From Hell He Rides is a stop-motion animated short film telling the story of a presumed-to-be-dead lone gunman hunting down the culprits of a crime committed seven years back. How he came back or why is he avenging the death of a woman when there seems to be no relation between the characters— beats me.

Stop-motion is always fun to watch and this isn’t the exception. It’s one hell of a ride— no pun intended. It’s chaotic when it comes to action, it’s crafty with its effects and it has certain charm that makes you want more. The puppets and settings are very well stylized— the creators of this beautiful project have been careful with all the details to avoid skipping a frame. From the effects to the sound mix it is, you could say, perfect. However, there is a tiny detail that seems to have been forgotten: the plot holes in script.

Despite telling a creative story under a worn idea as it is inspired by ’60s spaghetti westerns, the script is a bit sloppy and repetitive at first. Once the vendetta is on track, it gets somehow better to thread the story. It also seems these holes were left intentionally folded to give its hero the benefit of the doubt.

From Hell He Rides is fascinating with its rustic visuals and polished animation. Even when the main hero lacks motivation to commit his actions (these are never reflected at some point in the plot), it is evident that a good job has been done as a source of entertainment.

9 OUT OF 10 BULLETS