Hatchet

On the poster for Hatchet, it carries a tag line that says “Old School American Horror”. This perfectly captures the mood of this movie. It is released on DVD by Anchor Bay (and if that doesn't give you a clue to the content, it should). This has a plot about a group of tourist getting lost in a Louisiana swamp and get knocked off one by one for your viewing pleasure. It is clearly patterned off of the old 1980s slasher movies, where more thought is put into the specific method of how people die, than any other part of the movie, so if that is what you want to see, then you will be entertained by this.

I found the movie to be fun in a goofy sense, but at the same time I wanted to pull my hair out at the huge misfires that pop up from time to time. This is a by-the-numbers movie. The movie is played WAY over the top, and wants to be a comedy and a horror movie. It is much more successful as a horror movie, though there are a few funny bits in the movie. Some of the jokes fall so flat that you wonder how they even made it into the script. Also there are also a few plot turns that just don't make sense except to keep the movie going (also a feature of 1980s slasher movies). Hatchet was directed by Adam Green, who also made Spiral. Spiral stars the same lead actor as Hatchet , Joel Moore. Joel Moore is actually the best part of the movie; he does a pretty good job of pulling it off. Moore is the only one of the cast that seems to have any acting chops, though it is somewhat hard to tell with the material they are given to work with.

If you are looking for something to get your rear surround sound speakers going, there are a few nice sound effects within the movie. The DVD includes a commentary as well as the usual extras. If you are looking for something to tide you over till the next Friday the 13 th movie to come out, here you are.