HAYRIDE FROM HELL (2022)

New in select theaters from Impulse-FX!
Directed by Dan Lantz.
Written by Kristina Chadwick, Robert Lange.
Starring Bill Moseley, Kane Hodder, Graham Wolfe, Allyson Malandra, Jered Michael Delanry, Shelby Hightower, Melanie Martyn, Brooke Stacy Mills, Denise Parella, Chris James Blylan, Aaron Dalla Villa, Casey Donnelly, Dave Raphaely, Robb Stech, Marion Moseley, Peter Patrikios, Cedric Casimiro, John Groody.

When the town threatens to repossess the property of Farmer Sam (played by Bill Moseley) he strikes back inviting those who want to shut him down to a specially curated haunted hayride attraction where not all of the participants will come out alive.

First and foremost, I am happy that this isn’t one of those movies that pay for bigger names in horror like Bill Moseley and Kane Hodder and then have them in about five minutes of the movie. That seems to be the trick a lot of low fi movies try to pull off just so they can get people interested, but immediately disappointed when they find the movie they decided to watch doesn’t actually star the biggest name in the marquis, but some no names for the bulk of the film. Moseley and Hodder are in HAYRIDE TO HELL for pretty much the entire time and Moseley especially gets a lot of screentime as the owner of the farm, desperate to save it. Moseley is indeed a talented actor and rarely gets a chance to show his acting prowess and I was pleasantly surprised to have him be the star of HAYRIDE TO HELL. Hodder plays a smaller role, but still is in about 75% of the movie, which is great because he is another horror presence that adds a little gravitas to the rest of the cast, which is made up of relative unknowns. While neither Moseley nor Hodder deliver performances akin to the ones that made them big names in the horror genre, they still elevate this low budgeter greatly.

HAYRIDE TO HELL is a good hearted film, centering on the plight of the American farmer which is a problem rarely addressed in films, though it does seem to come up a lot in the horror genre as it’s relatively cheap to film on a farm and in a field and still make it look moody and atmospheric. HAYRIDE TO HELL captures that downhome fun feeling of actually going on a haunted hayride. It’s never exactly scary, but it does give a big warm hug to that Halloween feeling. It genuinely feels like HAYRIDE TO HELL is a do-it-yourself kind of film with a lot of locals pitching in to give it an authentic aura.

Unfortunately, it feels like HAYRIDE TO HELL doesn’t really know exactly what kind of movie it wants to be. At times, it feels like a harmless horror film I’d show my niece and nephew (8 and 10 years old), but then again, there is a lot of foul language, and the stakes are relatively high as real lives are taken as the hayride continues through the rows of corn and bales of hay. The music sets the tone of this being a lighthearted venture, but then there’s mass slaughter going on. And while often times that off kilter feeling is a good thing to have in horror, take such classics as TOURIST TRAP and MOTEL HELL for instance, the intensity of the horror never gets to the level of the heinous acts that are really going on.

HAYRIDE TO HELL is a wonky little horror movie though. It’s got some random instances of horror genius. There’s a kill by giant drill bit that really looks cool the way it is filmed. There’s an awesome flamethrower scene. The final credits sequence is made of people’s names and who they played carved out of pumpkins that are then destroyed with some form of deadly weapon that is truly inspired. And there’s a strange character called Cousin Needles that deserves a horror movie of her own. Bu the tone of HAYRIDE TO HELL is so off kilter by the end that I just didn’t know how to take it. Is it a wonky comedy or a blood-soaked revenge tale? Ultimately, that worked really hard against me totally liking HAYRIDE TO HELL.

Check out the trailer here!!