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FROM HELL HE RIDES

A corrupt lawman and his posse are targeted by an unknown gunman, hell-bent on avenging a savage crime from their shared past. The latest stop motion short from multi-award winning director Adam Ciolfi is an inspired take on the classic spaghetti westerns of the 1960s.

  • Adam CIolfi
    Director
  • The Ciolfi Brothers
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Animation
  • Genres:
    Western, Horror, animation
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 58 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 23, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Adam CIolfi

Adam Ciolfi’s lifelong fascination with stop motion animation began in 1975 when at age ten he discovered the work of Ray Harryhausen (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) In 1977 he attempted his first film with a lump of clay and a Regular 8 camera. By 1985 he and his siblings had produced 26 amateur short films.

Adam completed ATTIC-IN-THE-BLUE, his first professional production in 1991. In 1996, after a series of live action shorts, he began work on a stop motion feature film. THE LADY OF NAMES (2011) took 14 years to complete and would screen at over 60 festivals worldwide, taking home the award for Best Animated Feature 9 times.

Over the next decade he created the multi-award winning and critically acclaimed shorts BROKEN (2014), HIVE (2016) and FILTH (2019) leading up to the recently completed FROM HELL HE RIDES (2021) The challenge of recreating the look and feel of those classic westerns of the 1960’s was daunting to say the least but the resulting film showcases all the trademarks of that bygone era in what is the directors most ambitious and accomplished work to date.

Currently Adam is planning his next animated short, the H.P. Lovecraft inspired IT CAME FROM BEYOND THE DRAIN.

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Director Statement

Working alone in the confines of my small studio I thought it would be an interesting challenge to tackle the widescreen vistas of the classic spaghetti westerns of the 1960’s using stop motion animation. It would take me two and a half years to bring this dark and violent story to life.

Production began in November 2019. With the finishing touches to the script in place, a full year was devoted to pre production which included storyboards, designing and building the characters and sets, and recording the vocal performances. Animation began in December of 2020.

One of the benefits of working alone meant the production could continue unhindered even after the COVID-19 pandemic hit North America in March of 2020. With lock downs in place I spent a year at the animation table, putting the characters through their paces one frame at a time. The last shot went before the camera in February 2021. Post production followed with the film completed in May 2021.

This has easily been the most difficult production I have ever undertaken but the resulting film is one I am immensely proud of.