When a group of tourists on a New Orleans haunted swamp tour find themselves stranded in the wilderness, their evening of fun and spooks turns into a horrific nightmare. Seems there's a legend about Victor Crowley, a deformed boy that everyone picked on till one day on Halloween a group of kids accidentally set his house on fire and as his father attempts to get him out he doesn't know Victor is pressed against the door and the hatchet he is using sticks Victor in the head. Now years later the locals claim if you go into the woods at night you can hear Victor calling for his dad, this group of tourists about about to come face to face with the legend himself.

The buzz about this film began very early on thanks mainly to the internet which was so widespread they even formed a "Hatchet Army" site to help support and to help push more theaters across the country to carry Hatchet when it was released. Sadly I don't think it got the support for cinemas that it wanted or deserved for that matter. Director/Writer Adam Green told his love for the "old school" horror film's like Halloween and Jason and made a film that not only pays homage to those but he also has created a new legend among horror fans. This is a in-your-face horror film that wastes no time on stupid sub-plots, it gets to the point early and at a brisk pace it takes you on a gore filled, often humorous and highly entertaining thrill ride. The film also has an outstanding cast including Joel Moore(Dodgeball) and the upcoming film by Adam Green "Spiral" which by the way looks amazing, the trailer for it is included on the Hatchet DVD. The rest of the cast is just as solid, Deon Richmond is excellent and provides a lot of the comic relief in the film. The violence here is brutal and may not be for those that don't have the stomach for it, there's very few cut aways and the effects work is fantastic, it's great to see a horror film with no cgi. If you yearn for the days when horror was fun you can now relive them with Hatchet, it's got it all,Gratuitous nudity,extreme gore,laugh out loud funny, horror legends. The reviews seemed to be mixed regarding this film, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I think most of the bad reviews come from those that just don't get it, or just don't get what Mr. Green was attempting to make here. He set out to make a horror film paid homage to great film's from the 80's that was violent and funny at the same time and he succeeded and by doing so he also made the most entertaining horror film I have seen in years. Here's hoping Hollywood is taking notes on how a horror film should be made and what real fan's of the genre want when it comes to a horror film. The Unrated DVD comes back with bonus features that include:

Widescreen Presentation

Theatrical Trailer

A Twisted Tale

Anatomy of a Kill

Audio Commentary with Co-Producer/Writer/Director Adam Green, Co-Producer/Cinematographer Will Barratt and Actors Tamara Feldman, Joel Moore and Deon Richmond

Gag Reel

Guts & Gore

Meeting Victor Crowley

The Making of HATCHET

This is a must-own for any fan of horror and a cult classic for many years to come. Released by Anchor Bay Home Entertainment. ***** Out Of *****