Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

Straight to Hell Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 28, 2019

Alex Cox's "Straight to Hell" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with the director and co-writer and star Dick Rude; archival featurettes; and original trailer. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The outsiders

It is odd that at least one of the four producers did not step up and tell Alex Cox that what he was shooting was awful. Perhaps the script that Cox initially handed out had enough quality material that made them feel confident that he can deliver a good film, or it could be that they were under the impression that with the current cast nothing could go wrong. Whatever the sales pitch might have been the end result is a total disaster, easily one of the worst films to emerge from the ‘80s.

The plot is a mish-mash of ideas and flavors that Cox borrowed from various places. One part of it imitates the style that the classic spaghetti westerns legitimized; another part promotes a Mad Max vibe; a third part adds a good dose of the colorful surrealism that made Alejandro Jodorwsky’s films special. Sounds great, doesn’t it? It sure does, but the exotic extravaganza that Cox imagined never materialized. It seems like he had a bunch of ideas floating in his head and eventually realized that if they are brought together it would be enough to strike gold. This is exactly how the film begins, abruptly, a lot like a chaotic exotic dream whose intensity threatens to collapse it. Then the picture becomes clearer and the film introduces four characters who rob a bank, barely get away with the loot, and head to a small town somewhere in the middle of the desert. Three of them are men, supposedly professionals, while the fourth is a woman with an attitude who looks like a junkie. The crew then enters the only bar in town and after they are tested by the locals become part of the ‘scene’. The rest of the film is simply a lot of over-the-top posturing and random behavior that is supposed to make it so outrageous that it actually becomes entertaining.

Here are a couple of reasons why this exotic experiment quickly disintegrates:

First, Cox’s direction is shockingly poor. There is scene after scene where different actors stare at each other, utter some silly lines, and then do their best to create situations in which they can do something outrageous that would legitimize the film’s exotic atmosphere. But none of this material actually produces anything of interest, and the more intense the mayhem becomes, the more amateurish the whole thing looks.

There is supposed to be room for humor, but different attitudes are flying all over the place and Cox does not appear to know what to do with them. The lack of chemistry between the actors is so obvious and so awkward that there is endless footage where it looks like many can barely wait to do their part and step out for a break. Courtney Love’s performance is especially poor, but even Joe Strummer leaves the impression that he isn’t exactly thrilled to be in the company of his co-stars.

The unconvincing editing is what completely destroys even the tiniest opportunities where Cox could have done something decent to give one an excuse to endure his film. There are a few big stars that step in front of the camera -- Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones, Jim Jarmusch -- but the footage is so sloppy that it is actually irrelevant. Frankly, the manner in which the footage is edited leaves the impression that Cox basically shot inserts that were later on added in so that the long list of actors that contributed to the film can look more impressive. Very, very disappointing work.

*Kino Lorber’s release of Straight to Hell is sourced from a recent 2K remaster. Also, the release contains a director’s cut of the film, which is approximately 91 minutes long.

Straight to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alex Cox's Straight to Hell arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K remaster which is quite inconsistent, though I have to say that it creates a very different impression at first glance. Indeed, the film looks healthy and there are no traces of problematic digital work. Also, the overall color balance is quite nice -- the primaries are stable and with good ranges of supporting nuances. However, the grading has also introduced plenty of black crush, and in certain areas it is actually quite easy to tell that finer details are lost and depth isn't as good as it should be (see screencapture #11). Furthermore, for some unknown to me reason there are different parts of the remaster that exhibit light shakiness, and the larger your screen is, the easier it will be for you to see it. In fact, I noticed two sequences where it almost looks like the image 'stutters'. There are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you need to have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Straight to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the 5.1 track and then did some random comparisons with the 2.0 track. My impression is that there are in fact parts of the film where the 5.1 track attempts to open up the action a bit better, but I am not convinced that significant efforts were made to create a superior track. The separation is just as good on the 2.0 track and I could not quite tell where was the improvement. (See the shootout around the 21.00 mark). Obviously, I did not view the entire film with the 2.0 track, so I don't know if there are specific segments where a lot changes.

Straight to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - trailer for Straight to Hell Returns. (1 min, 480/60i).

• Black Hills - a short tour of the Straight to Hell locations. With comments by Alex Cox. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Back to Hell - this vintage documentary focuses on the production history of Straight to Hell. Included in it are clips from interviews with various cast members as well as Alex Cox. In English, not subtitled. (24 min, 480/60i).

• Commentary - this audio commentary features Alex Cox and co-writer and star Dick Rude. The bulk of the information that is shared in it addresses the casting process, the different versions of the film, the on-location shooting, the blending of violence and humor, etc.

Straight to Hell Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Straight to Hell is so desperate to be seen as strikingly exotic and cool that it actually looks like the creation of an amateur director who was accidentally given a budget to make it. It is full of pretentious posturing and over-the-top 'acting' that at times are flat-out unbearable. However, it might be worth seeing because there are not a lot of flops like it that have a similar cast of stars. The release comes with an equally strange audio commentary in which Alex Cox and co-writer and star Dick Rude routinely describe a completely different film.