Movie Review: Hatchet II

Synopsis: Marybeth (Danielle Harris) escapes the clutches of the deformed, swamp-dwelling iconic killer Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder). After learning the truth about her family's connection to the hatchet-wielding madman, Marybeth returns to the Louisiana swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact the bloodiest revenge against the bayou butcher.

I think the best place to put this film is in the "almost-so-bad-it's-good" category. It's a b-movie for sure, and it aims to be sort of a 80s horror/slasher comedy with over-the-top gore I think. At least that's what I hope. It does succeed there and it's quite fun actually if this is your cup of tea (as it is for me) but I think a lot of people will find it pretty bad or just sort of stupid. So basically, if you liked the first Hatchet movie then expect more of the same and check this one out, and if you didn't like the first one then stay far away from this. It's just a whole lot more of the same turned up a notch even. I don't think it's as good as the first one though.

It starts a bit too slow for me. Sure there's a crazy kill right off the bat as any good horror movie would have but then it sort of drags along while I was just waiting on the victims to get their butts back out to the swamp where the bad guy is. This takes forever and it also has a backstory inserted into it that takes a bit too long, although it's great to see Kane Hodder in some scenes without any make-up I thought.

But once the posse is in the swamp, the grisly, crazy gore, splattering blood by the buckets and inventive kills and beheadings pick up the pace and it's good bloody gory fun. Surely you've longed to see a man strangled with his own intestines, death by belt-sander, boat propellor to the face, a chainsaw to the crotch (2 people at once) or a girl on all fours take an axe up the ole poop shoot? If you said all of the above well then you'll be pleased.

It's never great nor hilarious, but I didn't expect it to be either. The ending feels a bit unsatifying to me, or maybe just abrupt. Overall it's brainless with plenty of witless dialog for sure but it's funny enough and sick enough to make up for it. It feels like a parody of itself almost, if that's even possible.

I like this series and if Adam Green keeps making them I'll keep watching them, especially if people like Tony Todd and Kane Hodder are attached.

6/10