HATCHET II

Back in 2006, director Adam Green released "Hatchet" his tribute to 1980’s slasher films. The modestly budgeted film was a return to the “good ol’ days” of horror, when the gore was done exclusively by bloody practical effects, and every second scene another girl was baring her breasts before she too was killed. The horror audience lapped it up, and villain Victor Crowley was soon mentioned in the same breath as Jason or Freddy. Not only that, but it appeared that horror had found another new hero in director Adam Green. Personally, while I found “Hatchet” to be enjoyable, I didn’t think it was the second coming like a lot of horror fans did. To me it was a competently made film, with good gore, but that was it (I gave the film three stars), however I thought that Adam Green had talent. Since then he has made a light thriller called “Spiral” which was effective if a little predictable, but he followed that with the amazing survival horror film “Frozen”. I was stunned at just how good this film was and at the levels of suspense achieved. “Frozen” is about three friends stuck on a chair-lift at a ski-resort which has closed down for the long weekend (the chair-lift attendant thought that he had accounted for everyone). They know that if they do nothing they will freeze to death, but they are far too high to jump. Like I said, this film is amazing and in parts, very “Hitchcockian” (which I do not say lightly). After “Frozen”, Adam Green thought it was time for Victor Crowley’s return and he decided to make “Hatchet II”. Witnessing how far he had come as a director since the original “Hatchet”, I was looking forward to seeing how he would tackle the sequel.


It is with great sadness that I have to report that “Hatchet II” is beyond terrible. It is woeful and a major step backwards in Adam Green’s career. I do not think this film works on any level at all. The worst aspect of the film is that it looks so rushed and so damned cheap. Unlike the first film which was shot on 35mm, “Hatchet II” was shot digitally. Apparently this is Green’s and his cinematographer, Will Barratt’s first time shooting digitally (on a feature) and it shows. It is clear that they have no idea how to use the format properly. Personally, I prefer films to be actually shot on film compared to video, but if you know how to use and light it properly, the digital format can be made to look like film (David Fincher is a master at this – see “Zodiac”). However, if you do not know how to use the medium, it always comes off looking cheap and amateurish. In fact if I didn’t know that Adam Green’s name was on this, I would swear that this film was made by a bunch of amateurs trying to do a “fan-made” sequel.


The action kicks off immediately from the end of “Hatchet” with Marybeth trying to escape from Victor Crowley. All is not the same though, as Marybeth is played by a completely different actress. Danielle Harris plays the role this time around, which would normally be a huge positive for me because I am a massive fan of hers, but I think in “Hatchet II” she gives her worst performance yet – she is terrible. Maybe because the role originated by someone else (I am not sure why original actress Tamara Feldman didn’t return to the role for the sequel) and that she felt trapped by that performance, I don’t know, but this is not the quality of work that I associate with Danielle. She is not alone though as the whole film is littered with bad performances. It is amazing to say that the best performance comes from horror-icon Kane Hodder, while playing Victor Crowley’s dad (he also plays Victor himself, when he has grown up and become the maniacal killer), who actually shows some genuine emotion.


“Who cares about the acting, this is a horror film!”, I hear you say, “Tell us about the gore”. I will admit that the majority of the gore gags are fun and very inventive, but the execution of the effects are so poorly done that, once again, makes it look cheap, amateurish and rushed, which obviously lessens the intended impact. Adam Green chose not to go with the original film’s make-up artist, John Carl Buechler (who cameos at the beginning of “Hatchet II”), in an attempt to give some new talent a chance. While I commend the gesture, it does not actually help the film. This may not be special FX artist, Robert Pendergraft’s fault, because as I am sure most would know, if you do not light or film (choose the right angle) the gore properly, it always comes across as fake, so I think that both Green and Barratt have to take some of the blame here too.


Speaking of Green, directorially his work here is very flat. The film is too reliant on close-ups, which is another sign of a rushed production. It almost feels that his heart just is not in it, and that he only made the film to satisfy the fans of the original. The difference between “Hatchet II” and “Frozen” (which he was so passionate about) is so obvious. “Frozen” looks like it was well planned out in advance before shooting began, with interesting camera angles and shots, where as “Hatchet II” has none of that at all.


Finally, I had to laugh at the conclusion of the credits when it says “Hatchet Army – Here To Save Horror”. If this film is meant to be the saviour , then it is time to give up, “horror” must already be a dead genre. Unfortunately “Hatchet II” hasn’t the ability to save anything because it is such a poor film, which is a shame because I was so looking forward to it. Let’s hope (and I am sure he can) Adam Green can bounce back from it.


1 star.