Highway To Hell Blu Ray Review (Visual Vengeance)

Highway to Hell is a 1990 horror thriller produced/directed by Bret McCormick (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Shark, The Abomination, Christmas Craft Fair Massacre, Repligator, The Protector, Armed for Action, Bio-Tech Warrior, Striking Point, Time Tracers, and Children of Dracula) under the names B.A. Jenkins and Max Raven. It was written by Gary Kennamer (Redneck County Fever). Convicted mass-murderer Toby Gilmore (played by: Benton Jennings from Shameless, For All Mankind, American Horror Story, How I Met Your Mother, Dexter, Scrubs, and Reanimator Academy) has escaped from prison. The open desert becomes his playground for sadism and destruction. Determined to stop him after failing to execute him years earlier, officer Earl Dent (played by: Richard Harrison from Empire of the Dark, Ninja Terminator, Ninja Dragon, Secret Agent Fireball, Terror Force Commando, Evil Spawn, and Terminal Force) sets out on a relentless pursuit that turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse between the rivals. Gilmore has taken Fran Tucker (played by: Blue Thompson from Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants, The Abomination, Tabloid, and The Real American) as hostage during his chaotic spree, she’s a young woman caught in the wrong place at the worst possible time. As the chase hurtles across backroads and wastelands, Dent closes in, each mile bringing he and Gilmore closer to an explosive reckoning on the highway to hell!!!! Highway to Hell kinda a no budget version of The Hitcher. It’s a horror thriller that deals with a serial killer that’s terrorizing his victims on a crazy road trip. Cult director and producer Bret McCormick is behind the camera for this suspense nightmare. This is an independent regional feature from Texas so it has a nice atmosphere with it’s desert setting. Veteran actor Benton Jennings chews the scenery and he goes way over the top as the psychotic drifter. Character actor Richard Harrison is the law enforcement Earl Dent that wants nothing but revenge here. These two make Highway to Hell very interesting with their tension and showdown. Blue Thompson is the unlucky Fran Tucker. She gets caught in the middle of this brutal war. It has some additional supporting cast members but they are mainly uncredited in this. They do their best for this in every department with absolutely no budget so you appreciate the creative ambition. I love serial killer related productions, it keeps itself uncomfortable and all of that works to it’s advantages. It builds everything up until the fatal confrontation. It has some violence and brutality, I honestly thought it would have more gruesome moments than this but still has solid body count. It’s more about the adrenaline rush and psychological vibe rather than gore and sleaze but it’s not completely tame despite that. Highway to Hell is very obscure and unknown especially compared to the same name horror movie from the next year but it’s different from that, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Visual Vengeance in association with Wlld Eye Releasing! This 1080p uncensored (1.33:1) transfer is from newly restored SD master from the original tape elements. It’s about as good as you would expect for a lower budget shot on video production from 1990. Highway to Hell will never be considered reference quality but it’s a big improvement any other previous versions. It’s definitely the best it’s ever going to look and it’s a nice surprise that it even got an HD home video release after all these years. It has a warning about the process of this updated transfer. It has an English Digital 2.0 track on the disc. The score and soundtrack stand out the most for this. All of the dialogue is very clean, the suspense is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Bret McCormick. It has the little over 6 minute “Interview” with director Bret McCormick. He brings up that the original source material was lost when the original company was that handled it shut down back in the day. He thought it was never going to get another home video release because of that. He chats about the writer having the next best possible option which was the VHS. He talks about Highway to Hell being the first project from him that actually made some money back. The foreign rights payout was double the budget. He says it was a change of pace for him compared to his other work. He goes over his overall experiences working with the known Richard Harrison for a few days while shooting this horror thriller. He has some positive words about him plus mentions everyone that’s involved with this collector’s edition. He breaks down the concept and how he put it together. It has the little over a minute “Red Hot Asphault”. It’s a very quick chat with cult actor Richard Harrison which was the biggest name and drawl for this when it was released. He’s blunt and completely real about Highway to Hell. He calls it a cheap and horrible mess of a movie which is hilarious. It has the almost 13 minute “The Road Trip”. It’s an interview with lead actress Blue Thompson. She chats about the story, stunts, the cast, her character, her performance, and all kinds of stuff about this smaller Texas production. She has a great memory about this earlier film. She tells a few interesting stories here. She compares working on Highway to Hell compared to both The Abomination and Ozone. She points out some of the differences between all of them. She mentions all of the gore from the other two. Highway to Hell had a much bigger budget to compared to her previous collaborations. It has the almost 4 minute “Blue Thompson Answers Tough Questions” with the actress. She chats about doing scenes with lead villain Benton Jennings. She jokes about him a little bit here. She talks about her development with her role in this. She has a fun time answering some questions about it. It has the almost 8 minute “Interview” with screenwriter Gary Kennamer. He chats about meeting the director while working at the same film lab. They shared appreciation for the same local scene and material that’s been put out in their area. He talks about wanting to make Highway to Hell a simpler vehicle basically just for two for the most part. He goes over the idea for making it and getting Richard Harrison in this. He picked him up from the airport so he got to know him a little better. It has the little over 4 minute “Interview” with uncredited actor Tom Fegan. He explains how he got involved with it. He goes over his small role for the beginning of the SOV Horror film. He thinks very highly of Highway to Hell compared to some bigger projects. He says it’s all about being a team when making these smaller films. He chats about his other collaborations with director Bret McCormick over the years. It has an under a minute “Image Gallery”. The best extra on this home video release is the 1992 shot on video almost 65 minute feature “Redneck County Fever” which was directed by Highway to Hell writer Gary Kennamer. It was produced by cult legend David DeCoteau (Puppet Master franchise, and Nightmare Sisters, Dreamaniac, Creepozoids, Beach Babes from Beyond, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama). It’s about two college students Fred and Lowry that are stuck in redneck county after their car breaks down. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Gary Kennamer and Bret McCormick. It has the almost 7 minute “Interview” with Bret McCormick. He chats about some of the independent productions that he worked on. He let Gary Kennamer take over responsibilities while he was working on Re-Animator Academy at the same time with barely any funding. Gary had some personal family issues so he didn’t get to finish it himself and they had friends complete it. It has the little over 12 minute “Interview” with Gary Kennamer. This is an extended version of the other conversation on this disc towards the beginning but then it changes up to this movie. He chats about some earlier scripts that lead to this gig. He felt it needed more of a comedy approach mixed in with the action. He talks about it being compared to the Bill and Ted movies but he’s never seen them before. He was inspired by the people of Texas and Oklahoma for it. He tells a few stories about it including not being involved with the casting for it and an actor shooting one day but he never came back to the set. It has a variety of Visual Vengeance related “Trailers”. It’s nice that basically Redneck County Fever got it’s own release within this one. It has the slipcover, two different artworks underneath, a sticker sheet, and a mini poster for Redneck County Fever. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!