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Hatchet: Unrated Director's Cut --> December 18, 2007

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Hatchet: Unrated Director's Cut --> December 18, 2007

Old 12-21-07, 12:24 AM
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Grabbed it for $10 at Wal-Mart and will give it a spin this weekend. Never even heard of this movie but for the price, and Mercedes McNab...its a must!
Old 12-21-07, 07:09 AM
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Originally Posted by BrandonJF
Did your CC have any copies? I didn't notice any copies at CC that had the usual "Exclusive" sticker, but the security sticker said "UR/R" on it, which I took to mean that it included unrated and "R" rated versions. I didn't check it out at any other retailers to see if the security sticker was the same...
No, unfortunately, my CC didn't receive any copies of Hatchet or Halloween for some reason and at this point I guess they won't. How can they just not receive two of the week's biggest releases? Ones that were featured in their weekly ad with exclusive bonus discs? Luckily, I'll be travelling tomorrow and I will hopefully be able to check a different CC.
Old 12-21-07, 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by TomOpus
If DeputyDave says it's "O-tay" then that's good enough for me
Well, I would never rate it “O-Tay!” but it was certainly OK. As long as you aren’t expecting it to be more than it is, then it might actually be great (I’m watching it again tonight). BTW, here’s the mini review I wrote after you flaked on me at the theater Tom.

Originally Posted by DeputyDave –(on 9-08-07)
I have to agree with most of the posts above. The PR for this movie was about as close to lying as you can get. That said, I enjoyed the movie. For me the tone of the movie almost completely changed when Victor first appeared on screen fully (much, much earlier in the film then you expect considering it's being touted as an 80's style slasher). It went from a slightly humorous "Slither" type horror into an out and out comedy (although extremely bloody).

When I saw Victor spring out I instantly thought, "It's the Toxic Avenger." From that moment on I realized that's just what it was, a higher production value, better acted Troma picture. That's fine, of course. It just needed to be advertised as such or many people will be disappointed.

I think Harry over at AICN was especially egregious in claiming Victor Crowley would be the next Jason, Michael, or Freddy. Sure Freddy and later Jason eventually became almost parodies of themselves, but they became famous for their iconic dark evil. Not just their bloody body count. Victor should have been called the next Toxic Avenger, Leprechaun, or Chucky.

Even after reading some of the later comments here I was expecting some humor, more on the lines with Slither, Feast, or (the super duper incredible) Behind the Mask. The almost Airplane! like spoof I saw threw me for a loop for a bit.

Once I accepted it for what it was I did enjoy it. Some of the kills were spectacular and the acting was fairly good for a horror movie. Had I realized the star was the "android dude" from Grandma's Boy and the black guy was "the black guy" from Not Another Teen Movie I might have known what I was getting into. I especially liked Andy Richter's part (I know it wasn't Andy but damn it if he didn't look, sound, and act just like him).

So, in other words: Good horror comedy, just don't expect any real horror.
Old 12-21-07, 12:19 PM
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I saw this last night and loved it only...I didnt understand the end, did I miss something? Sorry I dont know how to use spoiler tags but hopefully anyone who has seen it knows what Im talking about!
Old 12-23-07, 09:18 PM
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Oh my God, this movie was like a BAD Troma film. It made Toxic Avenger 3 look like the Godfather. It made Redneck Zombies look like Dead Alive. Horrible acting, horrible dialogue, horrible directing, stupid story, decent gore, but overall it was just really awful.

NOT EVEN CLOSE to "Dead Alive" or "Evil Dead". This film should never be even mentioned in the same breath as those classics.

Rental at best. Buyer beware!!!!
Old 12-23-07, 09:27 PM
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Couldn't agree with you more nodeerforamonth...

Hatchet (unrated director's cut) - 2/5

This movie plays more like a Troma production than something legitimately terrifying, which I will assume is intentional given that the cast consists of two alums from 'Office Space', Jason Voorhees, the Candyman, Freddy Krueger, Bill Murray's younger brother, and the guy that played Kenny AKA "Bud" on the Cosby show. No, none of these master thespians could save this film from the 3rd rate production that it truly is. Sure, there are some pretty cool old school (ie: no CGI) special effects of gore and guts, but not once is this movie frightening or at all particularly riveting. I did like the courage to cast a male lead that looks more like Shaggy than some Abercrombie model, but unfortunately he couldn't act his way out of a bloody paper bag, thus adding to my overall disappointment. Touted as an homage and return to the late 70's-early 80's cheesy slasher flicks, I suppose it somewhat succeeds, but my hope was it would be able to transcend to something a bit more. Sort of like what 'Shaun of the Dead' managed to accomplish for the Zombie genre. Alas, no... 'Hatchet' falls short. Despite some excellent head-twisting, the wooden acting, awful direction, cheap looking sets and a bad guy that looks more like Sloth from 'The Goonies' than an intimidating psychopath all adds up to a rather ho-hum affair.



http://www.dvdspot.com/dvd.php?d=1822334095
Old 12-23-07, 10:55 PM
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Yeah, I would've given it a 2 out of 5 stars too. One star for all the breasts. One for the blood (which really wasn't that much).

When I think of "Old School American Horror", I think of Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween, Evil Dead, Friday The 13th, Night Of The Living Dead, Dawn Of The Dead, Day Of The Dead, etc... This movie doesn't even come close to any of that. Almost anything put out by Troma is better than Hatchet.
Old 12-24-07, 12:00 AM
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The movie was a blast to watch. Not the greatest horror film ever made like Harry Knowles would make you believe but a perfect nachos and pepsi film.
Old 12-24-07, 02:24 AM
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I probably would have liked it better if some of the humor worked better. Some of the stuff was funny, mainly from the two video girls, but most of it fell flat.
Old 12-24-07, 04:42 AM
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rented this today and i'm glad i did. stupid. And i LOVE 80s horror. this was just lame.
Old 12-28-07, 01:53 AM
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Which version is available to rent at Blockbuster? I know they carry unrated dvds,but still go with rated only sometimes. But I guess I'd rather rent either version over blind buying just to be safe.
Old 12-28-07, 02:48 AM
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After watching it again I enjoyed it much more because I knew what to expect. I usually don't like comedy mixed with my horror (there are a few exceptions: Dead Alive and Shawn of the Dead for example) and that's what threw me off on first viewing. This time I was able to appreciate the fact that when VC was on screen it really was "old school" slasher horror. They never made jokes or used humor to dilute the kills or VC's appearances.

As far as some of the acting complaints: have any of you re-watched an 80's slasher movie recently? Even going back as far as Halloween you find terrible acting in almost every part cast (I do give props to perhaps the finest acting in an 80's horror movie to Jason Alexander in The Burning). Any one of the actors in Hatchet was miles above 99% of the actors in any slasher flick you care to mention.

Upon re-watching it I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. I hope the plans for Hatchet 2 (with a much greater role for Candyman) mentioned in the extras gets made.
Old 12-28-07, 02:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Julie Walker
Which version is available to rent at Blockbuster? I know they carry unrated dvds,but still go with rated only sometimes. But I guess I'd rather rent either version over blind buying just to be safe.
The two I frequent had the unrated, but knowing your tastes I would reccomend a "buy".
Old 12-28-07, 08:12 AM
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I rented Hatchet last night and was dissapointed, it felt like Dead and Breakfast or Monster Man, decent horror flicks but nothing great. I think I got caught up with the advertising. When I saw "old school American horror" and "The Next Icon of Horror" I thought I was in for something really special. When i think "old school horror" I was thinking Last House on the Left, or the Hills Have Eyes. What I got was a pretty standard horror film that thought it was funnier than it was and really brought nothing new to the table. When I think good homage films, I think Kill Bill, which took a genre and all the elements that we loved from it and added something new and redefined it. I think if any movie brought back "Old school American horror" it was The Devil's Rejects.
Old 12-28-07, 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by brizz
rented this today and i'm glad i did. stupid. And i LOVE 80s horror. this was just lame.

I agree. I got sucked in from all the "return to old school horror" hype. The best thing I can say about this movie is Thanks for the mammories. As a side note, my Blockbuster didn't have the unrated version for rent. I don't think it would have changed my opinion any though.
Old 12-28-07, 08:35 AM
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While I didn't completely hate it, it had nothing new to offer that hadn't already been done in dozens of other lame "direct to dvd" horror films. Maybe if it hadn't been SO overhyped, I might have not been as disappointed with it as I was.
Old 12-28-07, 08:58 AM
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When it comes to horror films I simply cannot trust the internet. Too many of the web sites (bloody-disgusting, fangoria) hype up these crappy movies. I got caught in the hype for Hatchet, Murder Set Pieces, Dead and Breakfast, etc. every last one has been a steaming pile of poo. I have pretty much come to the conclusion that if it's not getting a wide theatrical release, no matter the hype, it's gonna be bad. For example, Pan's Labyrinth, lots of hype, wide release excellent movie, The Descent, lots of Hype wide theatrical release, great movie. Hatchet, limited release, crappy movie, same goes for Dead and Breakfast. Granted there has been a few exceptions (Dog Soldiers).

My question is, how does this happen? Does it just take one Harry Knowles to start the fire?
Old 12-28-07, 09:15 AM
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Uh, people have different tastes and opinions?
Old 12-28-07, 03:44 PM
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Thought Hatchet was terrible.Slick looking but poorly acted and unoriginal.Plotted poorly-every character has to act stupid to keep the story going.And its the 21st century-only one person has a cell phone(and its batteries are low).
Old 12-28-07, 05:30 PM
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What the hell maybe I should check this out.
Old 12-31-07, 08:45 AM
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Hey Dave. It took me long enough but I finally saw this. Heh

I really enjoyed it. Bad plot? Bad acting? Hell, those are mainstays of low-budget 80's horror. I loved the gore (especially first pair) and thought it was well done. I could understand why the comedy would throw people off if they weren't expecting it. I thought the casting was good with the exception of Deon Richmond.... I kept having "Not Another Teen Movie" flashbacks at times. It was fun seeing Freddy, Candyman and Jason in the same movie... well, the actors not the characters.

The extras on the disc are well done and fun. I haven't listened to the commentaries yet, though. Sorry others didn't enjoy the movie but you can't like 'em all. I'm looking forward to Hatchet 2.
Old 12-31-07, 12:36 PM
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Originally Posted by TomOpus
I could understand why the comedy would throw people off if they weren't expecting it. I thought the casting was good with the exception of Deon Richmond.... I kept having "Not Another Teen Movie" flashbacks at times. It was fun seeing Freddy, Candyman and Jason in the same movie... well, the actors not the characters.
I love comedy in horror movies. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is one of my favorite movies of all time. All time. Any genre.

Hatchet wasn't even close to being funny. Not even in a bad way. Redneck Zombies was way funnier.
Old 12-31-07, 01:35 PM
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This movie was just poor though. As said before, it looked pretty slick, but there was plenty that was just pretty 'meh' about it, including the ending.
Old 12-31-07, 01:37 PM
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Sorry you didn't enjoy it.

I just listened to the commentary. A lot of good info as to how the movie got made. It's interesting how the same scene could be filmed in different parts of the country and the effort to make it look fairly seamless (taking into consideration it's a very low budget movie).
Old 12-31-07, 07:57 PM
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nothing personal against the guy, but every film Kane Hodder has been in has been poor, imho. Look at F13 - which are the better films - the one with Kane or without? Yet, somehow he has almost become synomyous with Jason Vorhees! Strange.

Unfortunately, this film looks like it doesn't change my opinion. If it stars Kane, then I will miss it..

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