4/5 A bunch of teenagers go into a fun house and they are not all getting out alive
  by Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota)
In between screenings of movies at the After Dark Horrorfest (a.k.a "8 Films 2 Die 4"), when we were discussing the relative merit of the films there was a general consensus that if the distributors (Lionsgate and AfterDark Films) had their druthers, then it would be "Dark Ride" that would be their choice for the film to be selected as the best of the fest and get the general release. That honor when to "The Abandoned," which was something of a surprise to me, but "Dark Ride" would have been a safe choice because studio executives would recognize it as your standard formula horror film circa 1980s (e.g., Tobe Hooper's "The Funhouse" came out in 1981). Of course the heart of the slasher film is to put a bunch of soon to be dead teenagers in a specific location, such as Camp Crystal Lake or a carnival fun house, but one of the hallmarks of the genre in the 1980s was that there was always some story about what happened once upon a time in that particular place and you have to pay attention to it because it not only tells you who the slasher is but also another part of the puzzle that gets revealed at the end as the "twist."

One thing to say for this 2006 horror film from director Craig Singer ("Kill Charlie"), is that he is working with much better cameras and film stock than Tobe Hooper was back in "Funhouse." "Dark Ride" certainly does not look like a low budget splatter flick from way back when, but it definitely embraces the genre. Jumping in the van for a road trip to Cleveland are Cathy (Jamie-Lynn Sigler of "The Sopranos), Bill (Patrick Renna from "The Sandlot" and last night's episode of "Boston Legal"), Steve (David Rogers from "The Legend of Butch and Sundance"), Jim (Alex Solowitz from "Never Been Kissed"), and Liz (Jennifer Tisdale from "The Hillside Strangler"). Along the way they pick up hitchhiker Jen (Andrea Bogart from "DarkWolf"), who gives a bit of a harder edge to tonight's dinner menu. As soon as you see Sigler's name and realize it is the only one your recognize you know who has the heroine's role in "Dark Ride" as the good girl (so forget about looking forward to her gruesome death like you did Paris Hilton in "House of Wax"). Jen is the bad girl and Liz the cute girl, while Bill is the nerd, Steve the stud, and Jim the mouthy guy, completing the Mouseketeer roll call that makes up tonight's smorgasbord.

On their way to New Orleans the crew are traveling near Ashbury Park New Jersey, where way back in the 1980s (which decade did you expect?) a deformed psycho named Jonah (Dave Warden), brutally murdered a pair of young girls who made the mistake of going on the Dark Ride. After all these years the Dark Ride is being reopened and given the choice of driving on the Big Easy or breaking into a fun house in the middle of the night, the group picks the latter. Of course what we know that they do not is that Jonah has just escaped from the mental institution that has held him since he was convicted and now that he is free it is safe to say that he is not going to New Orleans either and that most of these kids are going to end up dead with their blood and guts all over the place.

Actually, "Dark Ride" is not particularly gory, because half of the fun here is the anticipation as Jonah goes after each next target. Then there is also the dark humor that runs throughout the film, which is not really all that great, but it is not laughably bad, always a plus in this genre. If this movie had been released twenty years ago it would have been one of the slickest splatter flicks around, but that probably means those of us who cut our teeth on the original version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and flicks like "I Spit on Your Grave" and "Friday the 13th" are going to be the ones to round up on "Dark Ride" while those weaned on the recent remake of "TCM" and films like "Hostel" and the "Saw" trilogy will decide to round down. All I ask you to bear in mind when you get to the end and Sigler's Cathy does the right thing at the exact right place at the exact right time, that this bit of audacity is par for the course in those 1980s splatter flicks that Singer is emulating here. Just remember that in such films what happens at the end is not the twist: it is the punch line.

2/5 Nothing new
  by Kevin Stanton (Pittsburgh)
I watched this movie knowing it was a slasher flick and it was part of the 'After Dark' collection. I have to say, I'm not really all that impressed with that collection.
Penny Dreadful could stand alone. The Hamiltons was a very good new look at an old theme. Those two were the best of the group.
This could very well be the worst.
Nothing new. Acting was poor. The action didn't take place until late in the flick. With other great slasher movies out there like Friday the 13th, Halloween, Black Christmas and so many more, I was sorry to have wasted my time on this one.
It's schlock. Pure and simple. Just another display from no new angle.

4/5 Pretty good, but I hated that little creep
  by Music Lover in Omaha (Omaha, Ne)
For me, this film earned 4 stars because it did a good job of reworking the original movie 'Funhouse', which is on my list as one of the 5 greatest movies ever made. In fact, I thought it was downright eerie how much Jamie Lynn-Sigler reminded me of Elizabeth Berridge at the end of the film. There was some humor in the film that seemed very natural like these were people who might actually talk and act like they did. I felt that the characters were actually people you could care about one way or another. This movie was bloody enough for me, had enough violence and jumps to keep me interested and had some pretty good characters. I won't say what little creep I didn't like (actually he was great) but if you watch it you will know. I also loved Jim played by Alex Solowitz. This guy played the part of horror movie fodder for the bad guy terrifically. The only mystery is how he survived so long, but I loved his character's mental deteriorization. The killer was pretty standard fare but the little twist at the end was kind of neat. All in all, this was a nice diverting hour and a half. The original 'Fun House' was a classic. This one was pretty good and did not shame the original. I now own both.

5/5 Refreshing return to a old slasher genre...
  by FJW (Escondido, CA)
Warning : If you are like some of new breed of horror fans who prefer the new fangled horror movies which predominantly feature nothing more than men torturing men, this movie is not for you.

I had a blast watching this movie and I noticed it kept the interest of the packed theater at the Loews on 42nd street. Most seemed to appreciate the originality and humor of this film which is what a "real" slasher movie is all about.

I did find a bit of over-acting by some. Even Jamie Lynn Seigler was not at her best (but she still looked good which is really all that matters in this type of movie).

That girl Andrea Bogart (Hippie Hitchhiker Chick) was a babe. She was perfect for the part, not to mention extremely hot. I'm surprised I haven't seen her in anything else.

There's one guy that reminds me of a cross between Gary Busey, Anthony Michael Hall and Puck (from the real world)- HA! I hate all of those guys individually, but I found this guy funny and non-irritating for some reason. Probably due to great writing I guess.

I congratulate Lions-Gate for taking a chance on movies like this. The audience who appreciate what "real" slasher movies are all about will probably appreciate this "curve ball" away from the big budgeted mindless garbage that I've seen over the past couple of years. At least I didn't leave the theater feeling like I needed a shower.


2/5 I'd like a second opinion if this is one of the 8 films to die for. Could've been better
  by Matt C. Handfield (Northampton, Ma USA)
I don't see why this film didn't make the movie theatre mainstream. Dark Ride is your standard slasher film, bunch of kids on a road trip, killer on the loose, where have we seen this before? Uh, I dunno....Halloween, Friday the 13th, Sorority house massacre, need I go On? Ok, well the angle on this film is the setting, in an amusement park funhouse. It quickly becomes cliche in a veritabal you win of slayings. If you wanted to you could place bets on which one dies next. At least make some fun out of this so-so slasher film.
Yes this film had gore in it, some of it pretty good. However, because of the enclosed funhouse setting I felt that this film was very boring. However this film adds a scream type angle where someone in the cast is there to add a fine assist to the killers agenda. Not bad, but kind of predictable. The only surprises in this film is the gore was pretty messy in some parts.
DVD extras include 2 making of featurettes, deleted scenes, Story boards, and director comentary.
Bottom Line:..............Standard Slasher Fair, not very memorable, Could've been much better.