After doing Top Five Slasher Movies the other night, I realized I’ve been pretty snobbish about what slasher films I’ve seen. Mike recommended Hatchet, which I’d written off as a poorly acted B-film. As if to learn a lesson, Hatchet came on Starz tonight so I felt obligated to watch. Hatchet is a solid horror comedy earning the Decent Watch rating.
Hatchet brings the video game style killings that make it memorable
Ben (Joel David Moore) is in New Orleans with his friend Marcus (Deon Richmond) when they decide to take a ghost tour. The tour ends up stranded in a New Orleans swamp when they learn of the legend of Victor Crowley. Their night of scares turns real and they find themselves fighting to survive.
Hatchet definitely takes a page out of the Mortal Kombat playbook. The kills in this movie change for each character and definitely resemble a Fatality. I won’t spoil the methods of killing that occur, but they are brutal. This film definitely lives up to the gore that Mike said it would have. Crowley is a scary being and seems to take his roots in Jason, Leatherface, and Michael Myers. However, a pattern was pointed out that many slasher film villains wear disguises or masks. If that’s a genre criterion then this film may not be a slasher after all.
The cast is full of usual supporting characters from some of my favorite comedies. Moore is in Grandma’s Boy and Dodgeball. Richmond in Van Wilder and Not Another Teen Movie. Joel Murray is in God Bless America and Richard Riehle is in Office Space. All of them do a great job in bringing humor to this violent horror film. Writer/director Adam Green kept the story simple and allowed characters to keep the movie entertaining. Then the violence brings the horror pretty strong.
I don’t think this is a Must See film, but if you like violent horror comedies you’ll probably love it. It’s entertaining though and I was impressed with the creativity of the kill scenes. The film is predictable as one might expect for a slasher film. Yet, there is enough entertainment to make it worth a look.
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