Hayride to Hell (Lantz, 2022)
Hayride to Hell, in my opinion, has a well-defined plot with an air of mystery. It opens like any other innocent Halloweentown (Dunham, 1998) film, clearly set around Halloween and October as there are candy apples, apple cider, pumpkins, and, obviously, hayrides that come with all the fun and spooky Halloween antics. Uncle Sam, the owner of the farm and land, throws together a gathering every year for Halloween in order to help raise a bit more money for the farm. Three women named Betsy, Missy, and Geena, who are part of the county commissioners, are trying to get Sam to sell a section of his property, however, Sam isn’t interested in selling his family land as it has been in his family for 200 years. He refuses their offer on his land which leads the three women to try to prevent any future Halloween and October festivities on his property on the claim that the activities are harmful or could be harmful to participants and neighbors, as he also has a neighbor who dislikes the aftermath of the festivities and the trash that ends up on his property during the night. These aren’t the only individuals who have issues with Sam and his land though. There is an annoying couple classically named Karen and Dick, and the sheriff and deputy of the police department that also have issues with Sam refusing to sell his land. This ends with Sam making a deal that he can prove his hayride is safe whilst also scaring these individuals, with the help of his niece and his farmhands, to allow him to keep up his yearly tradition.
Hayride to Hell is classified only as a horror movie and, as a horror fan, I personally don’t believe it fits solely in that one category. The main objective of horror is to evoke fearful or disgusted reactions from the audience, and although this film is quite heavy on the bloody FX it also has a level of comedy that, in my opinion, matches that of spoof movies. A spoof movie, otherwise known as a parody film, is a type of comedy movie that satirizes other movie genres and plots. In this film, the horror genre and aspects are satirized. I find that spoof movies often embrace generational stereotypes. For example, in this film, Karen is a difficult individual and even yells that she wants to see the manager at one point. The same can be said about Deputy Nixler, who isn’t the brightest out of the bunch. I bring up this point because many movies, especially spoof movies, often have “useless” cops, as I have dubbed them. These types of characters bring forth a specific and acknowledged humor, especially for younger generations. I believe this film fits into the gross and almost gruesome category of horror but, for me, it doesn’t scratch the fear or uneasiness itch.
Although I consider this to be a spoof movie, there are some details I wish had been focused on a bit more during the film. Before Sam puts his extra spooky hayride plans into motion, he can be seen putting on a beaded and claw necklace and performing what looks like an intense prayer ritual. He is seen wearing the necklace during his planning for the hayride as well as when he gives his family and farmhands the plans for the ride, but it isn’t seen again or mentioned at all. Later he is seen talking with his truck like a long-lost partner and asks if the hayride plans are suitable to which the truck, with nobody in the driver’s seat, springs to life. This, just like the necklace, is never mentioned again. These two instances gave me hope of there being another supernatural element such as family curses or witchcraft of sorts. I personally believe this film could have benefited from the creativity of such ideas due to the age of the farm and the small-town setting.
Overall I find Hayride to Hell to be a well-balanced movie with intense music that fits both the spoof stereotype of being overexaggerated at the beginning of the film and also fits the gruesome nature of the acts committed throughout the film. I believe it has a decently strong plot that, in my opinion, could have used a few extra prompts regarding a supernatural aspect. My reason for saying the plot is decent is because I found Zombeavers (Rubin, 2014) to have a bit more scare factor to their plot for the viewers, meaning it contained more jumpscares. However, I find the plot for this film to be more polished than Tusk (Smith, 2014) as I found the plot of Tusk to be rather scattered from my first experience viewing it. I say this simply because of the mental change the protagonist goes through and the fact that he ends up in a zoo at the end. Despite what ideas I would personally like to add to the plot, Hayride to Hell has a solid plot and plotline that is easy for viewers to follow. The actors performed in a believable manner and not that of a lower-budget movie with overly exaggerated reactions and poor audio. I think individuals who enjoy horror movies would enjoy the quality of FX in this film along with the dark premise surrounding the plot, but I can’t find myself seeing individuals who aren’t interested in horror enjoying this film as much, even despite the comedic undertones. Not to mention there is one scene with animal cruelty, which I understand that even some individuals in the horror community, have an extreme distaste for.
