(2010) ***
This is kind of a good news / bad news situation. The good news is that this flick is awesome. It's hilarious, gory as hell, never takes itself too seriously, and just an overall great time. The bad news is that if you want to see it for this month's Horrorthon, you will have to go to a theater today, since it will in all likelihood get pulled from theaters tomorrow due to a ratings battle that has alienated writer/director Adam Green from the MPAA and AMC theaters. You can click here for theater locations.
I got the inside scoop on this last night when a friend invited me along to the premier of Hatchet 2, which features his hilarious pal Colton Dunn.
Colton is along for the ride with a group of monster hunters who take off on a swamp boat to hunt the murderous, deformed ghost of Victor Crowley, bane of late night gator hunters--and anyone else who happens to have a reason for being in the swamp in the dead of night. Colton had one of the funniest moments I've seen in any movie in this little flick. Just in case you actually do get out to a theater today to catch the movie, I won't wreck Colton's bit for you. But I will say that I was giggling for several scenes afterwards, unable to shake the funny.
After the film, we were treated to a Q&A with some of the stars and Adam Green, who explained the ratings imbroglio. Then, we headed over to the house of Danielle Harris, who turned out to be a neighbor of Octo and myself.
And I got to hang out with some of the folks from this film. One funny thing Adam Green told me is that horror people are the friendliest bunch around--in contrast to comedy people, who are vicious and mean. Strange irony there, obviously, but I can definitely say that in my meager experience with horror people last night, this statement turned out to be true. They're a very accepting bunch of cats. And it so happened that Danielle will actually be in Orlando, where my short is playing, next weekend for Spooky Empire. She does a ton of conventions where she shows up to sign autographs as the scream queen she is, I guess. Must be a fun way to make a living!
I don't have to tell you much about this film for you to know that you will love it. Swamp ghost with an axe kills people--people who for some dumb reason just can't stay out of the swamp. There is little more to reveal except that every scene is funny, and every death is cartoony, violent goodness. And the action starts so quickly that I thought we were seeing a preview--you're right in the thick of things, picking up from the end of Hatchet 1, as soon as the projector starts.
If you can't catch it this Horrorthon, at least make sure you get it on DVD. You don't need to see Hatchet 1 to keep up, but I will be seeing Hatchet 1 as soon as possible, now that I know about this great group of independent film makers. I was very moved by Adam's struggle as an indie guy who has spoken out against the all powerful MPAA. Granted, I don't know much except his side of the story, but I dug the spoofy vibe of this film and was sorry that the guys at MPAA apparently didn't get the joke. They decided to give the movie an NC 17 rating instead of an R, and when Adam got pissed off about this, AMC had to back pedal away from their support of him. The Hatchet 2 website contains a statement to the effect that the decision to release the film unrated was not made by AMC, despite "comments made in recent interviews." Like I said, I only know one person's side of this saga, but it sounds like a juicy controversy. So you have one day--today--to support these filmmakers.
I am now in the Hatchet Army, folks, and I hope you will join me!
