Hard Ride to Hell (2010)
By Adam Beck • MovieMassacre.com
Directed by: Penelope Buitenhuis
Written by: Penelope Buitenhuis, Matthew Chernov and David Rosiak
Released by: Vivendi Entertainment/RHI Entertainment (DVD)
"It's going to be a killer trip."
While on a remote camping trip in the state of Texas, a group of friends come in contact with a bloodthirsty cult of Satanic, cannibalistic bikers on a quest to find the perfect woman suitable of giving birth to the spawn of Satan! Unfortunately they find said person in one of the unexpected campers, Tessa Bowman (played by Laura Mennell), sending her and her friends on a high speed pursuit through the blustering Texas terrain as they attempt to escape the hellbent bikers following closely behind.
For a film with a relatively small budget and an extremely short shooting schedule (approximately 15 days), 'Hard Ride to Hell' proves to be a rather industrious film featuring tons of gory practical effects and fast paced action sequences that are sure to keep horror fans on their toes. Miguel Ferrer, who has appeared in over a hundred film and TV projects over the years (most notably 'RoboCop' and 'Traffic'), stars in the film as Jefe, the murderous leader of the biker gang. His presence in the film brings a bit of Hollywood flair to the project, but at the same time proves to be sort of distracting in a "Hey I know that guy from somewhere!" sort of way. The rest of the cast is made up of relatively unknown Canadian actors with the exception of Katharine Isabelle, who most horror fans will remember from the popular werewolf film 'Ginger Snaps' and does a fine job in a supporting role here.
The only part of the movie that is sort of inadequate is in the actual story itself, which is rather basic and lacking of substance. From what I understand the script had to be re-written shortly before filming began, with huge chunks of the story taken out in order to shoot the film with the budget they had to work with. There's no doubt this had a dramatic affect on the overall outcome of the movie.
I won't lie, 'Hard Ride to Hell' is not a great film by any means, but it's not a horrible film either. I thought the characters were all very likable and director Penelope Buitenhuis (who never directed a horror film prior to this), did a great job at putting together such a professional looking film on a diminutive budget. Fans of 70's era, low budget grindhouse productions will certainly want to give 'Hard Ride to Hell' a watch. Even though it lacks some of the grittiness of those style of films, the subject matter is definitely there and the movie showcases a good amount of blood and boobs as well.
SLIGHTLY RECOMMENDED
Written by: Penelope Buitenhuis, Matthew Chernov and David Rosiak
Released by: Vivendi Entertainment/RHI Entertainment (DVD)
"It's going to be a killer trip."
While on a remote camping trip in the state of Texas, a group of friends come in contact with a bloodthirsty cult of Satanic, cannibalistic bikers on a quest to find the perfect woman suitable of giving birth to the spawn of Satan! Unfortunately they find said person in one of the unexpected campers, Tessa Bowman (played by Laura Mennell), sending her and her friends on a high speed pursuit through the blustering Texas terrain as they attempt to escape the hellbent bikers following closely behind.
For a film with a relatively small budget and an extremely short shooting schedule (approximately 15 days), 'Hard Ride to Hell' proves to be a rather industrious film featuring tons of gory practical effects and fast paced action sequences that are sure to keep horror fans on their toes. Miguel Ferrer, who has appeared in over a hundred film and TV projects over the years (most notably 'RoboCop' and 'Traffic'), stars in the film as Jefe, the murderous leader of the biker gang. His presence in the film brings a bit of Hollywood flair to the project, but at the same time proves to be sort of distracting in a "Hey I know that guy from somewhere!" sort of way. The rest of the cast is made up of relatively unknown Canadian actors with the exception of Katharine Isabelle, who most horror fans will remember from the popular werewolf film 'Ginger Snaps' and does a fine job in a supporting role here.
The only part of the movie that is sort of inadequate is in the actual story itself, which is rather basic and lacking of substance. From what I understand the script had to be re-written shortly before filming began, with huge chunks of the story taken out in order to shoot the film with the budget they had to work with. There's no doubt this had a dramatic affect on the overall outcome of the movie.
I won't lie, 'Hard Ride to Hell' is not a great film by any means, but it's not a horrible film either. I thought the characters were all very likable and director Penelope Buitenhuis (who never directed a horror film prior to this), did a great job at putting together such a professional looking film on a diminutive budget. Fans of 70's era, low budget grindhouse productions will certainly want to give 'Hard Ride to Hell' a watch. Even though it lacks some of the grittiness of those style of films, the subject matter is definitely there and the movie showcases a good amount of blood and boobs as well.
SLIGHTLY RECOMMENDED
