2013 Fourteen Days of Halloween Part Five: Hatchet II (2010)

courtesy of WikiPedia

Director:  Adam Green

Starring:  Danielle Harris, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, R.A. MIhailoff, Parry Shen, Tom Holland, Colton Dunn, and A.J. Bowen

Producer(s):  Derek Curl, Sarah Elbert, and Cory Neal

Studio:  ArieScope Pictures, and Dark Sky Films

Run Time:  85 Minutes

I never thought Scream revitalized Slasher films.  As a kid, my Slashers were supernatural i.e. Friday the 13th Part VI, A Nightmare on Elm Street Part III, and Halloween IV.  So, when I saw the films with Ghostface, I actually felt the industry had made my antagonists too brittle.  Although I have seen more films in the genre now, I have a stronger leaning towards Hatchet being the new face of the Slasher.  It was funny, suspenseful, and gory to extents that suited my tastes.  That said, the build for this the sequel was not the best as the gore began early on in the film. I mean seriously, if you have all that splatter in the beginning, how will you reach a crescendo in the climax?  The movie didn’t need to have that much red in the flashbacks.  However, the action in the main film did not begin until the final 1/3 which was good.  The fight scenes were spectacles to behold especially with Tony Todd, R.A. MIhailoff, and Kane Hodder in the mix (it is the closest thing to fights between Candyman, Leatherface, and Jason Voorhes we will get for now in film).  Although “Scream Queen” Danielle Harris did not appear to have one of her most memorable performances, Todd, Colton Dunn, and Parry Shen all delivered (although Shen may have set Asian Americans back twice the steps he moved us forward in Better Luck Tomorrow, though with that said, I do begrudgingly agree with my brother that the first Harold and Kumar did more for Azians than any other film thus far).  Overall it was a fun film in spite of its technical flaws.

*** 1/4