“Hayride to Hell”
NR/Horror/Comedy/92 Mins
Directed by: Dan Lantz
Written by: Kristina Chadwick & Robert Lange
Starring: Bill Moseley (“The Devil’s Rejects”), Kane Hodder (“Hatchet”), Graham Wolfe (“Last Flag Flying”), Allyson Mallandra (“Alpha Rift”), Cedric Casimiro, Shelby Hightower (“Alice and the Vampire Queen”)
Review: October is coming in a couple of days which means Halloween is upon us. It is time for pumpkin carving, haunted houses, trick r’ treating and horror movies all the time. Releasing this spooky season is Dan Lantz’s horror comedy, “Hayride to Hell” starring horror legends, Bill Moseley and Kane Hodder. Farmer Sam runs a mildly successful Haunted Hayride in his small town and there is a group of townsfolk who will do anything to shut him down and take his land. In order to save his Halloween tradition and his farm, Sam and his team devise a plan to take their annual hayride up a notch. Gathering his enemies for a ride, this attraction may very well be their last.
One of the better things I can commend this film for is the feeling of Fall and the Halloween season in its production design and tone. It achieved in getting me into the Halloween spirit and now I’m counting the days until my favorite holiday. Another reason is seeing two veterans in the horror genre, Bill Moseley (Otis from Rob Zombie’s “Firefly” trilogy and Chop-Top in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2”), and Kane Hodder (Victor Crawley from the “Hatchet” series and one of the Jason Voorhees’ in a handful of “Friday the 13th” movies). Seeing these two immediately pulled me into the film because seeing them in anything horror-related is a treat. Moseley again utilizes his signature sharp tongued snarkiness and Hodder with their intimidating presence as a crooked cop were definitely the most enjoyable aspects in this film. Unfortunately, I wish they were involved in a film that deserved their presence.
It seems that the film had an identity crisis when it came to what tone it was trying to convey. From the opening scenes, it felt like this was going to be a wholesome Hallmark-esque Halloween film. Accompanied is a “Halloween Baking Competition” type of musical score that adds to that made-for-tv vibe. However, throughout there is awkward R-Rated humor, language and eventually, violence. Instead of feeling natural, it feels like it clashes with the tone it set which makes this film unsure of what it’s trying to be.
Stepping into mild spoiler territory, when it’s revealed what Farmer Sam’s plan is for these unsavory characters, you also find out everyone involved in his team are also murderous psychopaths. This reveal never felt earned and unnatural to the pacing. Even characters not directly associated with the farm help them carry out this deadly plan which asks the question: how many murderers are in this small town? Since every character is antagonistic in some sort of way, it’s hard to find anyone to root or care for.
Like the haunted hayride the film centers itself on, “Hayride to Hell” is an attraction that is devoid of scares, forced chuckles, poor effects and you just want to get off. If the film was more in line with Adam Green’s Hatchet series, for example, having a more sadistic, darkly humorous tone. It would have fitted this premise more suitably. It is a Halloween film to watch during the spooky season, but it is one I do not recommend.
Score: 3/10
