ROAD TO HELL

2013 / Director. Albert Pyun. Movie #50

Today I was lucky enough to have been invited to watch a test screening of Albert Pyun's ROAD TO HELL. It is a spiritual sequel to Walter Hill's awesome rock 'n roll fable, Streets Of Fire. Michael Paré and Deborah Van Vulkenburgh reprise their roles from the original in this unique follow up that catches up with Cody almost 30 years from the events of the first movie. Now a tortured soul, Cody returns in search of his true love, Ellen. Years away at war have turned him into a monster, fighting personal demons and struggling to find his humanity. Caught in a seemingly endless purgatory-like wasteland he crosses paths with two femme-fatale serial killers on the run. They stand in his way of returning to Edge City where he hopes to reunite with Ellen and their daughter, whom he abandoned many years ago. Yet to be released, this cut of the film has been screened as a means of gathering feedback. Pyun is a one-of-a-kind director who values his fans more than any other filmmaker I know. My admiration of him is no secret, however, I can honestly say (without bias) that ROAD TO HELL is his most focused and controlled movie in many years. It looks incredible. Where the original film made use of sound stages, wet pavement and deep colours to capture it's aesthetic, Pyun has made brilliant use of chroma-key and a richly saturated colour scheme of sunset, sunrise and moonlight to provoke a surreal and nightmarish world. His use of music recaptures the magic of Streets of Fire with familiar songs reworked and a few new ones helping to raise this movie into its own plain. While it does serve as a sequel to Streets of Fire, it also stands on its own. It's a rock n roll fable of another kind... same characters, new dream.  I can find very few flaws with it and the nit-picks I can identify aren't worth highlighting. They will go privately to Albert as constructive criticism. I can't wait to see the final cut and I can't wait for people to see this. It will definitely stand proudly amongst Albert's best and I can see it becoming a cult favourite. 

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