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Hatchet

A classic slasher eye roller
By NINA MACLAUGHLIN  |  September 5, 2007
2.0 2.0 Stars
inside_hatchet
PRETTY YOUNG THINGS: It's be a lot scarier if any of the characters were likeable.

Local director Adam Green’s eye roller follows the classic slasher formula: one misshapen maybe-man/maybe-ghost stalks a group of pretty young things and rips their limbs off, twists their heads off, and pulls their guts out with generous plumes of blood spray and strewn entrails. Here, they’re in the Louisiana swamps, after a sulky Ben (Joel Moore), who sports a Newbury Comics T the whole movie, aborts his Mardi Gras plans and opts instead for a haunted-swamp tour. The simple, effective backstory propels the carnage, and the cast is littered with horror-film vets: the dude who played Freddy Krueger, the guy who played the Candyman, one of the Blair Witch Project-eers, and Kane Hodder a/k/a Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise as the monster-man who took a hatchet in the forehead. The slashery satisfies, but despite a few laughs and tense moments, it’d be a lot scarier if any of the characters was likable.
Related: The 100 unsexiest men in the world, Review: Friday the 13th (2009), Stay Alive, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Entertainment, Movies, Adam Green,  More more >
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Comments
Hatchet
i was at the boston premiere of "hatchet" on tuesday (which was sponsored by newbury comics), and after seeing the film i realize that miss maclaughlin is obviously not a real horror fan. a real horror fan that grew up watching "nightmare on elm street", "halloween", or "friday the 13th" would never call the refer to the iconic actors as: "the dude who played freddy krueger" or the "guy who played candyman". another flaw in this review is that nina believes that the movie would be scarier if the characters were likable, if you think back to the best horror movies you know that you don't even know half of the characters that are in the movie, they are there getting naked and eviscerated for our entertainment. if you want to connect with the characters then you should not be watching a horror movie, you should be watching "the prince of tides". as a real horror fan i would like to give my own review.... "hatchet" was a great horror movie that takes you back to a time when you can laugh at a kill scene, and don't need to watch a realistic torture scene that makes you nauseous. during the q & a after the movie, deon richmond explained why "hatchet" is such a good movie... he said that it is a movie that you can watch, and know who the bad guy is. the whole audience can relate to a misshapen monster chasing people around and walk out of the theater and go on with your life. too many movies now use a fear of society to make the movie scary, why do you want to walk out of a theater after seeing a movie and start questioning what your neighbors and mailman may be doing in their free time? "hatchet" is just a fun movie if you enjoyed the horror of our youth.
By amybeth79 on 09/06/2007 at 8:18:07

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