Hatchet DVD Review
Hatchet is about a maniac in the swamps of New Orleans (the bayou, I suppose) who terrorizes college kids looking for fun, rogue alligator hunters (a nice cameo from horror legend actor Robert Englund, who plays the father/hunter, and Joshua Leonard, who plays his son), an amateur porn film maker and two actresses, a local girl, and a tourist couple, most of whom are aboard an illegal swamp tour.
Ben (played by Joel David Moore) and Marcus (played by Deon Richmond) pay for a “ghost tour”, where they meet aspiring actresses Misty (played by Mercedes McNab) and Jenna (played by Joleigh Fioreavanti), a filmmaker named Shapiro (played by Joel Murry), a pair of tourists named Mr. and Mrs. Permatteos (played by Richard Riehle and Patrika Darbo) and a local girl named Mary Beth (played by Tamara Feldman).
Tour leader Shawn (played by Parry Shen) is in over his head when the boat crashes and the tourists are left stranded in the swamp.
Then comes the obligatory ghost story, this one about Alexander Crowley (played by Kane Hodder) who died in the very swamp they are now stuck in many years ago after a nasty fire.
Director Adam Green does a great job with the special effects in this film, using latex and fake blood to reenact limbs getting ripped off of torsos, a head split in two, and much more splatter. There is, however, a bit of gratuitous nudity, which makes this film not appropriate for youngsters.
The film is presented in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen, with sound in English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, as well as optional Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Surround.
Extras include audio commentary with director/writer/co-producer Green, co-producer/cinematographer Will Barratt, and actors Feldman, Moore and Richmond. The documentary “The Making Of Hatchet” takes viewers behind the scenes of the production, as well as provides interviews with the cast and crewmembers, including one of the effects guys. The featurette “Meeting Victor Crowley” shows how Hodder uses unorthodox methods to get into character. The next featurette, “Guts And Gore”, gets into more details about the gore effects. In the “Anatomy Of A Kill” featurette, viewers can take a look at one pivotal kill scene in the film and how it was created. Lastly, there’s the featurette “A Twisted Tale”, showing how Green got to become close friends with Twisted Sister front-man Dee Snider after giving him a letter at a horror convention. Rounding out the extras is a gag reel.
Hatchet is one of those little scary films that doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet doesn’t enter into slapstick territory, either. Instead, it features smart writing, funny actors and some blood and guts to ensure it’s ensconced in the horror category. So Hatchet may not scare the pants off you, but you just might laugh your you-know-what off watching it.
