Hatchet (Unrated Director's Cut)
by Adam Green
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DVD details
Actor: Deon Richmond, Joel David Moore, Joel Murray, Joshua Leonard, Kane HodderDirector: Adam Green
Brand: MOORE,JOEL
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 84 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-12-18
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: ANCHOR BAY
DVD Reviews of Hatchet (Unrated Director's Cut)
DVD Review: Welcome back to the 80s
Summary: 4 Stars
Hatchet came with a lot of hype even before the movie started to shoot there was a lot of hype behind the film and expectations were quite high. There was a great marketing campaign and a lot of slasher fans had some high expectations. The hype of a film is a good thing and bad thing. The good it gets the word out on the film and helps gain it attention, but the bad is again the expectations people will now have will be very high.
Hatchet is very much in the style of an 80s slasher flick, but has enough going for it that it doesn't feel dated. I've seen a few movies inspired by 80s horror flicks and the filmmaker does such a great job at capturing that style that the movie even if just released feels dated so sometimes capturing that feel can also have it's downsides. Adam Green captures the basic concept of the early 80s slasher flick perfectly, but as much in common with the early 80s it also a lot of the mid to late 80s campy, but intentional feel.
Let's get one thing straight; don't go into Hatchet expecting a straight up slasher flick. If anything it's much more of a parody without beating you over the head with it, and I'm sure that is something a lot viewers weren't expecting. Most were probably expecting a more straight forward approach. The early marketing campaign did make it seem it would a more serious approach, which at times it is, but other times it isn't; in my opinion this is what makes Hatchet such a great ride.
I'm kind of surprised that so many people had such high expectations for Hatchet. I do enjoy slasher flicks from time to time where as when I was a kid I lived for them. But seriously most slasher flicks aren't very good. Yes they are a lot of fun to watch, but if you were to see a list of the greatest horror movies of all time only a handful of them would be slashers. The slasher film is just a fun movie that we like maybe a little more than we should.
Hatchet though is clearly one of the better slasher flicks and it's not just an excellent slasher movie, but an excellent movie in general. I guess I understand some of the complaints due to the expectations, but when you ask people what exactly they expected in most cases they can't answer they just say I thought it would be different. If you are a fan of 80s slasher flicks you should love Hatchet. Its gone hot women, nudity, great kill scenes and a lot of gore; isn't that what the slasher film is about?
The slasher flick started to die out a bit in the late 80s and by the 90s they were all, but gone until Scream revived it for a while, but in the years since Scream slasher flicks sort of went away again. Mainstream wise they're pretty much dead, but the DTV scene has a lot of slashers, but the problem is the filmmakers know there's an audience and there's no care, just trying to make a quick buck. Adam Green on the other hand clearly made this movie with the right intentions. Where all these filmmakers fail Adam Green succeeds.
The one thing that surprised me was at how well written Hatchet was; like I stated earlier most slasher flicks really weren't good per se, but enjoyable. The screenplay by Adam Green was actually really good, which was something I really didn't expect. The script was smart and creative and his characters were really great. Most of these movies have weak characters that basically are just there to pad out the body count, but Green makes the best of them all. Each character adds to the movie and honestly I didn't want any of them to die since they were so entertaining.
The slasher flick has been done a million times and really since the end of the 80s they haven't been the same. Every so often we get that one slasher flick that's enjoyable, but not nearly as enjoyable as those of the 80s, but Hatchet is the best slasher flick since the 80s and simply one of the best slashers period. There's something sort of funny about slasher flicks; the characters are often stupid and the kill scenes are so absurd it's hard to take serious and by the late 80s filmmakers started playing up to that. That's what Adam Green does and that really is why Hatchet works so well. The comedy aspect might turn some people off, but it had to be that way. As much fun as the early 80s slasher movies were they were also silly and the mid to late 80s filmmakers embraced that as does Adam Green. I don't think a straight forward approach would work as well. Hatchet is campy at times and the kills are over the top, but that was the whole point. Everything you see was intentional.
When it comes to horror filmmakers most people cite Rob Zombie, Eli Roth or Alexandre Aja as the best out there right now and while I do enjoy their work my money is on Adam Green as long as he continues to work in the horror genre. As director Adam Green does a great job here; He's able to create plenty of laughs, but also provide some really great suspenseful moments as well. By watching the DVD features it's quite clear Adam was living out his dream with this movie and that energy he had on set shines in the product. Like I stated these types of movies are a bit absurd at times and Adam Green plays up to these things and makes such an enjoyable movie.
I think there are many great horror flicks out there right now, but the problem is they seem to lack the fun factor they once had and Adam Green brings that back. From beginning to end Hatchet is just a fun movie. Again you'll laugh and even maybe feel the suspense and sometimes you'll get both at the same time. Adam plays up to the clichés and silly moments these movies have and delivers a great and enjoyable movie.
Victor Crowley played by Kane Hodder is a villain the past. You just don't see characters like this anymore in horror and I wasn't sure how well he would work in this era, but Adam Green and Hodder create a great new Iconic villain. Crowley is something out of the 80s and actually reminds me a bit of Madman Marz of the movie Madman, only Crowley is the better of the two and Hatchet is by far the better movie. Don't expect another Jason Voorhees, which many were expecting since Kane played the part, but Crowley is very 80s, but with a solid modern update.
The strongest aspect of Hatchet was the cast; all the actors were clearly having fun and it really shows. Again the characters are very well written and the scenes with Misty played by Mercedes McNab and Jenna played by Joleigh Fioreavanti are probably the most entertaining of the movie. These 2 girls work so well together. Misty is the typical dumb blonde and the actress very much plays up to that. Deon Richmond and Parry Shen though steal the show. These 2 guys were hysterical together and on their own. Joel David Moore is excellent as the hero Ben; he's a normal guy and really easy to relate to and Tamara Feldman as MaryBeth makes for an excellent heroine. Again all the characters are excellent and every one of them adds to the movie rather than being just there to die.
The kill scenes in Hatchet are great and the gore is plenty and the best part is it wasn't all CGI, which has been a problem in this genre the last few years. The F/X were done by John Carl Buechler who appears as Jack Cracker and is best known to horror fans as the director of Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. There are also cameos by the Iconic Robert Englund and Tony Todd
I get why so many people found Hatchet a letdown and had I not known it was more of a parody I probably would have disappointed with it as well. And I also get due to the hype expectations are probably very high and seeing as Hatchet got over so well at film festivals like Tribeca again expectations were high. But I urge anyone reading this that expected a straight up slasher flick or expected more out of it to give Hatchet another chance. As much as I enjoyed Hatchet I think it actually gets better on multiple viewings. Hatchet is essential viewing for any slasher fan; Adam Green wanted to make something that was just simply fun and entertaining and he very much delivers on that.
Description of Hatchet (Unrated Director's Cut)
Get ready for one of the most talked-about, red- blooded American horror movies of the past 20 years: When a group of New Orleans tourists take a cheesy haunted swamp tour, they slam face-first into the local legend of deformed madman Victor Crowley. What follows is a psycho spree of seat-jumping scares, eye- popping nudity, skull-splitting mayhem and beyond. Joel David Moore (DODGEBALL), Deon Richmond (SCREAM 3) and Mercedes McNab (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) star ? along with horror icons Tony ?Candyman? Todd, Robert ?Freddy Krueger? Englund and Kane ?Jason? Hodder ? in this screamingly funny carnage classic that Fangoria hails as ?a no-hold-barred homage to the days when slasher films were at their reddest and wettest!?Bestsellers in DVD
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