Having a properly slimy bit of modern exploitation filmmaking isn't something to scoff at, but I do wish that the experience had even a bit of fizz to it.
Comment
08/15/08
Hell Ride (2008)
9 %
Reviews Counted: 53 Fresh: 5 Rotten:48 Average Rating: 3.4/10
Consensus:
Hell Ride misses out on the rusting zeitgeist of the biker genre, sucking the glee from a saucy premise.
Runtime: 83 mins
Theatrical Release: Aug 8, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $194,287
Synopsis: Hell Ride is a raucous throwback to the days of the Sergio Leone spaghetti western, with a heaping helping of testosterone-fueled chopper action thrown into the mix. Writer/director Larry Bishop takes on a third role as Pistolero, head honcho of the Victors, a group of badass bikers who are... [More]
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Larry Bishop, Eric Balfour, David Carradine, Dennis Hopper, Vinnie Jones
Director: Larry Bishop
Screenwriter: Larry Bishop
Producer: Michael Steinberg, Shana Stein, Larry Bishop
Screenwriter: Larry Bishop
Producer: Michael Steinberg, Shana Stein, Larry Bishop
Reviews
The only thing that works in 'Hell Ride' is the throwback style and visual tone it lovingly mimics.
08/11/08
It's a claustrophobic dud, full of ludicrously purple tough-guy dialogue and lip-smacking vamps in bikinis (how hot!), with so much monotonous hip violence there's scarcely room for anything else.
08/11/08
Maybe only once every six months am I in the mood for jokey sadism, but this struck me as the right picture for the right time.
08/11/08
Top Critic
Not to be confused with the more famous grindhouse biker flicks of a bygone era, Hell Ride misses out on that critical sense of freedom on the open road.
08/08/08
Bishop's film is an exercise in style and tone that certainly takes much from the genre that inspired it, but it certainly contributes nothing to legitimize its artistic integrity or extend its historical longevity.
08/08/08
"Hell Ride" is so bad that if I were forced to choose between seeing it again or seeing my worst nightmare version of what "Wild Hogs 2" might entail, I am fairly certain that I would select the latter without a moment's hesitation.
08/08/08
The main problem is Bishop's adamancy on playing the lead tough guy when he's got the face of a shoe salesman.
08/08/08
[Director Larry Bishop] burdens his film with clumsy art-house ambitions that clash with its embrace of bikes, beer and booty. If any of this sounds amusing, be warned: it's not.
08/08/08
Top Critic
A repellent revenge fantasy about two elderly motorcycle gangs, Hell Ride is, indeed, a hellish ride.
08/08/08
Hell Ride is storytelling at its worst: the thinnest possible excuse for a wall-to-wall string of beheadings, throat-cuttings, mass murders and orgies, shot and edited in a murky, lackluster, faux-Spaghetti Western style.
08/08/08
The script, written by Bishop, barely makes sense. It lacks anything resembling wit, unless you think it amusing that these aging cyclists brag about needing their three B's -- bikes, beer and booty.
08/08/08
Does it count against you when you actually set out to make an awful movie? It should.
08/08/08
A witless reprise of '60s and '70s biker movies written, directed by, and starring Larry Bishop.
08/08/08
Where the biker films of the late '60s and early '70s offered edgy, amusingly cheesy thrills, this sputtering effort is as rusty as an unrestored Triumph Bonneville.
08/08/08
As the film's triple-threat writer/director/star, Bishop isn't noticeably talented.
08/08/08
The film gets the scummy patina right, all phony-Leone dusty trails, but while everybody on screen looks to be enjoying themselves, it is no fun to watch.
08/08/08
Top Critic
It's a biker film, a spaghetti Western, a soft-core porno, a slice of macho poetry. It's also not very good.
08/08/08
The result is, predictably and enjoyably, old-fashioned macho mayhem with a post-modern twist. This movie knows it's ridiculous. Heck, it's proud to be ridiculous.
08/08/08
Pictures
Trailers & Clips
News
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What do you get when you mix guns, alcohol, sex, and bikers? Throw in Michael Madsen, B-movie star Larry Bishop, Eric...
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