As far as interesting resumes go, director Albert Pyun has a hard one to beat. The independent filmmaker was among the first to take a crack at a CAPTAIN AMERICA adaptation, helped herald Jean-Claude Van Dammer’s career with CYBORG, worked a stint with Full Moon films directing DOLLMAN and ARCADE, and helmed the four-film NEMESIS franchise. The independent filmmaker will soon be adding to legacy with ROAD TO HELL, a (strictly) spiritual sequel to Walter Hill’s cult classic STREETS OF FIRE. Even more excitingly, the film has been chosen to open Las Vegas’ PollyGrind film festival.
The festival, run by Chad Clinton Freeman, will see ROAD TO HELL as the main event on its October 17th opening. Freeman himself is backing up the choice, praising the filmmaker’s achievement with ROAD TO HELL: “I’m a big fan of Albert… He’s one of those modern day masters of the straight-to-video cult world like Charles Band, Lloyd Kaufman and Andy Sidaris. I am very pleased he is apart of PollyGrind this year.”
ROAD TO HELL stars Michael Pare as Cody, a reprisal of STREETS OF FIRE mercenary Tom Cody, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh as Sister, who is a clear stand-in for the original film’s Reva Cody. It will also feature music by Jim Steinmann, the man who penned the Walter Hill film’s classic song “Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young”. Up-and-coming rock star Roxy Gunn is cast as Ellen Dream, a play on the Diane Lane character Ellen Aim, while Lauren Sutherland replaces the Amy Madigan role of McCoy. Clare Kramer and Courtney Peldon round out the cast as a pair of new spree killer characters, Caitlan and Ashley.
Pollyspree’s main events run from October 17th to the 21st. You can find out more information on it at their website. In the meantime, check out the synopsis and official trailer for ROAD TO HELL (courtesy of Albert Pyun’s own YouTube channel) below.
A soldier who has been fighting a long war is driven mad because he no longer believes in any purpose or righteous truth behind the killing. He comes home to a surreal world looking for his first and only love from his youth, believing she will rescue him from his demons. On the road to Edge City he encounters two seductive spree killers who oppose his efforts to find his love and the redemption he desperately seeks.