Today is the release of one of our personal favorite slasher movie and in honor of the great HATCHET II, we have dug up our original review along with all the DVD and Blu-fay info needed to make an informed purchase. Director Adam Green has warned us if you don't by a copy that he will quote "kill a small kitten" but if you do buy a copy he will save one. (j/k) In all seriousness it is a fun film, not a huge fan of the first? Neither were we but we loved the sequel!....

Follow up:

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Forgive me at the start of this review because it's probably going to consist of ramblings and more than my usual incoherent statements. After a two and a half hour car ride to and from the theater I never expected to come home and bust out a review but soon after I walked into the office and heard the soft, subtle grumblings of a faint voice whispering the word "Daaaaaddddyyy" and somehow I knew fate (or Crowley himself) was luring me to the computer to type this.

There were a few things I was worried about going to see this film. The biggest concern for me was the replacement of Tamara Feldman (Marybeth) from the original film take away from the story. Danielle Harris (this generations scream queen) was cast in the role and although I knew Danielle would do a remarkable job, recasting such a major role for any film is always tough for fans to swallow. Another concern I had about the film was our very own hype promoting the movie. Had we worn ourselves out in anticipation?

Make no mistake about it, we are big fans of the original HATCHET but it wasn't the perfect horror film by any means. So why were we going on and on about a film we hadn't seen that was a sequel to a film we liked but had flaws? It's a good question. I often get e-mails asking us what Adam Green (the director of both films) did to get us to kiss his ass day in and day out (SEE HERE). The truth is not much. So when I say this know that it's coming as truth. The reason we got so on board with HATCHET II was because we knew what Green was capable of. He has impressed us since his rise in horror and with each and every step of the way from the original HATCHET to his shorts such as JACK CHOP to the nail biting film FROZEN, Green has continued to raise the bar. We knew this film would be special and we prayed it would live up to our own hype.

So we knew going into this project his love for 80's horror and we knew the original HATCHET was almost complete in satisfying our slasher crunch so we had faith that Green's sequel would harken back to the great horror films of yesteryear all while creating new, fresh scenarios and more importantly new inventive ways to die. After all, no respectable slasher film is complete without creative deaths. HATCHET II delivers you to the edge of the cliff with new ideas while putting the peddle to the floor and careening the car over a cliff hurdling you to your death below. How any person in their "right" mind comes up with this many ass kicking ways to die boggles the mind, but he does it...again and again!

So, did Danielle Harris fit in the role of Marybeth? The short answer is with out a shadow of a doubt, YES! I'm not sure what Tamara Feldman did to piss Green off or if they had some sort of falling out. Who knows why she wasn't recast in the role, and who cares. Why in God's name Adam Green didn't cast Harris in the original film is unbenounced to me. Maybe she was helping needy children or working at a food pantry, that's the only logical assumption because Harris IS Marybeth.

Feldman played the role like the film was just some goof off horror film, wooden and flat. Emotion wasn't needed even though Marybeth's father and brother were brutally killed by an insane, mentally challenged maniac running a muck in the swamp. When Danielle Harris popped on screen in HATCHET II and started mentioning that fateful night her dad and brother met their demise it was with a heavy heart and tears in her eyes. Yes, HATCHET is about fun and sometimes slapstick humor but emotion is still nice to, you know, convey feelings.

Harris not only acts her ass off but her small stature is also perfect for the role. One qualm I had about the original HATCHET was Kane Hodder's (Victor Crowely) height. He was perfect for the role, don't get me wrong, but sometimes during the fight scenes their height would be equal or nearly equal. Crowley is supposed to be this brooding, 10 foot tall beast of a man but it just didn't work with Feldman playing the role. Danielle's size was perfect and it showed. Crowley also wasn't nearly as hunch backed over in this film which not only worked better for my liking but also allowed Hodder to be much more mobile. Something that was great to witness when Crowley was hacking someone's face clean off the skull or chainsawing through a few nuts (you'll have to see the film to understand).

The storyline for the film is something else that worked brilliantly this time around. The original film seemed a bit rushed from the Mardi Gras scenes to the swamp. In HATCHET II we finally learn the back stories to all the rich characters that were left out of the original. Most notably Tony Todd's character, Reverend Zombie. Todd's character was nothing more than a cameo and comic relief spot in the first film while the second film revolves around his character and his "boat tour" business that has taken a dive since Crowley has been haunting the swamp. Tony Todd seemed a bit forced in the original, the Louisiana accent didn't seem to flow naturally but in the sequel Todd's character shines. It's truly amazing what Todd brings to this role and he was perfect to play the character. Todd displays the perfect amount of emotion while at the same time holding back a little bit for the audience to make up their own minds if he is a trustworthy guy or not.

Another great part about the film was getting to see Kane Hodder act outside of a Jason Voorhees or Victor Crowley costume. Hodder had some brief shots in the original film but the sequel goes into much more of Crowley's back story. Hodder's scenes were some of the best of the film and he portrayed a dad that really had love for his son. Again something you don't expect from a hack and slash film with so much comedy. It usually isn't done right in slasher films but obviously needs to be something more for directors to focus on because Adam Green does and it makes you miss the few slasher films that have it. It turns a film from mindless killing into something you truly care about, characters you're pulling for.

Don't get me wrong. This isn't Citizen Kane and Green doesn't treat it like that. This is a retro 80's throwback film from start to finish. Adam Green did what Sam Raimi did for the EVIL DEAD series. He took his original idea and improved on it. You can go into HATCHET II having never seen the original and love the film. It's not a retelling like EVIL DEAD 2 was but it does cover the first film's story well enough to move onto the storyline of the sequel. Of course if you enjoy the sequel you will enjoy the first film as well. Its like icing on the cake.

Other notable additions to the film are many "nerd nuggets" that Green throws in like lighting bolts to see if we can catch. JACK CHOP was available at Revered Zombie's novelty store. There were shout outs to Jason from FRIDAY THE 13th and FROZEN. They even mentioned Leslie Vernon's home town. All causing a stir of cheers and laughter from fellow horror uber geeks in the theater.

The film did have a few lull moments and no film is without its flaws. But if you're going into this film looking to have fun and enjoy creative ways to use buckets, and I mean BUCKETS, of blood and gore you'll love this film. I've been doing this for quite sometime now and I have never seen someone in a packed theater get up after a gory scene to run and puke in the isle but it happened in out theater tonight. That should tell you something gore fans.

HATCHET II broke many barriers and changed a lot of rules. It went into theaters unrated, something that was so risky and ballsy but fit the director so well. Green continues to push the bar higher and higher and whether it's a gory horror film or an episode of the DAYS OF OUR LIVES we will follow him to the hills. This guy has whatever "IT" is. This film will make you even less of a fan of remade slasher horror films from the past because it's such a well told new story. Plus no CGI!

Make no mistake about it. This film puts Adam Green's Victor Crowley in the same conversation as other slasher legends like John Carpenter's Michael Myers and Wes Craven's Freddy Krueger. With Adam Green in the captains chair and slowly becoming horrors go to director we can safely say we're excited for the future. Find a theater and go see this film slasher fans. It's so good it'll probably be remade in 10 years.






"Writer/director Adam Green’s sequel, in which Danielle Harris heads into the bayou to seek revenge on Kane Hodder’s legendary madman, will be presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound on the DVD and DTS 5.1 on the Blu-ray. Both discs will include:

• Audio commentary by Green, cinematographer Will Barratt and makeup FX supervisor Robert Pendergraft

• Audio commentary by Green and actors Hodder and Tony Todd

• “HATCHET II: Behind the Screams”

• Trailers and teaser

• TV and radio spots

The Blu-ray will additionally contain two exclusive featurettes:

• “First Look: HATCHET II”

• “Meet the FX Team”

Source: HorrorBid