Movie Reviews

‘Hayride to Hell’ review: Surprisingly strong performances

Over my dead body.

October 21, 2023

Hayride to Hell takes two horror icons and places them in different types of roles – sorta. Farmer Sam (Bill Moseley, Rob Zombie’s Firefly trilogy) runs a annual haunted hayride at the farm that has been in his family for centuries. The bank is trying to foreclose on the land, the local police harass him, and the townspeople want to shut him down. But if he can scare the town’s commissioners, he will be left alone.

It is a silly premise that is not helped by Farmer Sam’s attitude. He is reluctant to pay back his bank loan, is indifferent to his neighbors’ legitimate concerns, and is upset that he has to hire the police to regulate the awful traffic. And the reason he feels he should be allowed to disregard laws and safety? His family’s history.

This is not a story about an old white man wanting to do whatever he feels like due to tradition, however. He is the good guy. And just in case anyone in the audience might have doubts, one of the complaining neighbors is a woman named Karen. Thankfully, Hayride to Hell has a pair of strong lead performances to keep things watchable.

Kane Hodder proved long ago he can play a menacing villain. Here, he plays a smarmy corrupt cop effortlessly. He is a complete jerk who is never scary and easy to hate. For all the character faults, Moseley is as great as Farmer Sam. Even though the writing makes it pretty much impossible to get behind the character, Moseley’s delivery is spot on. If you forget his motivation for the killing spree, he is even fun.

Hayride to Hell has some serious scripting issues. It is misogynistic, filled with poor dialogue, and never gets the tone down. Still, its leads are able to salvage some charm. It is a perfect watch for spooky season, but has too many flaws to be enjoyed at any other time.