Hatchet
(2006)
Directed
by Adam Green
Starring
Joel Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Tony Todd, Robert Englund, Kane
Hodder
Ben
went to Mardi Gras to forget a recent breakup. Trying to get away from the
nonstop party for a chance at something different, Ben drags his friend Marcus
to a night boat swamp tour. Together with the other tourists and a mysterious
girl named Marybeth, the group sets out to see the sights. They come across the
home of a local legend; Victor Crowley. The story goes that Crowley was a
deformed boy who was accidently hit in the face with a hatchet by his father. Some
say you can still hear Victor calling out for his daddy in the night. Ben
thinks nothing of it until he hears something off in the distance. The spirit
of Victor Crowley is about to show them why he’s a legend.
Hatchet
is billed as a love letter to slasher movies made by a horror fanatic,
writer/director Adam Green. Green did manage to secure an all-star cast that
includes a few veterans as well. Robert Englund and Tony Todd both make cameos,
with Todd being the source of exposition early in the movie. Of course, Green’s
biggest get is that he convinced Kane Hodder to play the role of Hatchet’s ghostly slasher; Victor
Crowely.
The
movie tonally goes for camp and tries to use gore as punctuation, making for a
darkly comic horror film. After the first half hour, gruesome dismemberment is
an essential component of nearly every scene. It’s all played for cartoonish
laughs as people are sanded into a fine red paste, chopped in two, and are
pulled limb from limb. If this doesn’t sound funny, you’re not going to enjoy Hatchet.
The
cast is packed with a lot of talented people. Joel Moore plays Ben, the main
character and the audience point of entrance. Moore has great comedic timing
and those skills translate well into a gory a horror film. Tamara Feldman plays
Marybeth with the expected strength, resolve, and slightest vulnerability
expected from a final girl. Deon Richmond, Parry Shen, and Richard Riehle all
have entertaining turns as supporting characters and Kane Hodder fodder. Jason Voorhees
himself, Kane Hodder, does a fine job of showing Victor Crowley’s wrathful fury.
Hatchet
is enjoyable once you accept its campy charm. Adam Green made a love letter to
80s slasher films and dialed up the crazy. It’s a good choice for horror fans,
gore fiends, and generally anyone who ever wondered what Friday the 13th would look like as a Saturday morning
cartoon.
7 out of 10
