Plot
The story deals with the characters Pistolero, the Gent and Comanche and the deadly, unfinished business among them.
Release Year: 2008
Rating: 5.1/10 (10,219 voted)
Critic's Score: 25/100
Director:
Larry Bishop
Stars: Larry Bishop, Dennis Hopper, Michael Madsen
Storyline The story deals with the characters Pistolero, the Gent and Comanche and the deadly, unfinished business among them.
Cast: Eric Balfour
-
Comanche
/
Bix
Larry Bishop
-
Pistolero
Michael Madsen
-
The Gent
Leonor Varela
-
Nada
Dennis Hopper
-
Eddie Zero
Vinnie Jones
-
Billy Wings
David Carradine
-
The Deuce
Laura Cayouette
-
Dani
Michael Beach
-
Goody Two Shoes
David Grieco
-
Dr. Cement
Lee Alfred
-
Joint
Julia Jones
-
Cherokee Kisum
Dean Delray
-
Ape-Shit
Steve McCammon
-
Bob the Bum
(as Steve Mccammon)
Kanin Howell
-
Opium
Opening Weekend: $100,164
(USA)
(10 August 2008)
(82 Screens)
Gross: $194,287
(USA)
(17 August 2008)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Had a DVD release date before a theatrical release date.
Goofs:
Continuity:
The rear brake on Pistolero's bike changes from an early style drum brake in the first scenes to a later banana caliper style disc brake in the peyote scene. Then it changes back to a drum brake in the final scene.
Quotes: Pistolero:
What the hell made you think you could count on me?
User Review
Hell Ride Movie Review from The Massie Twins
Rating: 2/10
Quentin Tarantino once said that to succeed in the film industry you
had to make your own Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs.
Writer/actor/director Larry Bishop seems to have taken that advice a
little too literally with Hell Ride and concocted a messy homage that
borrows much too heavily in its visuals, music, camera-work, and
time-altering storytelling. But to properly mimic a Tarantino film, one
has to have a knack for constructing creative conversations;
unfortunately Hell Ride's primary derailing element is its atrocious
ramblings and vulgar monologues that only work to disgust and confuse
the audience while simultaneously invoking pity for the actors just for
being involved.
The anti-hero protagonist biker gang, The Victors, consists of several
weathered vigilantes who bring their own brand of bloodthirsty justice
to the lawless roads. The leader, Pistolero (Larry Bishop), is
hell-bent on revenge and putting out fires. The Gent (Michael Madsen)
just tries to balance his chaotic, psychotic symphony of life with
putting lead into anyone who crosses his boss, and Comanche (Eric
Balfour) follows with a fierce loyalty and a mysterious past.
On the villainous front, Deuce (David Carradine) is the mastermind who
orchestrates from afar, though not quite far enough, and Billy Wings
(Vinnie Jones) spits venom and lewd explanations for his tattoos while
toting a harpoon gun and a general disdain for life. While these
characters might sound interesting on paper, once they're forced to
rant horrendously ill-conceived dialogue all traces of cool disappear
faster than the funding should for Bishop's next film.
While Hell Ride is riddled with imperfections and missed opportunities,
the main facet of its undoing lies in the poorly devised conversations.
And because Bishop's main influences are the talky films of Tarantino,
there are a lot of them. The first twenty minutes of the movie are
nearly unintelligible and would probably make as much sense muted. By
the time Pistolero's main squeeze is introduced and certain phrases are
overused to the point of nausea, you'll pray for both death and the
ability to turn the sound off. Even Dennis Hopper has trouble remaining
cool while spouting off such goofy dialogue.
Have you ever repeated a word or phrase to yourself so many times that
it just doesn't sound right or even make sense anymore? Bishop starts
there and then keeps the madness going until you envy the characters on
screen getting their heads cut off. And when the dialogue finally takes
a break, we're treated to interspersed shots of nude female oil
wrestling and throats being slashed. I'm not sure what effect Bishop
hoped to attain, but I doubt he found it.
Hell Ride wants to pay homage to Quentin Tarantino films, Robert
Rodriguez films, and every movie that idolizes the violent and
devil-may-care attitudes of bikers. But while its intentions may be
noble, the horrendously cringe-worthy dialogue and the hyper-stylized
timeline-mangling editing prevents the audience from becoming invested
with the generic tough-guy characters. By the time we figure out the
mystery behind the characters' motives (and it may be awhile before you
even realize there's a mystery to be solved), it's just too hard to
care anymore. And while everyone on screen is clearly having fun,
they've entirely neglected to translate any of that entertainment to
the audience.
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