[4.75/10] Hatchet II (2010)

Hatchet II (2010)

This sequel to 2006 horror hit "Hatchet" follows Marybeth as she escapes from the clutches of Victor Crowley, learns the truth about his curse, and heads back into the haunted New Orleans swamp to seek revenge for her family and kill Victor Crowley once and for all. Just like its mediocre predecessor, "Hatchet II" is amateurishly-executed and completely plot-less, and it relies mostly on its gruesome death scenes and creepy dark wood scenery. "Hatchet II" is labeled as 'Uncut and Unrated', and there's certainly a reason for that, since it offers extremely gory and often creative death sequences, with plenty of guts, blood splatter, body parts and ripped flesh. Unfortunately, the deaths are the only fun part in the entire movie, as the film has a huge problem - its script completely lacks wit and humor, which is sad, 'cause otherwise it could have been a very decent slasher. The acting, as expected, is quite poor overall. Danielle Harris gives it her all, but instead being believable, her performance as Marybeth feels a bit forced and bordered on over-acting. Tony Todd is definitely the one that stands out the most, as he delivers a pretty decent performance as the Voodoo geek, Rev. Zombie, and although he plays a good character here, he looks almost as creepy as in "Candyman". The backstory told by him has to be the highlight of "Hatchet II", as it's very, very gripping. Kane Hodder looks terrifying as the merciless killer, Victor Crowley, plus, his make-up is pretty well done, and it helps him look even scarier. All the other characters are completely one-dimensional and uninteresting, and are there just to be ripped in parts. Overall, Adam Green does an okay job directing this sequel. It's pretty obvious he's trying to replicate the look of 80's slasher flicks, using appropriate filters, low-key lighting and muddled cinematography. And he definitely succeeds in creating the right atmosphere, as with its filthy, grainy visuals, "Hatchet II" looks and feels exactly like an 80's slasher. Nasty and graphic, yet cliched and quite trashy, this sequel has nothing to offer, other than gore, gore and more gore. Simply put, Adam Green's "Hatchet II" is more of the same.