- Directed by Ate de Jong
- March 13, 1992 (US)
When his fiancé is kidnapped, a man journeys through the wastelands of Hell to retrieve her from the Devil himself.
For little bit of background, Highway to Hell was a film I heard about it at a Star Trek convention decades ago when they were much smaller affairs than anything you might find now. I miss those days. It was implied it was going to be a theatrical release but the movie itself turns out instead have been direct video where I found it in a mom and pop rental store.
Highway to Hell is a quirky horror comedy that manages to be something special and entertaining with macabre jokes and early appearances by some names that have gone on to bigger and better things as well as known commodities from the time as well. Chad Lowe is young Charlie Sykes and Kristy Swanson is his bride-to-be Rachel Clark, Richard Farnsworth is gas station owner Sam and there are cameos by Lita Ford, Gilbert Gottfried, Ben Stiller and his sister Amy as well as their parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. This all from a script written by Brian Helgeland who wrote L.A. Confidential and Mystic River and also wrote and directed the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 and Legend which starred Tom Hardy.
I just find it surprising that a seasoned actor like Richard Farnsworth did this. He did fantastic but I would not expect him to be in what amounts to an oddball horror comedy. His role is that of the character that brings the hero up to speed as well as portraying the danger that lays ahead.
Other than Ben Stiller’s improvised material, the jokes are surprisingly good. For example the chief baddy has handcuffs that are actual hands. There are references to assorted people that were already dead or pretty much everybody was assuming would go to hell when they died.
We have a road to Hell being paved with those who had good intentions run by a road crew dressed like Andy Warhol. The featured diner is called Hoffers (an allusion to Jimmy Hoffa). My personal favorite is Gilbert Gottfried portraying Hitler trying to lie his way out of Hell by claiming his name is really ‘Bob.’ Just a brilliant bit of comedy that only he could do that well.
Hell is portrayed as a mostly barren desert that is hotter than hot with themed challenges sprinkled about. We get Cerberus and the River Styx. There are beer commercials for bad beer. There is even temptation with consequences.
You cannot discuss this movie without discussing Sgt. Bedlam aka Hell Cop. Many horror movies of the time had a themed villain. And almost as many of them were forgettable but somehow Hell Cop has stood out in my mind above all the others. He is exactly what you would expect from an evil demonic police officer. He is scarred from head to toe and carries an unnecessarily powerful gun along with the red tinted shades. How he never spawned a franchise I will never know.
Patrick Bergen plays the Devil (referred to as ‘Beezle’) and is just perfectly slimy and sinister in this without being over the top. Cool and collected is so much scarier than the crazed kind mostly because of the cool and collected can appear good when it turns out it is not.
I’m a little confused why Beezle rejected the one potential antichrist Royce (Adam Storke). There is another child being raised by Beezle and Royce is angry, but you never really get why Royce was rejected. He’s just more of a character to cause additional problems for our hero as well as interfere with Beezle’s plans.
The only serious drawback to Highway to Hell though is the ending. Charlie and Rachel embrace after they escape from Hell and that’s immediately followed by a text screen scroll that gives a happy ending to the whole story. It’s my understanding the original ending was them parting ways and agreeing to meet up again. Really?
The reason Hell Cop takes Rachel is to take her to become a bride of Satan and take her away from Charlie. Charlie’s whole mission is to save her and reunite with her. An ending where they parted company and agreed to meet up later rather than getting married would’ve essentially fulfilled Beezle’s goals by implying he won. It’s vastly more appropriate that they have some kind of good life otherwise what was the whole point of the story?
This is an obscure movie that is better than it should have been. It knows exactly what it is and leans right into it. It has heart and laughs and even a few surprises. And it is topped off with surprisingly good dialogue.
Highway to Hell is a bit of a cult film but it’s one that deserves broader recognition. It has an interesting premise and a great themed villain who has a well-executed master character. It’s humorous and well directed and you should find this one and watch it!
