So Hatchet IV/Victor Crowley arrived today.
I'm a huge fan of this franchise. To me this is essentially the modern version of Friday the 13th. Victor Crowley is VERY under-rated. He's just come at the wrong time (I guarantee you everything if these movies came out in the 80's then Hatchet would be as big as Friday the 13th/Elm Street etc). Victor is my favourite modern day slasher villain.
But the film itself? Having watched it twice today (and at least two more times in the next week to listen to the commentaries) I think I can safely say its really good. It's not perfect: I definitely have some gripes with it, but they're not massive.
I think that its best I keep spoilers to a minimum. I knew nothing about this going in (I sadly ruined some aspects of the third one because I knew about the surprise cameos from certain actors among other things) so I'll just give out the basic plot. Fans won't be disappointed as this is a film for the fans of the franchise: Its been a full ten years since the original slaughter in Honey Island Swamp. Andrew (survivor from the third one) has been cashing in on his survival by turning the whole thing into a book (although everybody thinks he killed them all). He refuses to go back into the swamp though until he hears an offer of £1,000,000 to go back in for an interview. So he in tow with a documentary film crew, and a separate trio of aspiring film-makers, end up stranded in the exact spot where the chaos ensued last time. Of course he isn't actually dead for good, this is basically a modern day 80's slasher after all. One voodoo curse read aloud is all it takes to bring him back.
Green clearly isn't here to just "cash in" by bringing him back (if you read his blog he actually grew to hate Victor Crowley on account of personal troubles at the time which caused him great depression: George Romero was actually the one who inspired him to get back into it. Both he and Wes Craven get a dedication credit at the end). He loves this franchise. He is a guy who grew up with this stuff in the 80's and you can feel the love and dedication he feels towards horror films in this and the other entries. If you liked the first three you'll like this.
My only problems are that when they're on the plane for too long it can get a bit slow, some characters are under-used and don't have good payoffs and the kills aren't as good as the first two- I'd say that its about on par with the third one in the killing department (although there are a few that stand out here above the rest in the film, one of which is just amazing and a total WTF kind of moment that I'd say is one of the franchises best). These are mild things though, albeit ones that keep from (just) being as good as the first two. If I had to rank them i'd say-
1. Hatchet II
2. Hatchet
3. Victor Crowley/Hatchet IV
4. Hatchet III
Overall, satisfied. Can't wait for Hatchet V! (oh and don't turn it off when the credits start, something truly amazing happens that had me cheering even if I kind of suspected that was exactly what was gonna happen when the scene started).
Victor Crowley/Hatchet IV- 8/10. Check it out.
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