Ten years after he brutally murdered two girls, a killer escapes from a mental institution and returns to his turf, the theme park attraction called Dark Ride. About to crash his path are a group of college kids on a road trip who stumble across the park.
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Reviews
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
A Disappointing Continuation
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Another entry in the stalk-and-slash genre, "Dark Ride" ticks the usual boxes. A bunch of crazy teenagers are up to no good - drinking, sex, drugs, the usual stuff - and some are more dis-likable than others. A maniac killer is on the loose, and soon the world has fewer ne'er-do-well youngsters to worry about. Similarities with other movies abound, though a few novel quirks keep the interest.About half the movie is set in a "ghost train" funfair ride at night, and the location provides some neat, if rather predictable, shocks. The killer is very much in the Jason mold: the bad childhood, mask, silent-but-deadly type. The teens wander around, and meet various bloody ends. Speaking of the end, you'll probably guess the "twist" well in advance, but it's likely not the worst finale to a horror movie you'll ever see.If you crave originality, look elsewhere. If you're after a reasonably effective stalk-and-slash experience, this passes the time nicely. The acting isn't bad, there are tense moments, and the crazy guy in the mask is pretty scary. Just don't think too hard, or expect to watch it more than once.
I really don't know what to say. This film is terrible. I'm mean, it's not crap. It 'did' have some gory moments, but it just didn't cut it. It's one of those films looks good but is really crap when you come to watch it.I was expecting some interesting deaths considering the concept of the film. But really they were badly executed. Either by stabbing or slashing. It was terrible. The only death I did actually like was the ending part where the villain/clown got impaled in the spikes at the end. That to me, was one of the only epic scene from the film. Aside from the beginning which was pretty good.Now I'm not one for going on about clichés & I'm not. But this film took the cake. i.e. female soul survivor, lack of phone signal, naive characters, muscular lead character, a funny guy, whining 'hot' girls. Need I go on?The blood & gore was average, but the deaths were not. Especially considering it's an 18! Story line was OK, with a good twist but, a very VERY bad ending! It was quite confusing & crap! It sucked so bad!!Overall I'd say this film was disappointing. Though I bought this one 2nd hand I'm still down after watching this. I just don't understand how this would pass any directors standards! Wouldn't pass mine I can tell you that! It's still a mystery to me as to why films like this get made & aren't bloody or gory, let alone interesting enough! 2/10
For a slasher movie, "Dark Ride" really is pretty much okay. The setting was great (a carnival's Haunted House, so in that sense "Dark Ride" reminds us a bit of Tobe Hooper's "Funhouse") and some of the killings were quite memorable. But... I expected a bit more twist-juice in the end. You just know very soon what the obvious twist at the end will be, so I was pretty sure the filmmakers would give us something else. Something more. Something unexpected. But sadly, they didn't. I didn't have as much fun with Dark Ride as I did with, for instance, a movie like the "House Of Wax" re-make, but still, it's a fun ride for slasher fans in general.
I agree with the majority of voters that the movie "Dark Ride" is not exactly a masterpiece. Nevertheless, I think, director Craig Singer has to be thanked for having made the first movie of what is called either "dark ride" or "ghost train" in British English.In this Movie Database, there is a very concise definition of what we are speaking here: " 'Dark ride' is an old term used in the carnival business to describe rides that involve getting in a cart or buggy and traversing a dark, enclosed building designed to have characters or props appear at intervals, designed to surprise or entertain". However, the most important part of a dark ride, besides the maze-like horror cabinet, is forgotten here: the combination of rails and wheel. There are indeed "ghost houses" or "haunted houses" in the form of "walk-throughs", i.e. without carts or buggies driving through. Not only is it amazing that it took decades until the first movie was made about dark rides a topic that is more than predestined to deliver the background for or like here the center of almost any thinkable form of horror. It is also amazing that the British term "dark ride" is almost unknown in the US although there are dark rides even in small theme parks (stationary) or on fairgrounds (itinerant). The other British term, "ghost train", is ambiguous: On the one side, it is used for a real train driven or populated by ghosts (like in many movies under this title), or it is used for dark ride, being a literal translation of German "Geisterbahn".Ghost trains or dark rides or haunted houses appear first on German and Dutch fairgrounds in the early 1930ies. Their ancestors were "hollow trains", "scene railways" and generally horror cabinets, which came up in the late 19th century. When fairground business started to decline between the two World Wars, many of the famous German dark rides which were built by the legendary showman Hugo Haase, were sold to America. The best two-floor dark rides or ghost trains came for example to Coney Island where they have been gigantic attractions. However, the fate of these theme-rides has never been written. Why they did not even inspire a movie until 2006, when Singer's "Dark Ride" was released, stays a mystery. Moreover, dark rides hardly ever appear in American standard works about fairground art, although Geoff Warden and Richard Ward displayed in their art history reference work hundreds of pictures of both Europe-imported and US-built dark rides and similar theme-rides. Nowadays, it seems that the once fascinating rides through dark rides have been followed by horror movies under use of extensive special effects. However, watching a movie can never substitute a ride through a horror cabinet. Therefore, dark rides could perhaps be revitalized through using newer forms of horror provided by movies.