7/10
The inevitable (but welcome) return of Swamp Thing Crowley!
17 April 2018
I picked up from the trivia-section that writer/director Adam Green had solemnly planned never to make any further sequels to the "Hatchet" franchise, but that legendary horror directors Wes Craven and George A. Romero both outed themselves as avid fans of the series and encouraged him to make more installments. I don't know if this is truth or just a really good story for Green to tell during interviews or at premieres, especially now that both Craven and Romero passed away before the official release of the film. It's quite possible that the fourth entry simply got produced because another sequel is a guaranteed money-maker. And, quite frankly, I don't really care because personally I'm always willing to watch more "Hatchet" movies. The character of Victor Crowley is the closest thing we've got to a genuine slasher icon since the vanishing of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees! You have to be a fan of the "Hatchet" series in order to appreciate "Victor Crowley", by the way, since this film is completely over-the-top and slightly obnoxious from all possible viewpoints. The plot is virtually non-existent, all characters are total nitwits (deliberately, I suppose), the gore effects are ridiculously extreme and the humor bounces back and forth between crude, infantile and downright vulgar. Ten years after the infamous Honey Island Massacre, sole survivor Andrew reluctantly accepts an offer to return to the swamp with a TV-crew and shoot a documentary. Their planes crashes and the survivors are violently picked off by local legend Victor Crowley, as he accidentally got resurrected by a YouTube video. Yes, that's exactly how silly the script is. Kane Hodder is having another field day, as Crowley joyously smashes heads, breaks skulls and swings around hatchets. Personally, I would have preferred that Tiffany Shepis' role was slightly more significant and, as I'm a big fan of hers, I really missed Danielle Harris in the cast. As far as I'm concerned, Green can feel free to make another sequel and maybe dedicate it to the memory of Tobe Hooper this time, or something?
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