Morbid
October 1st, 2007, 05:26 PM
http://www.worstpreviews.com/images/posters/hatchet/hatchet1_large.gifhttp://img216.imageshack.us/img216/5421/hatchet1largeep3.jpg
Release Date: September 7, 2007 (limited)
Studio: Anchor Bay
Director: Adam Green
Screenwriter: Adam Green
Starring: Joel Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Mercedes McNab, Kane Hodder, Parry Shen, Joleigh Fioreavanti, Joel Murray, Richard Riehle, Patrika Darbo, Robert Englund, Joshua Leonard, Tony Todd, John Carl Buechler, Rileah Vanderbilt
Genre: Comedy, Horror
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody horror violence, sexual content, nudity and language)
To help one of their broken-hearted friends, Ben (Joel Moore (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0601376/)), get over the breakup with his cheating girlfriend, a group of teens head to Mardi Gras. The plan is to the tried and true method of sex, drugs and rock and roll as a way to get his mind off of his ex. To their dismay, Ben just isn't into it. Instead of partaking in all the things that make Mardi Gras worth going to, he talks one of his friends, Marcus (Deon Richmond (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0725091/)) into going with him on a New Orleans Haunted Swamp Boat Tour. This particular late-night boat ride through the swamps is populated by an amateur porn director (Joel Murray (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0615063/)) and his two female "stars", Jenna (Joleigh Fioreavanti (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1424817/)) and Misty (Buffy's own Mercedes McNab (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573523/)), Marybeth, a standoff-ish local girl (Tamara Feldman (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1299293/)), an elderly couple from the Midwest, and their Asian tour guide (Parry Shen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0791487/)). As they proceed through the swamps they are treated to ghosts in the form of swamp gas and the story of local legend, Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0387987/)). Victor was a deformed boy killed by accident at the hands of some young pranksters. This led to Victor's father (also played by Kane Hodder) accidentally putting a hatchet in Victor's face. Victor's father eventually died from grief, but legend has it that Victor still roams the swamps at night, looking for his daddy and dispatching any unwelcome visitors that dare invade his swamp. When the tour boat becomes grounded, forcing the group to enter the swamp on foot, Hatchet delves into full-fledge '80s slasher mode as they try to get out of the swamp while coming face to face with the legend himself.
Even though the title sequence begins with Marilyn Manson aptly screaming "This is the new shit!", director Adam Green (http://www.ariescope.com/) has created a horror film harkening back to the good old days of the Ebert coined "dead teenager movie". As with other slasher films of days gone by, Hatchet breaks no new ground as it gathers a group of people together and puts them in an environment that isolates them from the rest of the world pits them against a seemingly omnipresent entity that begins killing them one by one, in different ways, until the lone female survivor does battle with it. Regarding these slasher staples, Hatchet introduces absolutely nothing new to the genre. Stereotypical characters, pointless female nudity, dumb decision making, bloody deaths, a seemingly unstoppable villain, the lone, female heroine...all of it is here and showcased. This is a slasher film that takes all of the now clichéd defining points of the slasher and does them in a way that does not come off seemingly self aware or leaving the viewer feeling like the creators are constantly winking at you while you are watching. Hatchet firmly roots itself as a slasher film and then delivers exactly what the audience craves from one. While on one hand displaying some genuinely funny moments, it is still a brutal, bloody film. Creators seemed to be making a movie purely to kill some people and give some slasher fans exactly what they expect.
The reason why there has been a bit of hype over this film is not just because of the over-the-top gore, as most horror fans have proven time and time again that this alone does not a good movie make. Hatchet has other things going for it as well. The comedic portions of the film usually derived from the film's dialog, works more than it doesn't. The characters, who are portrayed capably by the young cast, are also a bit more fleshed out as well, with more screen time given to the background and personalities of the victims than you normally expect from a film in which the victims are usually treated as nothing more than killer fodder. The exchanges between the two porn stars are quite funny, as well as the dialog between Ben and Marcus. There are also a couple of laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled throughout the film that are not expected, such as Ben's attempt to hit on Marybeth and later on, a cell phone scene that involves Dawson's Creek. But don't let the mentioning of humor bog you down or think that Hatchet is a "slasher-lite" type of film. Adam Green keeps the two completely separated. While violence and humor can be mixed, Adam keeps the two firmly separated. Other directors should also note the way the cameos are handled in this film. With horror veterans such as Robert Englund (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000387/), Tony Todd (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0865302/) Kane Hodder and even The Blair Witch Project's Joshua Leonard (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502671/) making an appearance, they are done in a way that is not distracting, and in the case of Tony Todd, even a bit inspired.
In regards to the the violence, that is another area in which Hatchet succeeds. The special effects in Hatchet are done exceptionally well and handled by FX veteran, John Carl Buechler (http://www.johncarlbuechler.com/). If you have not smiled at the cool factor of a death scene in a horror film in a while, you will be happy to know that there is more than one death in this film that should help remedy that situation. Even within the budget constraints, disembowelments, decapitations by shovel, a great head splitting scene and even a ridiculous act with a gas-powered belt sander, Hatchet still delivers the goods and most gorehounds should finish the film feeling quite satisfied. Monster fans should rejoice as well as Adam is not afraid of showing off the Victor Crowley character as he does quite often and up close. He is big and ugly and looks to be closely related to The Goonie’s Sloth, had Sloth lived on a steady diet of radiation poisoning and steroids. It should also be noted that in regards to all of the effects, there is NO CGI! Just pounds of latex and copious amounts of the liquid red stuff. Old school, splatter style.
Even though they are minor and a bit nit-picky, the film does suffer from a few problems, one being the character of Victor Crowley himself. Adam Greene comes so close in creating a new icon to stand next to Jason, Myers and the lot, but falls a bit short of the mark. That's not to say that there still isn't a chance with Victor Crowley, especially with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre-ish ending of the film, ripe for a sequel. Victor Crowley just needs to be fleshed out a tad more. Victor is a mix between Jason, Frankenstein's Monster and a good portion of mutated, Cajun hillbilly and without a doubt he is an imposing enemy. But if there is a sequel made, and maybe just a tad more depth added to the paper-thin protagonist and his motivations, there is no doubt that in the future you very well may hear "Victor Crowley" mentioned in the same breath as the rest of the established horror icons. The score decent, but not memorable, and that is one thing a film like this needs to establish a new icon...Crowley needs THEME music. This may sound cliché, but seeing as Hatchet revels in the slasher film dogma, this is one thing that was missing. Lastly, the entire cast does a fine job, but Tamara Feldman's performance as the heroine of the film was a bit lacking. This is compounded when considering her back-story. But none of these problems are major and do not hinder the film in any major way.
In this day and age of uninspired remakes and torture films, Hatchet is a breath of fresh air for the horror movie genre. Even though it may not be completely original, treads over well worn ground, and a tad over hyped, Hatchet does hit all the right marks unlike recent entries into the slasher genre like Venom (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0428251/) and The Tripper (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0760187/), and has a very good chance of becoming a cult classic.
Links
Official Site (http://www.hatchetmovie.com/) | Trailer (http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/hatchet) | IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422401/) | Hatchet Army (http://www.hatchetarmy.com/) | Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/victorcrowleylives)
Pictures
http://img142.imagevenue.com/loc248/th_89527_2007-10-01_183237_122_248lo.jpg (http://img142.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89527_2007-10-01_183237_122_248lo.jpg)http://img5.imagevenue.com/loc1139/th_89528_2007-10-01_183340_122_1139lo.jpg (http://img5.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89528_2007-10-01_183340_122_1139lo.jpg)http://img46.imagevenue.com/loc897/th_89529_2007-10-01_183503_122_897lo.jpg (http://img46.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89529_2007-10-01_183503_122_897lo.jpg)http://img41.imagevenue.com/loc987/th_89530_2007-10-01_183655_122_987lo.jpg (http://img41.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89530_2007-10-01_183655_122_987lo.jpg)
http://img11.imagevenue.com/loc1123/th_89618_2007-10-01_183837_122_1123lo.jpg (http://img11.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89618_2007-10-01_183837_122_1123lo.jpg)http://img142.imagevenue.com/loc25/th_89623_2007-10-01_183907_122_25lo.jpg (http://img142.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89623_2007-10-01_183907_122_25lo.jpg)http://img14.imagevenue.com/loc807/th_89624_2007-10-01_184106_122_807lo.jpg (http://img14.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89624_2007-10-01_184106_122_807lo.jpg)http://img133.imagevenue.com/loc131/th_89629_2007-10-01_184131_122_131lo.jpg (http://img133.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89629_2007-10-01_184131_122_131lo.jpg)
http://img121.imagevenue.com/loc918/th_89705_2007-10-01_190056_122_918lo.jpg (http://img121.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89705_2007-10-01_190056_122_918lo.jpg)http://img107.imagevenue.com/loc1174/th_89711_2007-10-01_190205_122_1174lo.jpg (http://img107.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89711_2007-10-01_190205_122_1174lo.jpg)http://img121.imagevenue.com/loc1085/th_89714_2007-10-01_190400_122_1085lo.jpg (http://img121.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89714_2007-10-01_190400_122_1085lo.jpg)http://img188.imagevenue.com/loc58/th_89719_2007-10-01_213134_122_58lo.jpg (http://img188.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89719_2007-10-01_213134_122_58lo.jpg)
Release Date: September 7, 2007 (limited)
Studio: Anchor Bay
Director: Adam Green
Screenwriter: Adam Green
Starring: Joel Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Mercedes McNab, Kane Hodder, Parry Shen, Joleigh Fioreavanti, Joel Murray, Richard Riehle, Patrika Darbo, Robert Englund, Joshua Leonard, Tony Todd, John Carl Buechler, Rileah Vanderbilt
Genre: Comedy, Horror
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody horror violence, sexual content, nudity and language)
To help one of their broken-hearted friends, Ben (Joel Moore (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0601376/)), get over the breakup with his cheating girlfriend, a group of teens head to Mardi Gras. The plan is to the tried and true method of sex, drugs and rock and roll as a way to get his mind off of his ex. To their dismay, Ben just isn't into it. Instead of partaking in all the things that make Mardi Gras worth going to, he talks one of his friends, Marcus (Deon Richmond (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0725091/)) into going with him on a New Orleans Haunted Swamp Boat Tour. This particular late-night boat ride through the swamps is populated by an amateur porn director (Joel Murray (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0615063/)) and his two female "stars", Jenna (Joleigh Fioreavanti (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1424817/)) and Misty (Buffy's own Mercedes McNab (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573523/)), Marybeth, a standoff-ish local girl (Tamara Feldman (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1299293/)), an elderly couple from the Midwest, and their Asian tour guide (Parry Shen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0791487/)). As they proceed through the swamps they are treated to ghosts in the form of swamp gas and the story of local legend, Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0387987/)). Victor was a deformed boy killed by accident at the hands of some young pranksters. This led to Victor's father (also played by Kane Hodder) accidentally putting a hatchet in Victor's face. Victor's father eventually died from grief, but legend has it that Victor still roams the swamps at night, looking for his daddy and dispatching any unwelcome visitors that dare invade his swamp. When the tour boat becomes grounded, forcing the group to enter the swamp on foot, Hatchet delves into full-fledge '80s slasher mode as they try to get out of the swamp while coming face to face with the legend himself.
Even though the title sequence begins with Marilyn Manson aptly screaming "This is the new shit!", director Adam Green (http://www.ariescope.com/) has created a horror film harkening back to the good old days of the Ebert coined "dead teenager movie". As with other slasher films of days gone by, Hatchet breaks no new ground as it gathers a group of people together and puts them in an environment that isolates them from the rest of the world pits them against a seemingly omnipresent entity that begins killing them one by one, in different ways, until the lone female survivor does battle with it. Regarding these slasher staples, Hatchet introduces absolutely nothing new to the genre. Stereotypical characters, pointless female nudity, dumb decision making, bloody deaths, a seemingly unstoppable villain, the lone, female heroine...all of it is here and showcased. This is a slasher film that takes all of the now clichéd defining points of the slasher and does them in a way that does not come off seemingly self aware or leaving the viewer feeling like the creators are constantly winking at you while you are watching. Hatchet firmly roots itself as a slasher film and then delivers exactly what the audience craves from one. While on one hand displaying some genuinely funny moments, it is still a brutal, bloody film. Creators seemed to be making a movie purely to kill some people and give some slasher fans exactly what they expect.
The reason why there has been a bit of hype over this film is not just because of the over-the-top gore, as most horror fans have proven time and time again that this alone does not a good movie make. Hatchet has other things going for it as well. The comedic portions of the film usually derived from the film's dialog, works more than it doesn't. The characters, who are portrayed capably by the young cast, are also a bit more fleshed out as well, with more screen time given to the background and personalities of the victims than you normally expect from a film in which the victims are usually treated as nothing more than killer fodder. The exchanges between the two porn stars are quite funny, as well as the dialog between Ben and Marcus. There are also a couple of laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled throughout the film that are not expected, such as Ben's attempt to hit on Marybeth and later on, a cell phone scene that involves Dawson's Creek. But don't let the mentioning of humor bog you down or think that Hatchet is a "slasher-lite" type of film. Adam Green keeps the two completely separated. While violence and humor can be mixed, Adam keeps the two firmly separated. Other directors should also note the way the cameos are handled in this film. With horror veterans such as Robert Englund (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000387/), Tony Todd (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0865302/) Kane Hodder and even The Blair Witch Project's Joshua Leonard (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502671/) making an appearance, they are done in a way that is not distracting, and in the case of Tony Todd, even a bit inspired.
In regards to the the violence, that is another area in which Hatchet succeeds. The special effects in Hatchet are done exceptionally well and handled by FX veteran, John Carl Buechler (http://www.johncarlbuechler.com/). If you have not smiled at the cool factor of a death scene in a horror film in a while, you will be happy to know that there is more than one death in this film that should help remedy that situation. Even within the budget constraints, disembowelments, decapitations by shovel, a great head splitting scene and even a ridiculous act with a gas-powered belt sander, Hatchet still delivers the goods and most gorehounds should finish the film feeling quite satisfied. Monster fans should rejoice as well as Adam is not afraid of showing off the Victor Crowley character as he does quite often and up close. He is big and ugly and looks to be closely related to The Goonie’s Sloth, had Sloth lived on a steady diet of radiation poisoning and steroids. It should also be noted that in regards to all of the effects, there is NO CGI! Just pounds of latex and copious amounts of the liquid red stuff. Old school, splatter style.
Even though they are minor and a bit nit-picky, the film does suffer from a few problems, one being the character of Victor Crowley himself. Adam Greene comes so close in creating a new icon to stand next to Jason, Myers and the lot, but falls a bit short of the mark. That's not to say that there still isn't a chance with Victor Crowley, especially with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre-ish ending of the film, ripe for a sequel. Victor Crowley just needs to be fleshed out a tad more. Victor is a mix between Jason, Frankenstein's Monster and a good portion of mutated, Cajun hillbilly and without a doubt he is an imposing enemy. But if there is a sequel made, and maybe just a tad more depth added to the paper-thin protagonist and his motivations, there is no doubt that in the future you very well may hear "Victor Crowley" mentioned in the same breath as the rest of the established horror icons. The score decent, but not memorable, and that is one thing a film like this needs to establish a new icon...Crowley needs THEME music. This may sound cliché, but seeing as Hatchet revels in the slasher film dogma, this is one thing that was missing. Lastly, the entire cast does a fine job, but Tamara Feldman's performance as the heroine of the film was a bit lacking. This is compounded when considering her back-story. But none of these problems are major and do not hinder the film in any major way.
In this day and age of uninspired remakes and torture films, Hatchet is a breath of fresh air for the horror movie genre. Even though it may not be completely original, treads over well worn ground, and a tad over hyped, Hatchet does hit all the right marks unlike recent entries into the slasher genre like Venom (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0428251/) and The Tripper (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0760187/), and has a very good chance of becoming a cult classic.
Links
Official Site (http://www.hatchetmovie.com/) | Trailer (http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/hatchet) | IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422401/) | Hatchet Army (http://www.hatchetarmy.com/) | Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/victorcrowleylives)
Pictures
http://img142.imagevenue.com/loc248/th_89527_2007-10-01_183237_122_248lo.jpg (http://img142.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89527_2007-10-01_183237_122_248lo.jpg)http://img5.imagevenue.com/loc1139/th_89528_2007-10-01_183340_122_1139lo.jpg (http://img5.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89528_2007-10-01_183340_122_1139lo.jpg)http://img46.imagevenue.com/loc897/th_89529_2007-10-01_183503_122_897lo.jpg (http://img46.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89529_2007-10-01_183503_122_897lo.jpg)http://img41.imagevenue.com/loc987/th_89530_2007-10-01_183655_122_987lo.jpg (http://img41.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89530_2007-10-01_183655_122_987lo.jpg)
http://img11.imagevenue.com/loc1123/th_89618_2007-10-01_183837_122_1123lo.jpg (http://img11.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89618_2007-10-01_183837_122_1123lo.jpg)http://img142.imagevenue.com/loc25/th_89623_2007-10-01_183907_122_25lo.jpg (http://img142.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89623_2007-10-01_183907_122_25lo.jpg)http://img14.imagevenue.com/loc807/th_89624_2007-10-01_184106_122_807lo.jpg (http://img14.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89624_2007-10-01_184106_122_807lo.jpg)http://img133.imagevenue.com/loc131/th_89629_2007-10-01_184131_122_131lo.jpg (http://img133.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89629_2007-10-01_184131_122_131lo.jpg)
http://img121.imagevenue.com/loc918/th_89705_2007-10-01_190056_122_918lo.jpg (http://img121.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89705_2007-10-01_190056_122_918lo.jpg)http://img107.imagevenue.com/loc1174/th_89711_2007-10-01_190205_122_1174lo.jpg (http://img107.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89711_2007-10-01_190205_122_1174lo.jpg)http://img121.imagevenue.com/loc1085/th_89714_2007-10-01_190400_122_1085lo.jpg (http://img121.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89714_2007-10-01_190400_122_1085lo.jpg)http://img188.imagevenue.com/loc58/th_89719_2007-10-01_213134_122_58lo.jpg (http://img188.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=89719_2007-10-01_213134_122_58lo.jpg)