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Highway to Hell (1992) - Ate de Jong


I should have known before coming into this movie that it had a stupid concept. The movie couldn't even get the right Lowe brother. They got Chad Lowe of all people, Rob must have been too busy making Wayne's World. Highway to Hell is categorized as a horror comedy: its extremely cheesy and wonderfully under-acted. The movie has an awesome array of cameos the biggest being Ben Stiller and his father Jerry Stiller and both portray guys stuck in hell. Jerry Stiller is a cop and Ben Stiller is a cook. 

Highway to Hell is a comedy about a girl, Rachel (Kristy Swanson) that runs away with her boyfriend Charlie (Chad Lowe) to get married in Las Vegas. Instead some Hellcop abducts Rachel and she is taken to hell. Charlie must save her so he takes to the open road on his way to hell to find his true love. From there even more cameos pop up: Lita Ford, Gilbert Godfrey, and Amy Stiller. The movie paints hell as the Mojave Desert where people are still operating jobs and living their depressing and horrid lives. Kind of like the movie Wristcutters.

This movie is obviously made for the MTV generation, back when Ben Stiller had his own show and MTV actually played music! Yes kids, there was actually a time. The movie is full of cheesy puns and over the top situations that only add to the charm of the movie. There is one scene where our hero goes into a hellish strip club and everyone in there is dressed in their proper historical garb: Knights were dressed in full knight gear, Nazi's dressed in their full regalia, gunslingers are decked out with 10 gallon hats and western wear, Hitler (Gilbert Godfrey), Attila the Hun (Ben Stiller), and Cleopatra (Amy Stiller) are all dressed in familiar fashion. There is even a Muammar Gaddafi reference as we get to see a reservation at a table in hell for him.

I recommend this movie to anyone that wants to relive the early 90's. This movie has everything from laughs to blood and guts and it sets it up in a Mad Max type environment. Keep your eyes peeled for this on the VHS rack in your local Goodwill. This movie is definitely worth the 99 cents.

Charlie: Can you tell me the quickest way to Hell?
The Hitchhiker (Lita Ford): Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll

  • On Hellcop's chin are the letters "S.J. + L.Q.", which stand for Steve Johnson (makeup artist), and Linnea Quigley (his wife). 
  • This movie features four members of the Stiller Family: Jerry Stiller, his wife Anne Meara, Ben Stiller, and Ben's sister, Amy Stiller, who does bit parts in most of Ben's movies. 
  • Shot in 44 days in Page, Arizona. 

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