A search and recovery team heads into the haunted swamp to pick up the pieces and Marybeth (Danielle Harris) learns the secret to ending the voodoo curse that has left Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder) haunting and terrorizing Honey Island Swamp for decades.
If you were to judge by the ratings on the Internet Movie Database, you would think that "Hatchet" was a dud and the sequels are no better. And this is one of the misleading things about horror films. Is "Hatchet" the type of film that will drowning in Academy Awards? No (although the horror genre does seem to get short shrift in the makeup category). But that has never been the point.
Few horror films of the last decade have the fun and style that horror fans love, but near the top of that list is "Hatchet". The power kept going with "Hatchet 2" and just keeps going through "Hatchet 3". The only stumbling block is the switch on the actress playing Marybeth (though I think Harris is probably a better choice given how loved she is by fans). The blood, gore, humor and fun just keeps growing.
What makes the films fun for horror fans -- beyond the endless blood spraying and whatnot, with the body count again increasing -- is the long list of familiar faces. This time around we add Sid Haig, Zach Galligan, Jason "J Tro" Trost, Derek Mears, Caroline Williams and more. Can you recognize them all and know where they are from? There are some nitpicks. I think it may not have been the best decision to put so much gore in the first five minutes. This is a great scene and really sets the mood, but it makes the slower moments seem even less spectacular by comparison.
Be sure to pick up Dark Sky's Blu-ray with two different commentaries that are informative not only on this film but on the horror genre in general. There are also some good behind-the-scenes footage of how Kane's makeup is applied and how terrible mosquitoes are in the Louisiana swamps. Truly a must-own disc for the fans.
If you were to judge by the ratings on the Internet Movie Database, you would think that "Hatchet" was a dud and the sequels are no better. And this is one of the misleading things about horror films. Is "Hatchet" the type of film that will drowning in Academy Awards? No (although the horror genre does seem to get short shrift in the makeup category). But that has never been the point.
Few horror films of the last decade have the fun and style that horror fans love, but near the top of that list is "Hatchet". The power kept going with "Hatchet 2" and just keeps going through "Hatchet 3". The only stumbling block is the switch on the actress playing Marybeth (though I think Harris is probably a better choice given how loved she is by fans). The blood, gore, humor and fun just keeps growing.
What makes the films fun for horror fans -- beyond the endless blood spraying and whatnot, with the body count again increasing -- is the long list of familiar faces. This time around we add Sid Haig, Zach Galligan, Jason "J Tro" Trost, Derek Mears, Caroline Williams and more. Can you recognize them all and know where they are from? There are some nitpicks. I think it may not have been the best decision to put so much gore in the first five minutes. This is a great scene and really sets the mood, but it makes the slower moments seem even less spectacular by comparison.
Be sure to pick up Dark Sky's Blu-ray with two different commentaries that are informative not only on this film but on the horror genre in general. There are also some good behind-the-scenes footage of how Kane's makeup is applied and how terrible mosquitoes are in the Louisiana swamps. Truly a must-own disc for the fans.