Nostalgia Kinky

Made in Texas in 1989, Highway to Hell (1990) is a wild, 16mm-shot production from fiercely independent director Bret McCormick, now available on Blu-ray from Visual Vengeance. Made entirely with a local crew and actors, Highway to Hell makes the most of its ultra-low budget with McCormick creating a truly fun and trashy exploitation flick.

McCormick was nearing thirty when he shot Highway to Hell. It was just his third film, after Abomination (1988) and Tabloid (1989), and it marked a jump up to the 16mm format from his 8mm-based work. During Visual Vengeance’s fairly extensive extras, McCormick recalls Highway to Hell marked the first time he ever made a dime from one of his films. He does memorable work behind the camera here, creating a surprisingly effective little Joyride/i> like thriller with the smallest of budgets and crews. 

Highway to Hell’s mostly inexperienced cast gives reasonably solid performances. Co-star Blue Thompson mentions that McCormick typically shot in just one take, so the performances here are as good as they can be. Thompson is strong, especially as the film progresses. For her nemesis, Texas theater actor Benton Jennings appears as the raging killer ‘Toby Gilmore’, in a delightfully over-the-top performance that is as fun as the film. 

Popular cult film actor Richard Harrison also appears as a Lone-Star cop haunted by the fact that he didn’t kill Gilmore after he assaulted his daughter. To say the veteran actor has seen better days is putting it mildly, and Harrison mostly phones in his performance. Never mind that, we should all be grateful for Harrison’s appearance, as it leads to one of the funniest ‘featurettes’ in home video history. It’s only about a minute long, but it is absolutely hysterical.

Visual Vengeance has indeed loaded up McCormick’s strange little film with some great extras, including a director’s commentary plus cast and crew interviews. As with other Visual Vengeance releases, a bonus film is here as well with its own set of extras. In this case, it is the SOV title Gary Kennamer directed title Redneck County Fever (1992). 

As fun as Highway to Hell is, there is an element of tragedy with the film. McCormick sadly admits via this new Blu-ray that the original 16mm elements were mistakenly destroyed years ago. This Visual Vengeance release only became a possibility when a backup VHS master was discovered in a cast member’s possession. So, while Highway to Hell’s looks like an SOV film via this special edition, the quality is due to the loss of the original elements. It is a major bummer, but the film still manages to deliver. 

With its wonderfully weird Greg Synodis composed score, which combines Texarkana twang with creepy analogue synths, Highway to Hell is a smooth 80-minute ride that never outstays its welcome. While it is a shame a proper restoration wasn’t possible, I appreciate that Visual Vengeance stayed true to the available source material here and didn’t try to create a fake ‘upscaled’ version. Perhaps one day those original elements might reappear, but this Visual Vengeance release is a must for fans of local independent outsider cinema regardless.

-Jeremy Richey, March 2026-

Highway to Hell can be ordered here from MVD.