Hatchet Review

Written by: MistressOf Horror   

Victor Crowley is a deformed young boy who lives with his father in the woods. One night, a few children try to scare Victor by throwing firecrackers on his roof and a fire begins. Within minutes, the house is engulfed and Victor’s father ( Kane Hodder) tries desperately to chop the door down with an axe, not knowing that his son is behind the door. You know what happens next, and Mr. Crowley eventually dies of a broken heart believing that he killed his son. Of course, Victor is still alive and in those woods near the house.

Years later a man and his son, Robert Englund and Joshua Leonard respectively, are fishing in a swamp and are brutally murdered by something in the woods. Later, a guy named Marcus (Deon Richmond) and a few of his friends are trying to help their main man Ben (Joel David Moore) forget about his ex-girlfriend by introducing him to the sights of Mardis-Gras. Depressed and confused, Ben pulls Marcus away from the Bourbon Street Experience and cons him into taking a tour of a nearby swamp . Among those on the trip are a young woman (Tamara Feldman), a middle-aged couple (Richard Riehle and Patrika Darbo), a slimy porn video producer (Joel Murray) and his girls gone wild (Mercedes McNab and Joleigh Fioreavanti). They all venture into the swamp with their host who makes ludicrous jokes about Victor Crowley; before long it becomes painfully obvious that he’s never done this tour before and is just in it for the money. They all end up pay for it in a big way when they encounter and subsequently run away from the very much alive Victor Crowley himself.

What makes this dvd so much fun to watch is the extensive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, especially witnessing Director Green’s gregarious nature and utter passion to make the film in the first place. He manages to secure the casting of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, and Tony Todd, with make-up by John Carl Buechler.
There are some great behind-the-scenes extras like the practical joke that was played on Mercedes McNab; Adam’s fortitude to make the film; shooting the Mardis-Gras scene in New Orleans literally weeks before Hurricane Katrina literally wiped it off the map.

A fun slasher flick with great kills and lots of extra goodies on the DVD.