Last Updated on August 2, 2021
PLOT: Ten years after the first film, VICTOR CROWLEY is back to terrorize folks dumb enough to wander through the place he calls home.
REVIEW: Last night, I made my way to the Arclight in Hollywood for a special 10th anniversary screening of HATCHET. Before the movie started, the film’s writer and director Adam Green said a few words about the franchise. It was a surprisingly touching speech as he mentioned personal issues that have haunted him, and he also opened up about losing both Wes Craven and George A. Romero. And then, the announcement came. The movie we had been waiting for wasn’t what we had expected. No, last night we witnessed the new sequel to HATCHET, simply titled VICTOR CROWLEY. And yes, Kane Hodder is back, as well as a ton of cool treats for fans of the series. And while I can give you a brief review, I’m going to keep it low on spoilers at Green’s request.After all, you may want to go into this film knowing as little about it as possible.
It’s been ten years since the original film and there is quite a bit of history going into the third sequel. You’ll find a number of cool references to the previous entries, but most importantly, Kane Hodder is back and he is an absolute beast as the titular character. The film brings back lone survivor Andrew Yung (Perry Shen), who has spent the last decade telling his story about the local legend, Victor Crowley, and how he slaughtered 49 people in Louisiana's Honey Island Swamp. However, after the survivor once again finds himself back where the nightmare occured thanks to a nefarious chain of events, Crowley is accidentally resurrected to wreak horror havoc on a whole new set of victims.
The cast also includes Laura Ortiz (THE HILLS HAVE EYES), Dave Sheridan (SCARY MOVIE) and truTV’s Impractical Jokers star Brian Quinn. If I’m being vague on the plot, it is simply because I’d like to honor Green who plans to bring this flick on a tour for the “Victor Crowley Road Show.” I will say however that the body count is high with a few people suffering from a completely different type of tragic event.
One of the staples of this franchise is the gore, and the red stuff is gushing everywhere with this one. Without giving anything away, the kills are still quite inventive, and the effects are as gruesome as can be. Yet like the previous films’ there is a lot of humor as well. A number of the kills delivered huge laughs from the audience, including the opening scene which is not only bloody, but there is another gross out factor that is absolutely hilarious. Even at its most visually intense, the sense of humor rarely lets up. Sure some of the jokes feel a tad sophomoric, but come on, it’s a HATCHET movie. The balance of guffaws and horror is handled even better in this fourth film than it was for HATCHET III – the only one in the franchise not directed by Green.
As far as the cast is concerned, there are a few fresh faces, as well as a few familiar ones. Don’t let anybody spoil all the fun of playing who’s who in this genre flick. This is a big and bold satirical slasher sequel, one that manages to bring the cast together in a creative – if outlandish – way. And speaking of cast, it is generally quite easy to figure out who will survive a slasher movie. Not this time. Green manages to bring on a shock or two, so near the half way point there is more than a little suspense to see who will survive the monstrosity that is VICTOR CROWLEY. I love that Hodder is once again playing a maniacal psychopath ready to kill whoever comes to his neighborhood uninvited. Even with the constant laugh inducing moments, I still found this monster to be a extremely menacing.
VICTOR CROWLEY may be the best of the sequels to HATCHET, perhaps the best in the series. The talent is spot-on and the kills are once again so horrific that you'll find yourself somewhere between a laugh and a scream. Considering this has been secretly in the works for about two years, it is hard to believe that Adam and company have been able to keep it hidden this long. This is exactly why the filmmaker was very adamant on not giving away too much. And frankly, that is the best way to see it. The cast is great and it’s fantastic to see Kane back as Victor, and man is he still scary. Even with a new DP – Will Barratt was busy this time around – this looks and feels like a HATCHET movie. It has a solid scares, suspense and continuous hilarity. Since the fine folks behind this will be taking it on the road, I highly recommend you seek it out and catch it with a big audience. Victor Crowley is back for a little maniacal mayhem.
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