What can you expect from a movie titled Hatched? Well, originality is out of the window for sure but entertainment is definitely still in play. Let’s just start with the fact that the hatchet is technically a small axe with a single blade and not two. But that really doesn’t matter when you have our homeboy ripping people apart and vomiting in their mouths. Yes, this is that type of movie. And we shouldn’t forget nudity, a very important ingredient that you simply cannot do without. You play movies like this to relax and as a bonus, you might even have some fun.
After showing us that it means business in the opening bloodbath scene, Hatchet turns into a comedy. So, you will forget that a guy was disemboweled just five minutes ago as you’re strolling through the busy New Orleans streets. It’s Mardi Gras time! The plot is also a familiar one as a group of tourists decide to go on a haunted swamp tour. You’ve already seen it in a lot of natural horror movies. In Rogue, tourists are attacked by a giant crocodile, in Open Water by sharks, and in GoatSucker by Chupacabras. If you want to know more about these movies, do check out our Natural Horror Lists.
Hatchet also belongs to a wave of entertaining and stylish movies of the early aughts. Movies like See No Evil, Wrong Turn, Jeepers Creepers, and others. Granted, it does feature a smaller budget and a lot more jokes. But it also features some pretty gruesome scenes as our Mr. Crowly will be ripping people apart every ten minutes. What I found oddly amusing is the fact that the whole movie feels like a parody of all those eighties slashers. When Crowly appears he starts flailing his arms around and grunting like a madman. I don’t know how you can take him seriously. Additionally, he’s easily knocked over and stopped. But only momentarily as he gets up and dusts himself off in mere minutes.
While Marcus is enjoying his visit to New Orleans, his best friend Ben is still depressed about his girlfriend leaving him. So, to cheer him up, Marcus joins him for a haunted swamp tour. The two of them will join several others on a tour that’s about to become a lot more dangerous than they initially thought.
As you can see, Hatchet is a generic and simplistic movie but it somehow works. They did wonders with a $1.5 million budget and made something worth checking out. Especially if you’re a horror fan or you’re just looking for some mindless bloody fun. And there will be a lot of blood here. Our young cast did a terrific job along with a couple of horror legends cameos. I’m sure you’re going to recognize their faces as soon as they appear on the screen. Oddly enough, this same trio did the same cameo thing in Wishmaster.
Finally, I just want to add that if you’re looking for movies like Hatchet, start with Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight and The Final Girls. They feature a similarly vibrant atmosphere and love for the slasher genre. Or you can just continue watching all the subsequent Hatchet sequels, all three of them.
Director: Adam Green
Writer: Adam Green
Cast: Kane Hodder, Joel David Moore, Deon Richmond, Amara Zaragoza, Mercedes McNab, Joel Murray
Fun Facts: Director and writer Adam Green didn’t want any CGI used for special effects. So everything you see in this movie are practical effects.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422401/
