Mania Grade: B-
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Info:
- Reviewed Format: Theatrical Release
- Rated: R
- Stars: Joel Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Mercedes McNab, Kane Hodder
- Writer: Adam Green
- Director: Adam Green
HATCHET
To plot or not to plot... By Rachel Reitsleff
September 07, 2007
Tamara Feldman and Deon Richmond in HATCHET (2007).
© Anchor Bay Entertainment
It’s interesting to have Hatchet come out a week after Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween – between them, they offer a look at a variety ‘70s slasher styles. The latter puts some revisions in the form, but doesn’t improve upon the original, while Hatchet feels more retro, though writer/director Adam Green does put a few new spins in with tradition.
In Hatchet, out-of-town college student Ben (Joel Moore) and his best friend Marcus (Deon Richmond) are in New Orleans at Halloween. Ben persuades Marcus to go on a nighttime swamp cruise. Little do they, their fellow tourists and even their tour guide (Perry Shen) know that Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder) is on the prowl. Victor, we learn, was a terribly malformed young man, loved by his father (also played by Hodder in flashback) but tormented by his peers, who died in a tragic accident and is now rumored to haunt the part of the bayou where he died. Turns out there’s a lot of truth to those rumors, as our group discovers when their boat runs aground near Victor’s old home.
Hatchet is being touted as “old school horror,” assuming one’s schooldays were the late ‘70s. Filmmaker Green seems to be hewing primarily to Friday the 13th in the villain’s back story. Innovations in the form include giving the main characters more personality and history and dispensing with a mask for the creature, which gives Hatchet a kind of refreshingly upfront feel. However, the set-ups for the characters don’t have much of a payoff later in the running – the early subplots don’t really lead anywhere. Although Green and his game cast, including horror stalwarts Tony Todd and Robert Englund, and makeup effects maestro John Carl Buechler, in cameos, the script simply doesn’t deal with the fact that on the first couple of attacks, our heroes flee the scene while the victims are still alive (if only marginally). Green doesn’t seem to be going for Cabin Fever-style guilt here, and the effect is emotionally distancing, so it’s hard to tell what he’s trying to accomplish with this nuance – are we meant to not especially like the characters?
Bloodshed is surreally over-the-top – Victor can rip people’s limbs off, creating shower-like splatter – there are various organs tossed about, and the jump scares work fairly well. The overall result is a decent splatter offering that would have pleased back in the day without breaking much ground.
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