BY BOB STRAUSS >FILM CRITIC

It's a biker film, a spaghetti Western, a soft-core porno, a slice of macho poetry. It's also not very good. It's "Hell Ride."

Written and directed by co-star Larry (son of Joey) Bishop, who appeared in his share of cheap motorcycle movies back in the 1960s and '70s, this charts the rivalry between two gangs, the Victors and the 666ers, amid scads of revenge-inspiring flashbacks and double-crossing double dealing that isn't exactly hard to follow, but is not worth the effort.

Executive-produced by - who else? - Quentin Tarantino, the film features a wild bunch of guys he would like: Dennis Hopper, David Carradine, Michael Madsen and Vinnie Jones (Eric Balfour, for the record, is the closest thing to the movie's hero). They act tough and commit brutality and fool around with legions of hot hookers whose assets Bishop commits the bulk of his artistry to framing. His other creative signature is wordplay dialogue that doesn't hold a candle to Tarantino's verbal gymnastics, and gets terribly annoying pretty fast.

I don't think anyone here was really trying to make a good movie; just one with lots of overexposed throat-slitting, crossbow-bolting and stupid, celebratory sexism. Hopper rides a vintage Indian with a sidecar, by the way.

Review

HELL RIDE

R: violence, sex, nudity, language, drug use, children in peril.

Running time: 1 hr. 25 min.

Playing: Select theaters.