Let's hope this directorial debut by a Radio 1 DJ does not set a trend.

DLT's Vietnam War trilogy anybody? Or Simon Bates' reimagining of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. How about Bruno Brooke's reworking of The Seventh Seal.

No, it doesn't really bear thinking about. However, Mark Tonderai's self-scripted horror-thriller is a lot better than an on-air background of inane banter and self-destructing egos might suggest.

Basically, he's nicked a couple of scenes from Spielberg's Duel, a chunk of plot from the criminally-underrated Breakdown and - perhaps less wisely - bits of a sort of homegrown version of Tenko.

Will Ash plays Zakes, a trappy Manc bill poster whose job it is to tootle up and down the M1 replacing advertising screens in motorway service station toilets.

Along for the ride is his long-suffering girlfriend Beth (Bottomley), a bottle blonde fed up with his commitment-phobia and just about ready to give him the heave-ho.

Hurtling past Worksop in a downpour (well, you wouldn't want to stop there), a lorry thunders by and - for a brief moment - the rear door flips open revealing a caged woman screaming for help. Crikey.

Torn between following the mysterious prison-on-wheels and just pretending it never happened, Zakes finds himself following the truck into a service-station. Bad move. And not just because of the muffins.

While not exactly groundbreaking, Tonderai skilfully martials the action and gives the brutal affair a gloomy, peculiarly British atmosphere.

He takes time out to write convincing dialogue, making the characters believable and consequently sympathetic, something American horror-meisters don't seem to bother with.

The climax may be formulaic but it's been a rewarding journey, particularly if you like the sight of someone with their hands nailed to the floor.

Tim Evans