#61 -- Hatchet 2 (2010)

Director: Adam Green

Rating: 5 / 5

Sequels often times fall short of the original, but I believe Hatchet II holds up to its predecessor. If you haven’t seen the first, it is not a problem. There is a brief recap, and this one goes deeper into the story of Victor Crowley and his father. The boy was cursed from birth, and the curse lived on throughout his life and after his death. But there might be a way to lift the curse – to free the town of New Orleans from the vicious killer and make the swamps safe again.

Mary Beth has survived the rage of Victor Crowley, and she seeks help back in town. In the first film, we were led to believe that Victor killed her, leaving no one alive. Hatchet II takes place the day after the adventures of the first movie, and Mary Beth has escaped to a shack nearby. The man who lives in the shack, Jack Cracker, kicks her out after realizing who she is, and is immediately killed by Victor. When Mary Beth returns to town, she is alive and well, and she wants to go back. She wishes to retrieve the bodies of her father and her brother, in order to give them a proper burial. She speaks to Reverend Zombie, the local voodoo doctor/tour guide operator, and he agrees to take her back to the swamp. They get a team together, a group of the dumbest people in town. I say this because they know the story of the demented and disfigured killer, but they go along anyway. Reverend Zombie (Tony Todd, aka Candyman) has bribed them – they will each receive 500 dollars, and five thousand will go to anyone who can bring back Victor Crowley’s head. But Zombie has ulterior motives, and Mary Beth’s family has been hiding something terrible.

This one was kind of goofy, and the acting was lacking. But the kills – oh my god, can Kane Hodder kill some motherfuckers. I got to see one of my favorite kills again (I saw it done in a different movie, and never thought I’d ever see it done in another), when Victor killed Jack Cracker (played by John Carl Beuchler, special effects man of Friday the 13^th VII). He ripped his guts out, wrapped them around his head, and kaboom! Decapitated. Ahhh, sweet sweet Victor, you have made me a very happy girl. Not only that; there are people being cut in half, having heads kicked off, spinal chords ripped out, and the BIGGEST chainsaw I have ever seen in my life – the whole shebang. While the story is a bit on the “meh” side, the gore and the kills…whoo, boy. Victor Crowley does not disappoint. From a gore whore’s perspective, this movie is definitely worth the time. And with Kane Hodder starring as yet another revenge-fueled psycho in the woods, what could possibly go wrong?

These movies are definitely a slasher fan’s wet dream. I can see Victor Crowley becoming this generation’s Jason – the next big slasher icon. I see several more sequels in the future; I doubt that we have seen the last of Mr. Crowley.