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Hatchet (2006)
Hilariously Over-The-Top
Directed By: Adam Green
Starring: Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, & Deon Richmond
MPAA Rating: “Unrated”
Starring: Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, & Deon Richmond
MPAA Rating: “Unrated”
Hatchet was made by horror fans for horror fans. If you don’t know who Kane Hodder is, then you should stay away from this blood-soaked, severed head-covered horror comedy. For everyone else, this is the kind of film that will have you giddy with excitement from start to finish. Filled with references to classic slasher films (namely Friday the 13th) and sporting some of the most brutal and creative death scenes in a long time, Hatchet may be about as dumb as Paris Hilton, but it is far more fun. Having been a huge fan of Adam Green’s Spiral,I was really looking forward to Hatchet and I was pleasantly surprised by the shift of tone in the two films. I cannot remember a time when one director has directed two such very different films within a two year period, but Green does this and he does it very well.
Ben (Moore) is in New Orleans for Mardi Gras with his best friend Marcus (Richmond) when he decides to take a haunted swamp tour under the supervision of the inexperienced and absent-minded Shawn (Parry Shen). Along with them are a variety of characters, including the token dumb slut Misty (Mercedes McNab), the amateur porn director Shapiro (Joel Murray), and the mysterious and alluring Marybeth (Feldman). Despite the warnings of a crazy old fisherman, the tour group sails out into the abandoned swamp in a dinky little boat only to find it sunk and themselves stranded. Marybeth tells them all of Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder), the deformed maniac who supposedly haunts the swamp and, though they do not believe her at first, they soon come face-to-face with the brutal killer and find themselves dying in an array of ghoulishly inventive ways.
The question occurred to me near the end of Hatchet: which film, this or Spiral, was the superior of the two Adam Green films. The answer to that is, quite simply, neither. Both films are equally-effective in what they wanted to do and, though Hatchet has “Multiple Viewings” printed all over its face (Spiral was a one-time thing), it probably works at its most significant level as a companion piece to Green’s second film. I could totally see myself watching both of them back-to-back and loving each of them even more than I do right now. Green has proven that he is no one-trick pony and that he is capable of flawlessly alternating tones between films. Because of this, I doubt we will ever get bored with this writer/director and that is always a good thing. Whereas Spiral was a moody character-driven psychological thriller, Hatchet exists solely to decapitate semi-nude blondes and sever a few appendages. Even better, it does all of this with its tongue placed firmly in its cheek.
If I did have a few problems with the film, they came primarily from the fact that its plot was paper-thin and so it didn’t wow me in that respect. It was almost too easy to choose which character would die next and, though they did die in impressive ways, I would have much rather preferred to see a few curveballs thrown in for good measure. Also, was it me or could this entire problem have been solved rather quickly if the characters had just chosen a direction and started running? From what I gathered, Crowley stuck close to his house and so it would seem quite natural to run like a bat out of Hades away from it, instead of right towards it every fifteen minutes. All problems aside though, I had a great time watching all of the carnage go down and I am so glad to see Victor Crowley live!
Ben (Moore) is in New Orleans for Mardi Gras with his best friend Marcus (Richmond) when he decides to take a haunted swamp tour under the supervision of the inexperienced and absent-minded Shawn (Parry Shen). Along with them are a variety of characters, including the token dumb slut Misty (Mercedes McNab), the amateur porn director Shapiro (Joel Murray), and the mysterious and alluring Marybeth (Feldman). Despite the warnings of a crazy old fisherman, the tour group sails out into the abandoned swamp in a dinky little boat only to find it sunk and themselves stranded. Marybeth tells them all of Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder), the deformed maniac who supposedly haunts the swamp and, though they do not believe her at first, they soon come face-to-face with the brutal killer and find themselves dying in an array of ghoulishly inventive ways.
The question occurred to me near the end of Hatchet: which film, this or Spiral, was the superior of the two Adam Green films. The answer to that is, quite simply, neither. Both films are equally-effective in what they wanted to do and, though Hatchet has “Multiple Viewings” printed all over its face (Spiral was a one-time thing), it probably works at its most significant level as a companion piece to Green’s second film. I could totally see myself watching both of them back-to-back and loving each of them even more than I do right now. Green has proven that he is no one-trick pony and that he is capable of flawlessly alternating tones between films. Because of this, I doubt we will ever get bored with this writer/director and that is always a good thing. Whereas Spiral was a moody character-driven psychological thriller, Hatchet exists solely to decapitate semi-nude blondes and sever a few appendages. Even better, it does all of this with its tongue placed firmly in its cheek.
If I did have a few problems with the film, they came primarily from the fact that its plot was paper-thin and so it didn’t wow me in that respect. It was almost too easy to choose which character would die next and, though they did die in impressive ways, I would have much rather preferred to see a few curveballs thrown in for good measure. Also, was it me or could this entire problem have been solved rather quickly if the characters had just chosen a direction and started running? From what I gathered, Crowley stuck close to his house and so it would seem quite natural to run like a bat out of Hades away from it, instead of right towards it every fifteen minutes. All problems aside though, I had a great time watching all of the carnage go down and I am so glad to see Victor Crowley live!
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