When a group of tourists on a New Orleans haunted swamp tour find themselves stranded in the wilderness, their evening of fun and spooks turns into a horrific nightmare.
I’m seriously excited to be reviewing this franchise, so lets get on with it!
I still remember how excited I was when this film was announced, a film featuring Robert Englund, Tony Todd and Kane Hodder, it was a Slasher fans dream. All the hype that surrounded this release was fantastic, it advertised itself as “Old-School Horror”, it certainly knew it’s target audience that’s for damn sure.
Director and writer Adam Green created a “No CGI” rule for post-production, only CGI was used to remove on-screen wires and camera set-ups. As an old school Horror fan myself this made me respect Adam Green so much before I’d even watched the film itself, it was such a bold stance to take and having Horror effect veteran John Carl Buechler on board certainly helped.
The cast of the film was perfect and each actor played there role to a tee and more, well it is a backwoods horror movie so you want over-acting. For a film about a group of people it definitely gave everyone enough screen time and it’s directed so well that you feel for each and every one of them.
I must go back to the effects though as they truly are superb and way, way, WAY over the top and whilst this is usually an annoyance it’s just pulled off masterfully here and fits with the films tone perfectly. Also the death scenes are truly brutal and that just ups this films ante, I won’t ruin it for those who haven’t seen it but for those who have we will always remember a certain death scene involving someone’ jaw, you know what I mean.
“Hatchet” is fun, gory and over the top…. It’s an absolute must see!
Miscellaneous facts about the film:
When actor Joel David Moore vomits on screen, it is real. Director Adam Green did not want the actors spitting out fake vomit like most films do. Though Joel managed to throw-up on his own for the first take, he was supplied with a mixture of cold clam chowder and orange juice for the second take.
To keep the set hidden, the movie was called “Love Rodeo” during production.
“Hatchet” was the last production to shoot in Lousiana before Hurricane Katrina hit.
The T-shirt with the odd-looking smiley face on it is the logo for Newbury Comics, a New England chain that sells CDs, DVDs and comic books. Director Adam Green grew up in Massachusetts and would buy his horror movies and action figures from there.
During the cemetery scene, on the tombstones we see the names Sarah Elbert and Cory Neal (both producers of this film) and of writer/ director Adam Green.
The horribly deformed Young Victor Crowley is actually played by a young actress named Rileah Vanderbilt. When FX artist John Carl Buechler needed a model to test the latex prosthetic on, Rileah was the volunteer. Since the FX had already been moulded to her face for the test shots, Rileah played the role in the film.
During the flashback scene, Victor Crowley is seen accidentally hitting his son in the face with a hatchet. Crowley is played by Kane Hodder, and this scene (and type of weapon) is an obvious nod to Hodder’s most famous role, as Jason in Friday the 13th.
A hatchet, per definition, is a small axe with a single bit, or blade. Thus, the poster image axe is not, in fact, a hatchet.
If you enjoy the Horror stuff I do for SomeWhatNerdy then make sure you click on the links below:
Raz’s Midnight Macabre Facebook page (HERE)
Raz’s Midnight Macabre Blog page (HERE)
