FrightFest 2010 Review: Adam Green’s ‘Hatchet 2′
Hatchet II (2010)
Directed by: Adam Green
Starring: Danielle Harris, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder
Review by: Ben Bussey
Were we a site with a little less shame, we’d be splashing the words ‘exclusive’ all over the shop right now. This review is coming to you directly from the world premiere of Adam Green’s Hatchet II; yes, that is the full title as it appears in the opening titles. And why not? Returning to Victor Crowley’s swamp four years after making his name there, this is very much a world that Adam Green has created and filled up with his own personal loves, fascinations and obsessions. Not least of these are the qualities of ‘Old-School American Horror’ which were the backbone of the original Hatchet. However, not only has the writer/director returned, but also the whole crew behind the original movie, as well as several of the key cast members: we have a neat reprise of the amateur porn stars Mercedes McNab and Joleigh Fiorvanti, Parry Shen as the brother of his character from the original, and of course the two horror icons Tony Todd and Kane Hodder. Apart from that it’s a whole new gang in front of the camera, the most notable addition being Danielle Harris taking over the role of Marybeth (it seems there may have been some bad blood with original actress Tamara Feldman which kept her from being re-hired). Aside from that, it’d be fair to call this business as usual in Hatchetland.
The Hatchet movies are pretty well defined now on taking things to extremes. For example, plenty of movies purport to pick up where the last one left off; fittingly, Hatchet II takes this to the extreme, the action commencing with what could literally be the next frame following the sudden cut to black that ends the original movie. So disorientating was this, it actually took me a minute or so to realise it was Harris and not Feldman who was running for her life through the swamp. But on making her escape by way of John Carl Beuchler’s swamp hobo (another reprise from the original), Marybeth learns there may be a little more between Victor Crowley and herself than she had previously known. She seeks answers from Reverend Zombie (Todd), who tells her part of the Victor Crowley legend she had never heard before. Disturbed but undetered, Marybeth pleads Zombie to take her back into the swamp to reclaim the corpses of her father and brother, and finish the job on Crowley once and for all. Zombie agrees on the condition that they do not go alone, and assembles a crew of hunters to head out into the swamp, reclaim what was lost, and kick some slasher ass.
In concept and execution, this is very much an Aliens to Hatchet’s Alien. Where the original was textbook slasher territory, this is more a soldiers on a mission movie. While the overall shape of the film may not be all that different to the original, with a similar slow burn – the first act introduces the team, the second act follows them up the river, the third act sees them rhythmically dispatched in turn – the dynamic is somewhat different, largely because this is a much older ensemble than the twentysomethings of the original. With the likes of Tom Holland as Marybeth’s Uncle Bob and RA Mihailof as thick-set tough bastard Trent, and indeed Tony Todd, these are mostly guys over 40. Not content to just put them in the background, Green makes a point of giving everyone a bit of story of their own, most of which is effective, in particular the complex relationship between AJ Bowen’s Layton and Alexis Peters’ Avery, the only woman among the hunters.
Ultimately though, this movie really belongs to Tony Todd and Danielle Harris. Todd’s Reverend Zombie comes to the forefront here. The voodoo theatrics of his original cameo are largely pushed aside, along with the make-up and costume; here he’s the Dutch of the piece, leading the troops into action. Harris, meanwhile, effortlessly takes over the role of Marybeth; while it never feels like an imitation of her predecessor, that same mix of melancholy and underlying rage is ever present. Alas, this emotion constantly bubbling under the surface does get a little grating at times, as she appears ready to burst into tears at any moment for pretty much the duration; but rest assured, these emotions get their cathartic release in a suitably brutal fashion by the end.
Plotwise, Hatchet II certainly develops the mythology and deepens the tragic side of Crowley and his heritage. But let’s face it, the area most audiences will be keen to see advanced further is the viscera. Coming when it did in the wake of innumerable PG-13 horror movies devoid of gore and nudity, Hatchet was a revelation on release for the extremity of the bloodshed and evisceration on show, and Hatchet II certainly doesn’t drop the ball in that regard. We get a couple of encores from the original’s weapons of choice, and a whole slew of new, extravagant and unpleasant methods of destruction. Hatchet II also ups the ante a touch with regards the sexual content, including something that comes high on the list of things I never expected to see: a Kane Hodder sex scene. But that’s not the sex scene people are going to be talking about after seeing this movie. Oh no. And that’s all I’m going to say on the matter. Believe me, you’ll know what I’m referring to when you see it.
All in all, this is a worthy sequel. I don’t think it’s necessarily superior to the original (as Adam Green does, which he told the audience both in his intro and the follow-up Q&A), but the two films are definitely on a par with one another. As such, a viewer’s likely enjoyment here will probably depend on how much they enjoyed Hatchet. For myself, I liked Hatchet just fine without being particularly blown away, and much the same is true here. Even so, it’s fair to say this is every bit as much an Old-School American Horror film as its predecessor, and it certainly deserves to be recieved as enthusiastically by horror audiences worldwide.
