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Hatchet (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 39
Fresh: 19
Rotten:20
Average Rating: 5.5/10
Consensus: The over-the-top gore, campy acting, and dim cinematography may be part of Hatchet's self-described old-school ethos, but irony alone can't sustain a horror film.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong bloody horror violence, sexual content, nudity and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:Sep 7, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: The slasher film all but died with the release of SCREAM (1996). From that point on, the genre became populated with slick studio productions starring the latest round of teen television stars,... The slasher film all but died with the release of SCREAM (1996). From that point on, the genre became populated with slick studio productions starring the latest round of teen television stars, while gore and terror all but disappeared. HATCHET director Adam green clearly longs for the early days of the VCR, when films like MADMAN (1982), THE BURNING (1981), and THE PROWLER (1981) gave us psycho killers with grudges, deformities, and axes to grind—usually very graphically against the heads of promiscuous teens. HATCHET's killer is Victor Crowley, a grossly misshapen New Orleans bayou boogeyman who suffered an accidental hatchet to the face when his father tried to rescue him from a fire. When brokenhearted college boy Ben (Joel Moore) ditches his friends during a pre-Katrina Mardi Gras in favor of a cheesy Haunted Swamp tour, he finds himself on a boat full of misfits with an inexperienced tour guide (Perry Shen) just in from Detroit. Soon, the boat is sinking, and the passengers who also include an aspiring porn director and his two stars, a middle-aged couple, and a young woman with a vendetta against Crowley--come face-to-face with the monstrous killer. Green clearly isn't against mixing humor in with his scares---HATCHET is rather liberal with laughs and has a generally lighthearted tone. But when the gore comes in, it's strong and noxious---though usually very dimly lit, this is messy stuff. He also shows his appreciation for horror film history by giving cameos to Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund and Tony "Candyman" Todd and casting Kane "Jason Voorhees" Hodder as Crowley. HATCHET is a lively, funny, and reverent 1980's-style gore film that is certain to get a roomful of gorehounds howling with approval. [More]
Starring: Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Mercedes McNab
Starring: Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Mercedes McNab, Parry Shen, Joleigh Fioreavanti, Joel Murray, Richard Riehle, Patrika Darbo, Joshua Leonard, John Carl Buechler, Kane Hodder, Robert Englund, Tony Todd
Director: Adam Green
Director: Adam Green
Screenwriter: Adam Green
Producer: Scott Altomare, Cory Neal, Sarah Elbert
Composer: Andy Garfield
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
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Reviews for Hatchet
This may be the bucket of blood that splatter fans were eagerly anticipating ... but it is also an excellent horror film with solid scripting and strong performances that make it appealing to a wider audience.
Anyone feeding into this nostalgia is yearning for a kind of warm and fuzzy horror that’s wholly irrelevant today.
Enjoyably schlocky horror flick, with its tongue firmly in cheek, ensuring that there are several laughs to be had amidst all the gory, hatchet-wielding mayhem.
Fun horror-comedy about tourists being picked off in the swamps. Tongues are firmly in cheeks; heads don't stay long on shoulders.
This low-budget horror spoof lasts only 84 minutes, but seems to take forever.
A reasonably serviceable horror, with much gory dismemberment, and featuring a kind of ancestor worship in the casting of scary-movie veterans Robert Englund and Tony Todd.
Billed as “Old School American horror”, Hatchet’s actually something far less classy: a technically inept homage to ’80s slasher movies that’s both bloody and bloody stupid.
Long before its howling bogeyman has savaged his last victim you'll be wondering if the movie has anything else to offer besides self-conscious homage.
Green’s efforts to strike a balance between knowing humour and no-holds-barred horror are stymied by an erratic tone: a slow, talky build-up gives way to a soggy middle section and a messy, all-stops-out finale.
What could have been a mini-Scream is ultimately I’ll Always Know You Did Last Halloween the 13th.
Like Scream never happened, this is an uneven comedy-horror homage that gets by on enthusiasm alone.
usually the choice between "fun party" and "mad badness" is a no-brainer - but in Hatchet, viewers get the best of both worlds, as carnivalesque hilarity and carnage go hand in bloody hand.
Hatchet est un film fait par des fans pour des fans avec tout ce que cela implique en termes d'effusions de sang et de démembrements à n'en plus finir
(I)t has to be said that Hatchet's homage to the goofy, gloppy vivisection-fests of two decades before has a strange way of satisfying.
Horror without suspense is like sex without love: you can appreciate the technicalities, but ultimately there’s no reason to care.
It's just not that scary (even the gory sequences are predictable and boring). And it certainly isn't clever or funny.
Draggy stretches in the first few reels could easily have been pruned from an already tight 83-minute running time.
It's spirited, totally exploitative, entirely forgettable high body count slasher movie fun, and it sure ain't pretending to be quality cinema.
Latest News for Hatchet
September 09, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review. ![]()
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March 23, 2007:
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Before he was known the world over as Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund was known as just another colorful character actor, but now that he's played the dream-bound boogeyman in... More...
October 18, 2006:
Has James Cameron Found His "Avatar" Star?
The news has been confirmed in an official capacity, but according to a handful of movie sites, James Cameron has found a star for his long-awaited "Avatar." And it's... More...
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