Blu-ray Review: HATCHET II

Right off the bat: I've never seen the first Hatchet.  It was on my list of things to see, but we all know how those can get away from us.  In an attempt to get current, I got a copy of Hatchet II for review on the site, and I must say, I need to go find the first one if it as much fun as this!

Hatchet II continues the story of the first film, picking right up after the final shot of Hatchet.  Marybeth Dunston (scream queen Danielle Harris) escapes the maniacal swamp ghost, Victor Crowley, and runs back to "town" for help.  Crowley butchered her family, you see, and she wants revenge.  She meets up with Reverend Zombie (Candyman/Final Destination's Tony Todd), and he recounts the whole bloody story of the evil swamp ghost and how it connects to Mary Beth.  The whole flashback sort of reminds of a gooeier version of the old Scooby Doo, Where Are You? series.  There is a swamp ghost, after all...  Anyway, Reverend Zombie rounds up a few down on their luck locals with the promise of $500 in a bid to go back into the swamp and get Crowley. Nine folks go into the swamp along with Marybeth and the good Reverend, but as I'm sure you can imagine, somewhat fewer come out.
   
The plot is really nothing to speak of, I pretty much gave you the whole thing right there, spoiler alert!  It is the execution (pun intended) that makes Hatchet II worthwhile.  Overall the acting is pretty flat, with the exceptions of Tony Todd and AJ Bowen, no one really makes their characters stand out.  Danielle Harris plays frantic and deranged very well, even if she plays the entire film, THE ENTIRE FILM, with one eyebrow arched.  It was a bit creepy, I thought it might be a facial defect, but then when I watched the behind-the-scenes stuff, her eyebrows were totally normal.  Very weird.  Victor Crowley is played with appropriate mania by slasher vet Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th), and he does a decent job of breathing some life and menace into these voiceless characters.  Hodder also plays Crowley's father in a flashback, with somewhat less success, though he does seem to coax genuine tears, which is impressive.

The stars of the film are the kills, and they are fantastic!  In fact, as is common with most slashers, every second of screen time not dedicated to actively disemboweling someone can feel a bit forced.  I would hate to spoil the kills for you, but they do involve hatchets, chainsaws, intestines, decapitations, and more!  In homage to the first film, we even see the famously, um, opened (?) head of a victim sitting on the swamp floor.  Great stuff, tons of blood, and the camera stays on the action at all times.  This is a splatter film, and one that knows its audience.

I really liked Hatchet II, and I will seek out the first film now.  If you haven't seen the first, I think it would be wise, but it certainly isn't necessary to enjoy this one.  Keep your eyes on Tony Todd and AJ Bowen.   Bowen does a lot with his relatively small role in this one, and I look forward to seeing him in more films.  Check out the clip below to gauge the tone of the film, I think it is pretty representative.

The Disc:

Hatchet II comes to us from Dark Sky, who produced, distributed, and got the movie out on home video.  The video aspect of this disc is pretty decent.  Almost the entire film is set at night, which gives little chance for a filmmaker to flex his muscles in the cinematography department.  The good stuff is visible, though it is a bit murky at times.  I'm confident that this film looks how it should.  The sound fares a bit better, with the Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks spreading the noise around and creating a decent sense of depth.  The surrounds are used to good effect in creating a menacing atmosphere in the film.  No major flaws were noticed.

The extras are also pretty good.  There is a 30 minute making of that goes through most of the production process including casting, production, direction, talking to the actors, talking to the SFX crew with lots of behind the scenes footage.  It was great to see how much fun was had on the set.  There is also an 8 minute EPK which covers a lot of the same ground but without reusing much footage.  There are also two commentaries, one with cast, and one with production crew.  They are what you'd expect.  The actor commentary is more about experiences on set, while the crew commentary gets more into nuts and bolts.  Also included are come teasers, TV spots, and trailers.  A very good package.  

The one thing I wish I'd been able to see was a piece on Hatchet II's fate in theaters.  The film was famously yanked from AMC theaters 3 days after being released nationwide.  There has got to be a story there, and I would have liked to have heard it.

Overall, a great slasher film with good, gooey kills, and a sense of humor.  Hatchet II is never scary, but it is a lot of fun.