Often one of the reasons that pulp horror appeals is the common trope of friendship. For most, adulthood happens, people disappear, they move on; it’s just life. So there’s an almost intoxicating sense of nostalgia when the cast of characters as long-term buddies, all liberated from the world and its responsibilities by their trust and intimacy towards each other.
When the murders begin, the situation becomes more extreme as the buddies as fight for their lives – together. Unlike strangers, they resist abandoning one another, and desperately attempt saving their companions rather than leave them behind. The whole tragedy is compounded by the simple element that the characters truly value each other.
Dark Ride spends nearly the entire time trying to achieve this and just doesn’t make the cut. As pretty much everything else is some tedious yarn about something to do with an escaped insane aslyum maniac, this is all that it leaves itself with, and still can’t pull it off. With such a tedious story and lack of imagination, the failure to produce a convincing fantasy about young relationships is an impressively terrible stroke of ineptitude.
Following its gory introduction, which at least promises some kind of demented mayhem, the remainder of the tale resolves around a completely superficial set of characters and killers. All are abysmally unlikable and disposable, by being so distant, unlikable, and empty. They become such a chore to watch and the dogshit performances don’t help either.
Though there is an endless goldmine of opportunity with the horror carousel theme, offering rich possibilities from the psychological to the merely slapstick, the directors barely explore or research their ideas at all beyond the most predictable and staple ingredients. With such a lack of content or experimentation, all that’s left are the most basic and safest predictable slasher clichés, which are barely enough to thrill anyone beyond the age of 13.
What makes things worse is how tough it is to even think of any improvements that could be done to make it better, at least without firing 95% of the cast. The sets are somewhat suitably deranged, the masks are at least a preliminary endeavour, and the almost supernatural strength of the antagonist could have been exploited. Now I’d like to get off this ride please.
1/10
Possession Media 