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| We review Party Bus to Hell |
If you expect one thing from Las Vegas, it’s that anything and everything can happen. Called Sin City for a reason, it’s one of the few places where the party never stops. From legalized gambling and prostitution to strip clubs, cabaret, and 24-hour alcohol, all of your desires can be met to the most extreme points. The same can be said about the new horror film Party Bus to Hell, which delivers an overabundance of babes, boobs, blood, and gore. While never taking itself seriously, this surprisingly fun romp takes a mockbuster style approach to the occult subgenre and supplies fans of ‘80s horror with something that they can just sit back and enjoy and chuckle a little bit along to.
The story is the ultimate anti-Vegas vacation promotional video. A group of sexy young adults board a party bus headed to Burning Man, when they unexpectedly end up in the desert surrounded by Satanic worshippers. A trip meant to be filled with sex and partying becomes a night of survival for the members trapped inside of the bus. An ode to the 80’s, Party Bus contains a host of stereotypical horror characters and loads of nudity, violence, and comedic one-liners. It is as much a horror film as it is a comedy, mixing the occult film Race with the Devil with mockbusters like the Sharknado franchise. There is still more than enough gore and violence to satiate hardcore gore fans, but it never really elicits any major scares. There is some very funny dialogue that could become quotable should this end up gaining a cult status.
The directing from Rolfe Kanefsky and cinematography from Michael Su is excellent for what is essentially an indie horror picture and looks far better than you would expect. There are more than enough nice looking shots, and decent camera movement and tricks to keep things interesting, despite being shot mostly in the desert and inside of a real party bus. The score is what you would come to expect in this type of movie, but it is effective nonetheless. The special effects are superb, with a number of outlandish props and gore sequences.
The acting was actually quite good for an indie horror flick, with a fine ensemble of characters who all get at least one good scene or piece of funny dialogue. Almost every actor had one at least one scene that was either so disgusting or funny that they will always end up being remembered for it. Sadie Katz once again brings us another crazy villain, as she has previously did in Wrong Turn 6 and Blood Feast. Richard Hochman plays the stereotypical horror asshole/wannabe hero, while also delivering by far the funniest one-liner of the movie. Stefani Blake deserves major props in her role, and without spoiling anything, provides the audience the sexiest and bloodiest scenes of the film.
While the comedic element and sometimes downright silliness might turn away some of the hardcore gore fans, this one is just such a wild occult party that you have to check it out at least once. It does cater to a certain type of niche horror audience that is looking for the typically required ‘80s style elements, so many fans that like those films should enjoy this.
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