After doing a tour around the U.S. «Victor Crowley», the new entry in the «Hatchet» saga is finally available on VOD and Bluray. The film, written and directed by Adam Green was filmed completely in secret (something that sounds almost impossible in the days of the Internet) and was first shown on August 2017, being announced as a remastered version of the original «Hatchet» film, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its release, and needless to say, it took all of us in attendance by surprise.
Taking place 10 years after the bloody weekend shown on the Hatchet trilogy, we see Andrew Yong (the only known survivor of the massacre) trying to promote his book retelling the events of what is now known as «the Honey Island Massacre». To his dismay, most of the public still believes that he was the killer, and that Victor Crowley, the alleged supernatural entity responsible for the murders, never existed, this is mostly because after that day, there has been not a single report of people missing or being murdered on the swamps of Honey Island. Tired of the people’s mistreatment, but also in need of cash, Andrew accepts to do an interview in the place of the murders, taking a private plane with the production crew.
At the same time, a group of aspiring filmmakers try to film a mock trailer in that same location in order lure investors for their film, which will be based on Victor Crowley’s murders. Trying to be as authentic as possible, the crew starts to play a compilation of videos where the spell said to be used to curse Crowley is recited over and over, causing the plane where Andrew and the production crew were traveling to crash, and bringing Victor Crowley from beyond once more to fill the swamp with blood and guts.
This film was in my opinion, made completely for the fans of the Hatchet saga and other Adam Green’s works, if you didn’t like the previous Hatchet films, this entry will not bring anything to change your mind. However, if you are a fan of the saga, I’m sure you will have a blast. In case that you also enjoy the show «Holliston» or if you listen «The Movie Crypt » podcast (both created by Adam Green with Joe Lynch, the director of «Wrong Turn 2» and the more recent «Mayhem») you will find A LOT of references and in-jokes that will go unnoticed by the casual viewer. In case you still haven’t figured out, I will disclose that I am a huge Green’s fan, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
This new entry is more inclined to the comedy and from the start it let us know that is not meant to be taken seriously. Some acting is way over the top, there are some jokes that drag for too long and don’t really pay off, but still, there are several others that work great. If you are a fan of Troma films, you will be in good shape. The film also plays with your expectations and trows a couple of curve balls when dealing with the cliches of the slasher genre in order to keep us wondering which characters will survive Crowley’s murdering rage…. IF there are any survivors, of course.
Something that is kind of iconic on these films is the kill sets, and following suit, most of the kills on this film are very well done and others are incredibly exaggerated, so is normal to sometimes being confused if you should scream or laugh (when in doubt do both). The special effects, most of them practical, (I am by no means a CGI detection expert) at moments are very well done, but there are others clearly made to make you laugh.
In conclusion: I though the original Hatchet trilogy had a strong finale, so at a simple glance «Victor Crowley» may seems like a sequel that we did not need, BUT I loved the fact that it was made, and I would gladly watch any sequels that may follow. I won’t give any spoilers, but I recommend you to stick around when the ending credits start to roll.
Verdict 4/5
«Victor Crowley» was written and directed by Adam Green («Hatchet» 1 y 2, «Frozen», «Digging Up The Marrow») and has the performances of Kane Hodder (Who played Jason Vorhees in the Friday 13th films from 7 to 10) reprising his role as the terryfying Victor Crowley, Parry Shen ( «Hatchet» 1-3, «Better Luck Tomorrow»), Laura Ortiz (the remake of «The Hills Have Eyes», «Holliston» ), Dave Sheridan («Scary Movie»), Felissa Rose (Angela in the cult classic «Sleepaway Camp») and Brian Quinn (truTV’s «Impractical Jokers») among other.
The film is already available on VOD and Bluray.
