Directed by: Fred M. Andrews
Starring: Sid Haig, Mehcad Brooks, Serinda Swan, Amanda Fuller
Distributed by: Arc Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Release date: March 6, 2012
Running time: 93 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
This is one of those movies, that get better with each viewing. When I originally saw the film “Hatchet”, I wasn’t proclaiming it to be my new favorite horror film but now I absolutely love it after many viewings. This film reminds me of that. It has fun performances by Mehcad Brooks (Eggs from “True Blood”), Serinda Swan (TRON: Legacy). Fun fact, they are real life husband and wife. Of course, horror legend Sig Haig has a fun role as well, almost channeling his Capt. Spaulding from “House of 1000 Corpses”. Overall the film has problem but I still enjoyed it second time around. I am just shocked that Arc Entertainment did not release this on HD Blu-ray.
The story follows six friends who take a road trip and end up stopping at a hillbilly gas station, owned by Chopper (Sid Haig). They read about the legend of Grimley, who went mad after his sister/wife was killed by an alligator. During his madness he is said to have transformed and lurked the swamps. The group decided (without their best judgement, obviously) to visit Grimley old house. Of course that’s where things go terrible wrong.
This film was given a semi-wide theatrical release but did not catch on with audiences. I really thought that the film had a terrible poster to start with. The DVD cover of this release is much better and definitely makes you want to watch it just from that alone. It also channels the cult classic “Feast”, which I also really enjoyed. The special effects are cheesy but I believe that adds to the charm of the film. You shouldn’t be expecting much and if you feel that way you will enjoy this. The special features are lacking with three featurettes about the film’s production. The first is called “Making the Monster”, which is self-explanatory. The second is “On the Bayou”, focusing shooting on location. The last is about “The Filmmakers”. They are worth checking out if you enjoyed the film but run a little short overall.
