A group of five teenagers are sharing a ride to a party in the desert. On the way, Trip admits that he has a huge stash of ecstasy tablets on him and the driver, Gretchen, who is anti-drugs, tells him he must find another ride - just as well because the dealer Trip stole them from is following him with revenge on his mind. Gretchen agrees to drive him back to a diner where he can arrange another lift...but on arrival, they find the diner is deserted and there is no phone or TV signal. Even worse, strange things start to happen - there is a weird smell in the air and very strange people appear and then disappear. What is causing the smell, and who are all the strangers? Will the dealer catch up with Trip? And will any of them survive the experience?

Derek Richardson plays another of the group. I recognised him from Hostel, where he played one of the more likeable characters, and I liked him again in this film - he doesn't really do anything out of the ordinary, but he was certainly less of a pain than the other characters. He manages to get together with Cookie, played by Arielle Kebbel - she is giggly and silly and is easily the most annoying character. Judging from her appearance in one of the extras, she is like that in real life too. The other two members of the group, Trip and Jack, are played by Scott Whyte and Devon Gummersall - the latter is probably the better of the two because he convincingly plays a blind guy. Scott Whyte is suitably obnoxious as Trip though and his good looks will appeal to a lot of people.

The film was made in 2005, so the special effects are generally very good. There is a scene early on in the film when someone's head is cut in half, which is quite well done, and there's a wonderful toilet scene where one of the teenagers is attacked by something coming up out of the toilet. I wasn't so impressed by a couple of the more ghostly characters though - they just didn't feel all that realistic and didn't seem to fit in with the overall quality of the rest of the film. It is still a fairly gory film though, so those who don't have the stomach for horror films will want to stay clear. There is a rating of 15 and that is probably just right - teenagers will probably enjoy it more than most adults, until it comes to the ending.

Right up to the last ten minutes, I found this film watchable, but mundane, and way too similar to any number of similar horrors involving groups of teenagers. Once I had grasped the ending, it did rise up in my estimation - I just wish I had understood it the first time around and I think that the fact I didn't is down to a weakness on the part of the director (or maybe I'm just stupid). I'm certainly glad I didn't watch it in a cinema, because I would have been furious at having paid to see a film I didn't understand. Recommended if you really like this genre; if you are ambivalent, there are better horrors out there - Hitchhiker, for example.

Classification: 15