You might be shocked at how watchable this one is.
Hard Ride to Hell (2010)
Directed By: Penelope Buitenhuis (A Wake)
The Prologue
With soo many straight to dvd horror films that come out these days it’s easy for plenty to get lost in fold. I think Hard Ride to Hell is one that kind of had trouble getting it’s head above the water that is the land of none theatrical releases. But, that didn’t mean that it wasn’t worth checking out as I found out myself when I finally did check this one out for a podcast. Yeah, the whole satanic biker thing has been done to death but I think there’s more here that would make it a very fun watch for anyone just looking for a good time. Oh, and we also have the chick from Ginger Snaps here…wowzers!
The Movie
A group of family and friends on a camping trip through the Texas badlands are taken on a one-way ride to Hell after they inadvertently witness a ritual sacrifice at a deserted campsite. Pursued by the devil worshiping biker gang responsible, they hole up in an abandoned church near the border, only to discover that they are pawns in a decades-old battle between good and evil. You can feel free to play spooky music and make the spooky fingers now. While this movie at times gets a little corny I’ll be damned if I didn’t find it half way entertaining.
The deal with this film is you can’t lay too much on what you see in it’s opening. Based off just that alone you’d think you were getting involved with another cut by numbers straight to video horror film that tries too hard to be good and ends up falling flat. It’s actually with the cast and the characters that end up being our main focus of the film where the film finds it’s charm and to be honest with you the cream of the crop are people who aren’t even meant as THE main characters. I’m talking about none other than Katharine Isabelle of Ginger Snaps fame who is very good and VERY funny in this film in the role of, Kerry. I also must bring up her boyfriend in the film, Dirk, who is played by Brandon Jay McLaren. There’s a few other bright spots in the film but those two made this worth a watch for me.
Also from my comment about Katharine Isabelle there you probably have guessed there’s a lot of comedy in this film. When those funny moments (at times kind of dry) happen, they are very good and very funny. But it’s a bit of a two sided sword because the comedy and not so serious stuff is when this film is at it’s best. Why is it a two sided sword you ask? Because the film also at times tries to be a straight up horror film and it’s at it’s worse when it tries to be serious. It would by far be a better comedy horror than regular horror and since it walks that line from start to finish it’s a little hard to know how to take it. But still it doesn’t hurt it THAT much, it just sorta makes the film feel uneven.
While I do like this film and I liked the cast and the dialogue, I’m not a big fan of the plot overall. We are dealing with a satanic biker gang looking to find just the right woman to give birth to what I can only assume is the Antichrist, a note I’m pretty sure they touched on once or twice in the film. They may sound way more exciting than it is because the core of the plot isn’t what will keep you watching. What will keep you watching is the cast and the funny moments. It also doesn’t hurt that the film packs a pretty fun chase scene and a bad ass who sells knife’s named, Bob. So while it won’t be the best film you’ve ever seen, I do believe there is more than enough here to make you happy you have watched it.
The Conclusion
I was a fan of Katharine Isabelle before but I’m even more so now after watching this. I have no clue why she isn’t in more stuff and I can’t wait to see her in a film by a pair of twins I know later in the year. But on top of her, there are a lot of good actors doing some fun acting here. There’s some cool scenes and they are enough to hold up the weaker plot. So I’d say that I believe you folks should check out this movie.
The Rating (7/10)
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