Cast

 

Joel David Moore ... Ben

 

Tamara Feldman ... Marybeth

 

Deon Richmond ... Marcus

 

Kane Hodder ... Mr. & Victor Crowley

 

Mercedes McNab ... Misty

 

Parry Shen ... Shawn

 

Joel Murray ... Doug Shapiro

 

Joleigh Fioravanti ... Jenna

 

Richard Riehle ... Jim Permatteo

 

Patrika Darbo ... Shannon Permatteo

 

Robert Englund ... Sampson

 

Joshua Leonard ... Ainsley

 

Tony Todd ... Reverend Zombie

 

John Carl Buechler ... Jack Cracker

 

Rileah Vanderbilt ... Young Victor Crowley

In HATCHET, in the midst of the yearly Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans many people from different walks of life have come to celebrate.

 

One such person is Ben. Ben whom has recently broken up with his Girlfriend was convinced by a group of friends to come along with them to Mardi Gras. Ben really isn't enjoying himself all too much, as he explains that all of the girls there, do nothing but remind him of the girl that got a away.

 

Ben finally convinces Marcus, one of his friends, that instead of partying they should go on a haunted swamp tour, lead by an incompetent tour guide named Shawn.

 

Disregarding a warning from local alligator hunter Jack Cracker, Shawn begins the tour through the swamp, but it would be long before the others believe that he should have listened - because the head straight into danger.

 

That danger has a name, and it's name is Victor Crowley a figure of a popular local legend Bullied and picked on by locals because of his deformed face, Victor was was closely sheltered for most of his life by his father - that is until tragedy struck.

 

On one Halloween night, a group of teenagers decided to stop by and pick on Victor, and what they saw as a little fun, resulted in a fire that engulfed the Crowley home. The fire didn't initially take his life, however it was the effort made by Victor's father to save him that ultimately sealed his fate when he struck Victor in the face with a hatchet while attempting to break his way through the door.

 

Believed to be dead, the story of Victor Crowley became that of a local phenomenon, and an urban legend used to scare kids, but what these tourists are about to find out, is that the legend is true. Soon the unsuspecting thrill seekers come face to face with Victor, whom has nothing but vengeance on his mind.

 

First off, I have to add that HATCHET was one of those films I just couldn't wait to see, and prior to it's DVD release, I was one of the lucky few who got to see this film in theaters. The appeal was too strong for me not to.

 

For one I am a huge fan of slasher films, and even though i'll check out just about any one that is thrown at me... I have to admit that not many in the last half decade has really "gotten me"

 

So to get that form of enjoyment, you can usually find me digging through the slasher films of decades past - So when I for the first time, saw this film's tag line, which reads "Old School American Horror" - I was immediately intrigued to see it.
 

The majority of the reviews that began come out for the film were positive(at least from the more credible people, so much in fact that I begun to question the film.

 

Was hyping this film as a throwback to 80s Horror, and all of the hype in general a bit exaggerated, or was it all that everyone says it is?

 

Well, the answer that, as far as my opinion goes is no, nothing about HATCHET's hype is undeserved - it really IS that good.
 

It's true that at the beginning of this film, it felt just like any other Slasher film i'd watch, but it wasn't long before my feelings changed.

 

Sure the story isn't all that original on it's own, as we do have a mentally derranged killer stalking people with big weapons - which leads to people dying in many different ways - and not only that, our main setting is a wooded area.

 

All of this is familiar ground, but there is just something about HATCHET that stands out from today's Horror. Perhaps it's because it actually does what it set out to do, and that is to take us back to the days when Slashers were most dominant in the Horror genre.

 

Many films to come out in recent years attempt to recreate this same feeling, but never fully fulfill their promise.

 

In my opinion, HATCHET is one film that has done this most accurately, as I felt as if I was watching a film of the 80s - yes I know that the knowledge of knowing when HATCHET was shot takes a little away from it, but still you get the picture.
 

When watching Victor Crowley, a deformed madman with hillbilly characteristics, rip his way through his victims in some of the most graphic ways I have ever seen.

 

Victor Crowley truly has the dominating presence in which franchises are built around - is actions definitely demand your attention. We have seen Kane Hodder as Jason is 4 of the FRIDAY THE 13TH sequels, but this killer I found to be far more brutal in some strange way.

 

Kane Hodder was the perfect choice for this role, as he always seems to have a knack for knowing what it takes to convey a character through only actions, without saying a word.

 

Other than the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, Hodder has had many different roles, most of which are forgettable, but this role has to be his best role since Jason. As for the other performances(which include cameos by Robert Englund and Tony Todd), I have read that some people believed the acting to be terrible, and I couldn't disagree more.

 

I felt the acting was actually quite good by all, besides, when is the last time you've seen an Oscar winning performance in a Slasher film.

 

Perfect acting isn't exactly required for a Slasher, to me a mixed performance adds to the realism - if you were being chased by a weapon wielding maniac, what you actually pause to articulate your reaction? Sure there are bad performances in these types of films - but I saw nothing terrible here.
 

Here, Director Adam Green has carefully crafted a film, that is destined to be a Horror cult classic.

 

You can tell that each shot was carefully planned and played out in Green's exact vision and I am willing to bet he wouldn't have settled for anything less than what he wanted.

 

He is a visionary that has worked for years to get this project made and has had a passion for it - and that passion fully shows. HATCHET is definitely one of the best Slashers to be released in the last decade.

 

 

Hatchet is definitely a tip of the hat to the great slasher films of the 80s. And without giving the gory details away, the kill factor in this film is one you cannot miss.

 

I love this film, everything about it. And not only is Adam Green an amazing writer, and director, but he is also a huge fan of the genre, and that is the recipe, for an amazing horror filmmaker.

 

Till Next Time Kiddies....

 

-RJ