Review for Hatchet

(Originally posted on fight-evil.com)

Hatchet's not nearly as good a film as I remember it being, but it's still mostly amusing and a fun romp. The problems it has, however, are rather glaring.

Some of the scenes are too steeped in comedy for a threatening effect to be felt. The whole character of Marcus, Ben's black friend, is used as comedy relief, and while he had good lines here and there, it got old, especially when they had started being hunted down by Crowley.

In fact, few of the characters were really enjoyable - Ben was mostly okay, but his social awkward tendencies were a wee much. Marybeth was okay, if not overly emotional near the end (which makes sense, given her brother and father were killed), but she also wasted multiple shots by shooting at Crowley when she had no possible way to hit him.

The ending, the sudden, inconclusive, cliffhanger ending, was bothersome too. But that's not to say this movie didn't have good portions. The gore was pretty top-notch, I feel. The Crowley's backstory was heartbreaking, and well-done. Tony Todd's cameo was fantastic (and I did prefer it to Englund's cameo earlier). And the feel of a b-movie slasher was quite obvious. Hatchet's far from a perfect movie, and in fact, I think it's slightly below average, but I do enjoy it, and if I recall, the sequels fare pretty well too. 6.5/10.