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| “ | Looking forward to the storm. Keeps everyone inside, washes everything clean. | „ |
| ~ Rusty Nail's catchphrase. |
Rusty Nail is the main antagonist of the Joy Ride film series. He is a psychotic and murderous truck driver who hunts down and kills his victims. His true identity is unknown.
He was voiced by Ted Levine (who also portrayed Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, Karkull in Superman: The Animated Series, General Russell Woodman in Evolution, Bloodbath McGrath in Wild Wild West, and Ken Wheatley in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and physically portrayed by Matthew Kimbrough in Joy Ride, Mark Gibbon in Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead, and Ken Kirzinger in Joy Ride 3: Roadkill who has also portrayed Pa in Wrong Turn 2: Dead End as well as Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th film series. There is said to be a fourth film in the works titled: Rusty Nail: The Final Joy Ride.
Biography[]
Not much is known about Rusty Nail. But what is known about him is that he is a homicidal lunatic, he has an extremely aggressive temper, and all who cross his path are completely at his mercy. One thing known about him is that he owns a farmhouse out in the country where he lives when he is not on long haul trucking jobs (the barn attached to it is where he enjoys torturing his victims). Another thing known about Rusty is that he has at least above-average physical strength, particularly grip strength, shown by the fact that he is able to tear a man's jaw off with one hand. He was not shown much in the first film, although in the second he shown much more often and portrayed by a much bigger and more physically imposing actor (Mark Gibbon), so his unusual strength is slightly more explainable.
He punishes those who he sees as committing some form of injustice (especially when he himself is the victim of it, though he has punished those who have wronged others besides himself, as well), whether it is pulling a prank on him, a particularly cutting insult, taking one of his cars, or refusing a request. He has some quite nasty psychological mind games that create a bridge for gory, life-and-death situations that are very rarely escaped by his victims.
His face is hardly ever shown, but he would normally talk to his soon-to-be victims through the CB radio. In Joy Ride 3, his full appearance is finally shown throughout. Throughout the three movies, the make and model of his truck remain the same, a black Peterbilt 359EXHD. However, the year of the truck is different. In the first movie, it is a 1985 Peterbilt 359EXHD. In Dead Ahead, it is a 1984, and in Road Kill, it is a 1976. At the end of the movies, his truck gets destroyed, and he possibly steals another Peterbilt truck.
Personality[]
From his initial appearance in Joy Ride, Rusty Nail appeared as a normal drunk driver until Lewis, after being urged by his older brother Fuller, pretended to be a blonde women named Candy Cane in an attempt to entice and prank Rusty Nail, which worked. "Candy Cane" invited the trucker to a room belonging to a rude businessman who had run into the brothers earlier in the lobby. Rusty was enraged and brutally attacked and ripped off the man's lower jaw. The brothers felt remorse at the prank going horribly out of control, but could offer the police no clues as to Rusty's identity.
Rusty proceeded to then hunt down Lewis and Fuller who pranked him, somehow figuring out the two were brothers, desiring revenge. He was willing to kill whoever got in his path, such as an innocent ice truck driver who returned Lewis' wallet. Rusty proceeded to kidnap Charlotte, then Venna, whom he strapped to a chair with a shotgun rigged to shoot her if the door to the hotel room was opened. His disregard for innocent life paint Rusty as being a sadistic and callous individual. He enjoys humiliating his victims, and will attempt to fashion his punishments to suit the offense that the victim committed against him. For example, by coercing a person who flipped him off into cutting off the offending finger. In another case, he forced a person who insulted truckers with stereotypes about truckers enjoying meth and prostitutes to cross dress as a drag prostitute and then purchase meth while so dressed. Despite his penchant for such sadistic games, when sudden unplanned violence is necessary, he is more than able to deliver it.
Rusty is also a notable hypocrite, once stating that two wrongs don't make a right in spite of the terrible crimes he has committed out over petty slights and the fact that he sometimes harms innocent parties.
Powers and Abilities[]
Despite being a normal man, he has shown above-average physical abilities, especially hand grip strength, as he is able to rip off a man's jaw on several occasions. He also survived his truck falling off a cliff and exploding, which left what appeared to be burns on his arms. He is able talk to his targets without either of them being aware of his presence, sneaking a severed finger inside a car's compartment, while all three occupants weren't that far from the car.
Rusty is rather intelligent, being able to discover information about his targets that a normal person shouldn't. He deduces that Lewis and Fuller are brothers as well as the identity of Venna's best friend, Charlotte.
Rusty also has a knack for using technology to find more incriminating information about his victims. He once used pirated software via PC to look up his victims vehicle, name and address. He uses this information to scare the crew of 1 RCR driven by Jordan, and tells them that he knows the entire racing team and the event they are heading to. This familiarity with technology may explain how he is able to track people through radio communication, knowing little more than their radio handles and general location. In another instance, he tracks his victims down using a cell phone number.
List of Killed Victims[]
Joy Ride[]
- 1. Ronald Ellinghouse - Lower jaw ripped out by hand (coma).
- 2. Unnamed ice truck driver - Crushed inside his truck.
Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead[]
- 3. Unnamed Hooker - Decapitated by a moving trailer.
- 4. Unnamed Bartender - Jaw sawed off by chainsaw chain.
- 5. Kayla Scott - Explodes inside a car when Rusty Nail rams into it.
- 6. Nick Parker - Stabbed through the head with a steel bar.
Joy Ride 3: Roadkill[]
- 7. Rob - Pulled under the truck with Candy.
- 8. Candy - Pulled under the truck with Rob.
- 9. Austin Morris - Gored in his truck's engine fan.
- 10. Officer Chris Jenkins - Obliterated when his truck collides with his cruiser.
- 11. Bobby Crow - Crushed inside of a chain-link net hooked up to a winch.
- 12. Mickey Cole - Head crushed between a jack and a trailer.
- 13. Jewel McCaul - Head rammed into the grinders of a steel bridge.
- The tragedy and irony of Jewel's death is that she was the only one of the main hero party who wanted to apologize to Rusty from the beginning of their conflict to avoid having one in the first place.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Joy Ride[]
Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead[]
Joy Ride 3: Roadkill[]
Trivia[]
- Ken Kirzinger, who portrays Rusty in Joy Ride 3: Roadkill also portrayed Jason Voorhees in Freddy vs Jason and Pa in Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.
- It's likely that Rusty was already a killer before meeting Lewis and Fuller, as established in Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead, he played a game where victims roll dice, then the number rolled determined what injury the other would receive in his barn, though rolling a seven renders his victims unharmed.
- Ted Levine, who voices Rusty in Joy Ride also portrayed agent Tanner in The Fast and The Furious, Paul Walker who played the protagonist Lewis is also Brian in the franchise, and one of Tanner's employees.
- Although Rusty Nail has gone primarily after those who have wronged him, he has also killed those people who had nothing to with his targets and his vengeance itself doesn't match the crime he was felt was committed against him, though most of his crimes are mainly off-screen.
- During an interview, Rusty reveals that the silver 1971 Chevrolet Chevette from the second film has a lot of meaning to him, revealing that that someone had given it to him as a gift.