too many loose ends hanging in the air and it all felt abrupt. Got the sense that the writers didn't know how to end the film. Would have liked much more tension and suspense (where there is barely any of either), scares could have been more consistent (again nowhere near enough) and some weren't surprising enough and had no atmosphere, the over-obvious sound not helping. Coherence wasn't a strong suit either.Found too the script to lack natural flow and with a fair bit of cheese and blandness going on, and the characters bland with some adopting some annoying and not always logical decision making. There is very little menace to the conflict, uncreative and unscary kills, the direction is phoned in and generally the acting is subpar with some lifeless lead acting from Jaimie Alexander. Elements intended to "spice things up" (gore and profanity were overused and gratuitous).Overall, mediocre. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Girl (Jaimie Alexander) runs away from home with her douchebag boyfriend (Joey Mendicino). They stop at a remote rest stop along the highway. I'm not sure there really are rest stops like this one anywhere in the US. I've been across most of the country, admittedly more in the East than West, but I've never come across a rest area that was overgrown and isolated like this one while still being functional. Anyway, while there the boyfriend is kidnapped and the girl is terrorized by a crazy guy who drives around in a yellow truck. Then Joey freakin' Lawrence shows up and gives us the longest death scene in movie history. I swear it goes on forever. If you haven't seen him act since Blossom, believe me he hasn't gotten better. Overly familiar, full of clichés, plot holes, and bad acting, this is an awful movie that is difficult to finish. Jaimie Alexander is very pretty but her acting isn't that impressive. Particularly the scenes where she's alone and talking to herself in the bathroom. Still, she spends the climax of the movie running around in her bra, which I'm sure we're all grateful for. Oh, and look, this movie has a family of weirdos that figures into the plot. How original for a horror movie...in 1967. Avoid this garbage.

This movie is not a good movie, but the reviews are clearly divided. I hate people that tactical vote and this film is clearly a battle ground of false votes, it is not a 10 and it is certainly not a 1. I watched this film because it came up on several profile lists of favourite horror films. I watched it. I get it. There is no great unexpected twist plot or unresolved issues, the acting is not bad, nor is the camera work, the sound track is in keeping and the plot is OK.However, this film is a slow burner, you watch it and you think about it, and keep thinking about it, until you find yourself staring blankly out of the window. If you like to think, then watch this, if you chew gum then don't bother. I honestly could not decide what to give this movie, it breaks what ever your personal rating scale is, just for that fact I would give it a 6/10 and challenge anyone who enjoys rating films to watch it and grumble that your system can't handle it.

The plot: A young woman runs away from home, only to be terrorized by a psychopath at a rest stop.Rest Stop could have been good, but the writer/director decided to throw in every single clichéd plot element that he could think of: psychopathic serial killer, creepy religious cult, deformed mutant, haunted house, ghosts, and kidnapped spouse. If it had just focused on a few of these things, instead of an incoherent pastiche of every horror movie cliché imaginable, this could have been an enjoyable, low budget movie.Rest Stop also suffers from boring filler, pointlessly long scenes, and an understated, subtle story that's too confusing for many viewers to follow. It's a movie that may require multiple viewings to understand, but few people will actually like the movie enough to actually sit through it again, just to decipher the hidden clues. As a 20-30 minute short film, this would have been enjoyable and short enough to go back and watch again. As a full-length feature, however, it's too slow-paced and boring to sit through again.I would recommend Rest Stop mainly to fans of independent horror and psychological horror. It's not a particularly good example of psychological horror, but it does manage to hit most of the clichés by the time the credits roll. Stick around for a brief scene that may give you a few more hints as to what's going on. If you've been paying attention, it will probably explain the most confusing aspects of the movie.