Hatchet II

It started off quite different to the first; after spending some time explaining things about the killer however, things returned to campy slasher territory.

This time, Tony Todd takes hunters into the woods so the cast consists of older people mostly.

Perhaps because of watching many films commissioned by sci-fi channel I was familiar with films that featured gun-toting guys without much personality and I was surprised when the hunters had varying oddball personalities. Obviously bloody deaths occur. Basically its a film where descriptions can't substitute for watching it. It's highly entertaining though.

With 80's slashers, their effect on me is actually relaxing. We have a bunch of characters who the filmmaker generally deems worthless (except a few, who make it to the end) so that we don't have to actually invest anything until their inconsequential deaths, clear, simple-minded notions of good and evil, and contrived mechanisms that explain them away (the evil presence is usually described by some kind of simplified trauma). None of this happens in real life, so none of this actually has potential to breach the divide and actually unsettle. It's a movie fantasy, one oddly espousing deeply conservative values (prudence is generally rewarded) that fly in the face of the crowd that avidly sees them.

Like the first Hatchet, this is a knowingly cartoonish version of this. The deaths are delightfully absurd. At some point the baddie in this, Vincent Crowley, shows up with a chainsaw six feet long. The film knows what part it plays in the tradition and has fun with it.

What is actually problematic about these films is that, for all the parody, they still posit themselves as straight slasher films. It doesn't work, the hackneyed plot above all where a band of mercenaries is hastily assembled to venture into the bayou. Or what they aim to do once there.

The Japanese as usual are more savvy about this kind of thing. In films like The Machine Girl, they put together all kinds of cultural stamps they have produced and obsessed over the years (video games, anime, martial arts, extreme violence, erotica) and obliterate one against the other.

Here, I assume the filmmaker doesn't have a grasp of how the pastiche can be made to work. Probably because he doesn't understand or care to anything other than this kind of film. The splatter works, what's around it not so much.

The very short theatrical run of the movie in the US is a shame. In the words of Mr. Green himself, it was the first major unrated release since the Original Dawn of the Dead. Which means, it did play in a lot of cinemas. Though I'm pretty sure with many regulations and other obstacles (apart from the fact, that you can't promote it).

Which is a shame, because this is not a torture movie or anything mental. It just tries to be a fun slasher. We might not get the whole story why it got withdrawn after just one weekend, but as it is, it's a sad testament of the current flow of cinema fodder we get.

Of course you might ask, if I say so many good things about the movie, why do I rate it quite low (3 points lower than the rating of the first movie)? This comes down to the story element of the movie. While Adam said himself, that people will criticize him for not delivering non-stop slasher, it comes down to the fact, that it just does not live up to the time it takes up.

In other words, it takes too long and the pacing seems off. Unfortunately one of the guys who was really funny (in Hatchet 1) is not back for more, but gets replaced by someone else who tries very hard to be funny, but just can't "cut" it (in my eyes).

But if you are in this for the kills and thrills, there is much to be had of those, especially in the second part of the movie. So if you don't mind the (disposable and sadly sometimes not very well acted) story element at the beginning ... go right ahead and watch this.

It is difficult to criticize something that just tries to be fun. And if you ever get a chance to meet Mr. Green in person, he is one hell of a guy. I can't wait to watch another one of his movies

I really enjoyed the first HATCHET film, which perfectly captured the spirit of a 1980s-era slasher film. It was replete with funny characters and dialogue, great prosthetic effects, and a wonderfully old-fashioned atmosphere and feel. So where did it all go wrong for this sequel? Well, it appears to have been written on the fly, with a storyline that copies EXACTLY the same plot as the first film: a group visit the bayous in the middle of the night, with the twist that they're now out to hunt down and destroy the supernatural killer Victor Crowley. Hell, they even bring back Parry Shen, whose character died in the first movie (by virtue of him playing the guy's twin brother).

Everything that sparkled about the first film has gone in HATCHET II, to be replaced by a boring script and a dearth of imagination. The gore effects are more extreme but at the same time sillier and with worse effects, and somehow Kane Hodder's killer just doesn't look as frightening. He looks goofy, like an alien from a 1980s movie, whereas in the first film he was kept in the shadows a lot and all the more frightening for it.

Finally, Danielle Harris is a poor replacement for the original actress. The one good thing this has going for it is a substantial part for Tony Todd, who merely cameoed in the first movie. Todd is great, but it's not enough to lift the film to greatness. My favourite thing about this? Emma Bell's cameo, which is a lovely reference for anyone who's seen and enjoyed the director's FROZEN.

There wasn't much difference between this sequel and the first movie. Pretty much the exact same thing happens. This time the girl, Mary Beth, whom survived the first night is back to return to the swamp with Rev Zombie's help for a really stupid reason: to bring back the bodies of her family. So Zombie gathers a crew and they go to the swamp that night. Zombie has a plan to put an end to Crowley's ghost.

Do plans ever work with freaky killers-No! So you get more blood and gore and skulls bashed in, plus some faces cut off.

FINAL VERDICT: If you never have your fill of slasher films, check it out.