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The directors of Abominable and Hatchet are just about my age, which tells me that my generation of horror geeks is poised to hit the indie circuit with a vengeance. Hatchet wears its genre love right there on its gore-soaked sleeve, and that's why I had such a good time with the flick. It's funny without being a parody, it's unapologetically gory, and it's packed with actors who are obviously having a real good time with the material.

The plot couldn't be simpler: A chintzy tour of a New Orleans swampland turns into sheer terror as a group of goofballs find themselves haunted and hunted by the legendary lunatic known as Victor Crowley. That's pretty much it, plot-wise.

But anyone who was raised on series like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street should find a good deal to enjoy in Hatchet: The kills are frequent, ferocious, and freakishly gory; the actors are surprisingly strong across the board; the tone is a masterful balance between creepy and kooky; and the flick hits all the right notes before ending precisely when it ought to. (Nothing's worse than a slasher flick that wears out its welcome.) Plus, old-school horror fans will have a ball picking through the various in-jokes and genre references.

Writer/director Adam Green is clearly a student of the slasher sub-genre, and his sophomore effort (after the little-seen Coffee and Donuts) indicates a young filmmaker who has both studied and admired the early-'80s hack-fests. The festival audience with which I enjoyed Hatchet were whooping it up with the creatively nasty kills, chuckling along at the geeky gags, and basically cheering for all the obnoxious characters to get theirs but good. It was a communal piece of movie-watching, and it reminded me of an opening night crowd for Halloween 4 or Friday the 13th Part 6.

Lead actor Joel Moore, probably best known as Owen in that hilarious Dodgeball flick, anchors the flick effortlessly. Eventual victims Deon Richmond (the best buddy), Tamara Feldman (the good girl with a secret), and Parry Shen (the inexperienced tour guide) keep the movie interesting between all the dispatches -- and the background of Hatchet is pretty much packed to the gills with horror geek heroes: Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, and John Carl Buechler. Hell, the director even gives himself an early cameo -- and is funny!

And yes, there is pointless female nudity.

If the original slasher flicks stayed as strong as "Hatchet" so definitely is, I suspect that sub-genre would have stayed afloat. And if the slasher flick manages to make a post-millennium comeback, Adam Green is one of the guys we can thank for it. I've been told a sequel is already in the planning stages....

link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=14402&reviewer=128
originally posted: 10/01/06 22:44:03
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