Fantastic Fest 2010: Adam Green's HATCHET II fulfills the promises made in the first part and then some!!!

Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here. It strikes me funny that critics and audiences who loved Adam Green's magnificent film Frozen think that somehow his HATCHET movies are somehow beneath him to do, especially now that he's proven himself to be "an artist" with his tale of three very cold folks stuck on a ski lift. What people who hold that opinion fail to realize is that Hatchet and Hatchet II are examples of Green in his zone. Not that he doesn't love all of his films like his children, I'm sure, but the stories of Victor Crowley are where he lives in his heart. And when a bucket of blood gets thrown against a tree in the Louisiana swamps, that's Green's blood (metaphorically speaking). Does that mean that movies are any good or that you have to like them? Of course not; I'm sure almost every filmmaker is passionate about their films. No, you should like the Hatchet movies because they are gloriously gory, occasionally funny, and there's a story being told that actually progresses, expands, and offers some surprises as it transitions from the first film to the second. HATCHET II picks up at the exact second when the first film left off. Marybeth is the only survivor from the first film, and this go-round she's played by scream queen Danielle Harris (frankly, I didn't miss Tamara Feldman even a little bit). She makes it out of Crowley's swamp and has been advised by an old guy living in the swamp to seek out Rev. Zombie (Tony Todd, who made a brief cameo in the first film, and has been blessedly elevated to basically the second lead here). With a better (although not complete) understanding of what they're up against, Marybeth and Zombie assemble a team of hunters and other men and women with guns to go seek out and kill Crowley (still played by Kane Hodder). Some of the elements I like to see in any horror sequel are present, and it's clear that Green sees it as important to step up the number of kills, the quality of said kills, as well as grow the understanding of what exactly Crowley is. And did I mention there of more, fouler deaths to enjoy? Even if you don't give two shits about story in your gore films, there is enough blood and guts and dismemberment to keep you going and possibly throw up in your mouth a little. I don't want to give away any specific plot point or describe in too much detail the kills, but it's tough for me to imagine that fans of the original film will be anything but giddy with Hatchet II. If anything, I might like the sequel just a little bit more because Green has dialed back the humor and bad jokes. There's a lot more angst and grief and raw rage in Hatchet II, and that's entirely appropriate and helps to enhance the fear tremendously. We also get a bit more detail through flashbacks on Crowley's history beyond what we saw in the first film, and that information provides motivation for his existence on earth. Green isn't trying to make a slick, pretty, polished film. He's certainly capable of producing such a product, but the slasher films he/we grew up loving and inspiring us never looked that way. The film doesn't look cheap--especially the effects--but it looks handmade; you can see fingerprints on the work because that's how it's meant to appear. That being said, I feel I saw more expression on Victor Crowley's face, and less vacant leather mask-looking makeup. Hodder has more to do here as both Victor and his father (in flashbacks), and he pulls off on particularly emotional scene as the dad pretty convincingly. Academy members, I'm talking to you! But this level of analysis almost defeats the purpose of Hatchet II and movies like it. This movie is meant to have you recoiling and retching in your seat, daring you to keep your hands away from your eyes, and testing the limits of even the hardest hardcore horror fanatic. Through a deal with either God or Satan, this movie will play uncut and unrated thanks to AMC Theaters, so you don't have to wait for the DVD release to see it the way Green intended it be shown. Take advantage, see it on the big screen as a communal experience with fellow gore geeks, because that's the only way Hatchet III is getting made.