Review of Hard Ride to Hell (2010) by Paul S — 14 Aug 2012

The straight to the sci-fi channel machine churns out another semi-decent blood and screaming flick here, made all the better for a good cast of seasoned horror regulars who've been doing this long enough that they know how to make a film like this work.

Miguel Ferrer, a cult genre stalwart since Robocop and Twin Peaks, heads up a gang of devil worshipping biker dudes who are trying to bring about the creation of the devil through a child by some mumbo jumbo that involves naked sacrifices and a hefty dose of cackling.

Into their midst stumbles a motorhome full of partying 20-somethings. Amongst them, Brendan Penny and Laura Mennell as a young married couple grieving for the loss of their unborn child, which lends them some depth as oppose to just being the usual gore fodder.

The formulaic elements of traditional horror are present and correct, drinking, drugs, sex all equalling a nasty end. There are moments when the film begins to sink itself into a repetitive parody but it manages to keep the interest alive with some spirited chase scenes.

Ferrer is suitably bad ass in the lead villain role while Katharine Isabelle becomes the most memorable of the victims. This girl was made for horror....she has undoubtably one of the best screams in the business today.

The film even manages to pull a surprise or two, particularly with its climax which manages to be quite unnerving after the preceding tongue in cheek silliness. This is the kind of film that wouldn't have taken long to put together, was pretty cheap but it shows that you can make something worth watching if you've got people in your movie who know what they're doing with the material.