Bus Party to Hell (2017) Review: Surprisingly Fun
“Next Stop, Death!”Synopsis: A party bus on its way to Burning Man is attacked by Satanic cultists. | ![]() Watch now on Amazon |
We received an advance screener of Bus Party to Hell in exchange for our honest review. The opinions below are our own and have not been paid for or coerced.
Calamity Brains:
Bus Party to Hell is one of an elite group of B movies that’s saved not by the acting or laughable effects, but rather the story itself. At Codex Mortis, we are happy connoisseurs of bad TV, and let me tell you: finding a semi-intelligent plot with multiple surprising twists just isn’t common for this category of horror.
Though Bus Party to Hell isn’t quite “so-bad-it’s-good,” there’s a surprising amount to like from both the “bad” and the “good” sides. If you’re the kind of person who loves to laugh at movies, you’re in luck – and you’ll probably even find yourself laughing with this flick a few times. The acting is all pretty dismal, even by B horror standards (Tara Reid, I’m looking at you and your unenthusiastic stabbing). But there are a few bright points (for example, Sadie Katz steals every scene she’s in). And fortunately for the audience, the acting usually falls on the hilarious side of bad, especially in the over-the-top cultist scenes.
The effects are generally laughable as well (I’m pretty sure all the entrails are just rope dipped in red paint), but the filmmakers made good use of real props where they could. The camerawork was similarly shaky – scenes inside the bus were tended to be dark and grainy, but the desert panoramas were excellent, and there was more than one shot that was actually very well done. (The direction helps with this a lot; there’s one sex scene interspersed with cutaways that had me cackling with delight.) In addition, the story is fresh and clever and takes a few unexpected turns – all of which conspire to keep the movie out of the realm of banal.
Of course, as is always the case with this type of flick, Bus Party to Hell won’t be for everyone. (You should probably have a good idea of whether it’s for you based on the name alone.) But if you found something to like in Zoombies, Sharktopus, or any of the other Codex Mortis B-horror favorites, you’ll probably enjoy the ridiculousness of Bus Party to Hell. Bring some friends and some beers (and our drinking game) and it makes for a surprisingly fun night.
Calamity Brains’ Rating: C
Watch now on Amazon
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