User reviews

Released in January, 2002, and written/directed by Jeff Leroy, "Hell's Highway" is a cheap slasher about two couples traveling through Death Valley to the California coast where they pick up a hitchhiker from hell (Phoebe Dollar). Havoc ensues. The infamous Ron Jeremy is featured in a glorified cameo.

"Hell's Highway" proves that an ultra-low budget doesn't mean a movie can't be expertly entertaining. Yes, some of the gory parts are cheesy (while others are pretty impressive) and the miniature sets are obvious, but both are serviceable (and somewhat charming) and keep the story flowing. Viewing the trailer, I thought this was going to be a horror comedy, but it's not; it's essentially a serious slasher with campy elements – particularly Phoebe as the over-the-top nefarious hitchhiker – and cheesy effects. Jeff Leroy shows his genius in that "Hell's Highway" is adept filmmaking and genuinely entertaining DESPITE the obvious cheapness of it all.

Without Phoebe in the key role, however, it wouldn't be half as effective as it is. She's not blow-your-mind beautiful or anything, but she has a unique look and there's something alluring about her demeanor, not to mention she has curves in all the right places. Beverly Lynne (Monique), with her conventional "hot blond" look, can't hold a candle to her (she has an unnecessary softcore sex scene, for anyone who might be offended). Kiren David, as Sarah, is the third main female in the cast and is a convincing actress. Actually, all the main cast members take the material seriously and offer respectable performances.

The score/soundtrack didn't do much for me, unfortunately. This is a movie that needs a few rockin' numbers.

The last act features a couple of creative twists in the story and shows that Leroy put some time into the script.

The film has no filler at a mere 70 minutes and looks like it was shot in Southern California.

GRADE: B or B- (6.5/10)

If you enjoy a good cheesy movie I suggest you pick this one up. The sorry acting, the 5 cent effects, and Ron Jeremy. What more could you ask for in a good cheesy film? I would get it on DVD so you can get some real slow mo so that you can see just HOW cheap the effects really are!

another bad movie, from another bad movie company...but, this is not a bad thing, i love bad movies. this one though, i would love to see on mst3k...with joel, he's funnier than mike, but, anyway. good amusement, enough blood to keep one entertained for awhile. and, surprisingly, had an ending i did not expect.

What can I say, what can I say?? "Hell's Highway" is a piece of art. Well, not really but, then again, it was not meant to be. This is a straight to video movie about four friends traveling from PA to CA, who meet up with a "sexy thang" who just might be the devil herself, himself, itself...?? Look past the Matchbox Cars and the horrible effects(personally I liked the feel they bring to this movie), and what you get is no better or no worse then any other straight to video horror movie you have ever seen. With an ending that caught me off guard and, hold your breath, makes sense!@#, some decent acting, eye candy for both the men and the women, and a short enough running time to hold one's interest, you can do a lot worse then "Hell's Highway". P.S.- As a side note, these film makers obviously have an affection for what horror movies once were, the gratuitous nudity and all out gore show it!

*** 1/2 out of *****

This movie can't even be classified as a "B" rated movie! Acting was terrible. Stupid plot. Dumbest ending. It was similiar to a porn movie with clothes on! Failure to be able to act. No plot. It was actually more humerous than scary. About the only scary part was returning it to the video store without a disguise!

This movie started out OK. When the preacher takes a shovel to the head causing a HUGE explosion of blood I thought: "Hey, that looked incredibly bad, this might be fun to watch!" Oh, how I was wrong.. so very, very wrong. From horrible acting to special affects that were done by 5th graders with a 10 dollar budget (they got a pizza) this movie was a nightmare. Just wait till you get to the scene consisting of matchbox cars crashing into a plastic gas station. What the hell was that anyway? Bad news folks. Bad news.

1st watched 3/17/2002 - 2 out of 10(Dir-Jeff Leroy): Extremely gory movie about a hitchhiker who turns out to be a killer(who could be even worse, maybe Satan?). But of course I won't give away anything for those of you who will attempt to watch this. Be prepared for a relentless attack on the senses which is the only reason that I didn't give this movie a one, because it did what it wanted to do(scare the bejeepers out of you). This has the most disgustingly specific(many different body parts are blown to pieces) violence that I've seen in an American made movie and I hope not to see in many others. If this is your thing watch it but don't expect much else.

Part of the fun of watching this film is due to the "special effects", as they appear humorously unrealistic. Another element of fun are some of the lines and the way in which the actors deliver them. What is interesting is that these elements draw attention to the medium through which they are transported, which helps add to the surreal mood of the film. Phoebe Dollar is as irresistibly hot as ever (the finger bang scene is very erotic), even when she plays to the 'southern white trash' stereotype. All in all, this film achieves, what in my opinion, it set out to do: entertain the viewer. Give this film a look, and check out some of Phoebe's other work too (Goth), if you like, what I call, "surrealistic cinema".

Hell's highway is about a group of four teens on a road trip. On their travels they pick up a hitchhiker called Lucinda. After a short while she says she is going to kill them all, just like their friends before (who had set off on the same road trip). They expel her from the car forthwith, but have they seen the last of her? It also appears that many have met an untimely fate on the Devil's highway, judging by all of the crosses on the side of the road.

Directed by Jeff Leroy, who is still making horror today. Joe Castro, also a familiar name for practical special effects, in low budget films provides some excellent work here.

Excellent cast that include. Phoebe Dollar and Beverly Lynn, both well established scream queens on the indie circuit, and with a cameo by porn legend Ron Jeremy, who is suitably killed with tongue firmly in cheek.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It had a good story, acting was good. Kept my attention throughout. Some of the special effects were excellent and really delivered on the gore groceries. Nothing is quite what it seems and this will keep you guessing to the bitter end.

Great little homage to the original Texas chainsaw massacre as Phoebe wields a chainsaw like Gunner Hanson.

I would wholly recommend this film to all gore hounds and those that like low budget horrors.

The quality of this movie sucks... I mean, this movie takes low budget to an all new low. This film appears to have been shot with someone's home camcorder. The acting sucks and the "special effects" were just terrible. When we saw Ron Jeremy's name listed in the beginning, we decided to trudge through this muck, in order to see his role in the film. After that, we shut it off because neither of us could stand to watch anymore of this poorly done attempt at a movie. So, if you're looking for a good horror flick, pass this one up. If you're looking for a good laugh, pass this one up. If you're looking for high quality good acting, pass this one up. If you hate your life and you want to hate it even more, and enjoy putting yourself through miserable experiences, then this is the movie for you.

I bought this movie at a used movie store (luckily it was cheap), thinking it would be another good road terror movie, like The Hitcher. Hell's Highway was pathetic. It looks like it was filmed with a home video camera, the special effects were painfully fake, and the plot was very boring. The picture quality is incredibly bad. The acting was lame, and it seemed like all the cast knew how to do was smoke pot, like they were doing for most of the movie. It reminded me of something a bunch of high school kids threw together. Don't waste your time. Watch a good "road horror" movie like The Hitcher or Joy Ride instead. Quicksilver Highway is much better.

(2001) Hell's Highway HORROR

Super duper low-budget straight-to-rental cinematography, edited, co-written and directed by Jeff Leroy from "Brain Damage" films via- hand held camcorder, has young lady, Lucindia Polonia (Phoebe Dollar) hitch-hiking on the desolate desert highway for the purpose of slaughtering it's drivers to please the devil! Then the film centers on a group of four teens who of course, picks up this unknown hitch hiker, only that she appears to be hard to get killed. Bad acting, very poor production values with an interesting idea that should be rebooted again but with a much higher budget.

The only thing good about this film, is the Main Hottie Guy- Jonathan Grey. I could watch him all day, with those sexy Blue eyes, and kissable lips. Another thing worth Watching: Ms. Dollar as Lucinda. I also Caught a glimpse of her in TED BUNDY, and I have to say, she's enchanting to watch. Beautifull girl. Everything else was CRAP, Crap, and Cheaper Crap. You cant Blame the Camera man, or the blow-up effects guy. You have to directly go to the Director, and ask...why, oh why.....did you shell out your piggy bank funds for this ball of kitty litter? Crap folks, I tell you. Crap. Go rent something else almost as painfull, like something with Ben affleck in it.

I sat through this rubbish. The gore is laughable; the nudity is miniscule and the acting is crap. The best actor in the whole film is Ron Jeremy.

The film has rip off moments. A chainsaw scene straight out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and found footage that resembles the Blair Witch.

Don't bother with this pile of steaming manure. Paint a wall and watch it dry. It will be more entertaining.

If you ever decide to watch a film like this, please take into consideration that it was probably shot for the price of a used car and in the spans of a week. Total Roger Corman/Ed Wood style, so you should never expect a Spielburg quality film(His catering budget is usually bigger than the entire budget of a film like this.) So what does a film like this have to offer a viewer? A dialog heavy script with thick subplots and well known actors? Mind blowing special effects? Beautiful breath-taking 35mm Cinematography? No, but it has couple things that make it unique. Despite the fact that it was probably shot on a camcorder, some of the shots were well planned and executed. Unlike the normal all-hand-held Shot-on-Video features usually do. Of course the Director and the Cinematographer were the same person, which can be difficult. The Characters were unique, yes at sometime they were over-the-top or flat at certain times, but I feel that they were tolerable. It's also obvious at time there was a lot of ad libbing and some of it didn't work. I am a fan of Beverly Lynn though. She started out in the Brain Damage world and has definitely out-shined many of her counterparts. I do hope that she will grow in her craft and lands roles that will gain her the respect that she deserves. This was Phoebe Dollar's first film credit, she definitely shines as the evil Lucinda. She is definitely a presence that will go far in the future. The story also is unique for the fact if you actually try to follow what's going on, you will be pulled in many different directions and will be left still wondering what exactly happen. It definitely had some interesting twists in it. Now onto the special effects, outside the low quality of the video image the special effects look even worse than normal. They are totally laughable. Especially Joe Haggerty's blow to the head.( Which can really be the charm of a film like this, where the gore is so over-the-top that it's actually funny. I can imagine how a movie like this would be in a college dorm, with a room full of drunk men.) Especially when watch the toy model cars driving by or see the miniature gas station blow up! That was funny!! I had to rewind to make sure I saw what I thought I saw!! The Sound was something to be desired. It was for the most part inconsistent. Some of the sound effects were very "fake" sounding and again laughable at times. There also obvious continuity issues like switching props, road movement in the background in a car scene when the car is supposedly stopped. But what do you expect when you can afford re-shoots? To me this movie, seems to be a turning point for the whole Brain Damage world. Where their movies started moving up the ladder from their pocket-change budget beginnings. Good job Jeff LeRoy!! If you want a movie that scares you, it probably won't. If you want a movie that will challenge your intellect, don't rent this. But if you appreciate the micro-budget, and want to see something different that the normal movie studios wouldn't put out, then you might want to check it out.

There are only Two things worth watching in this Horror Film. "CHRIS" Played by JONATHAN GREY- AKA (JON PRUTOW) I've seen him in other stuff,(Joys of Smoking) and He's most exellent. A very Strong Actor, and shouldnt be wasting his time in this Bad, movie...The Lead brunette, Pheobe. Pheobe does and awesome Psycho Job, and really seems to "get into" her Role, as the Killer/Ghost. (She IS the Hottest and only hottest) Female in the Movie. Beyond Doubt. Otherwise, this film is a Great example of REALLY Bad acting. The special effects were okay---except the fake body/dummy thing being run over by a car. that looked sooo bad, but having her head pop back up under the tire-was impressive.

I rented this movie and liked it so much I will buy one of the extra copies at my local video store... Many people don't like movies shot in such a low budget , but I do, I love them!, anyway, there was enough nudity, sex, graphic violence and gore to satisfy fans of slasher movies, I even liked the ending (which I was expecting), the cast is hot, especially Beverly Lynne who is gorgeous!!!

This nifty little NO BUDGET shocker was a surprise to me. It was made by talented kids but still they're kids and it shows. There's a lot of stuff that's either lifted from other films, or supposed to be in homage to other films. You'll know it when you see it, and this is typical of kids just starting out making films. They have this whole sensibility that it's funny and hip to reference other films in their work, little "in jokes" that their social circle all get. The interviews with cast and crew at the end show this level of immaturity. Still, there's enough original stuff here to make it worth seeing. I got this because of the nice box art and well written synopsis, but when I saw it was shot on video, and not even very good video, I thought it was a mistake to watch. But I gave it a chance and was surprised at the many good points, and of course it is uneven yet there's enough good in it to give congrats to the writer/director for coming up with a literate and interesting script with a nice plot twist that's totally unexpected. Good acting by Ms. Dollar as the evil "entity", and some good grisly effects, though I wish she had handled the chainsaw a little better. Plus there's not really any slow or tedious points. It would be interesting to see the director do this again but in about 15-20 years when he's grown up and got more experience and a bigger budget to shoot it on film or HD. The basic story is literate enough to do it again and make the weak parts stronger, cut out the silliness and kid stuff, give it an overall sense of maturity and really develop the twist ending more. It's actually a good enough weirdo story to rank with the film stories of DePalma and Stephen King. Anyway, you won't be bored.