Hatchet II
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Hatchet II'' is a 2010 American
slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...
written and directed by Adam Green. It is the sequel to ''
Hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French language, Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a Tool, single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side ...
'' and the second installment in the titular film series. Picking up right where
the first film ''The First Film'' is a 2015 British documentary film about cinema pioneer Louis Le Prince, made by David Nicholas Wilkinson. It argues the case that Le Prince, rather than the Lumière brothers, was the true inventor of moving pictures, making ...
ended, ''Hatchet II'' follows Marybeth as she escapes the clutches of the deformed, swamp-dwelling killer Victor Crowley. After learning the truth about her family's connection to the
hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French language, Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a Tool, single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side ...
-wielding madman, Marybeth returns to the
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact the bloodiest revenge against the bayou butcher. The film sees the return of
Kane Hodder Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...
and
Tony Todd Anthony Tiran Todd (December 4, 1954 – November 6, 2024) was an American actor known for his distinctly deep and gravelly voice. He amassed several credits on screen and in video games since the 1980s, including the Candyman (character), titl ...
who portrayed Victor Crowley and Reverend Zombie in the 2006 film, respectively.
Danielle Harris Danielle Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress. She is known as a "scream queen" for her roles in multiple horror films, including four entries in the ''Halloween (franchise), Halloween'' franchise: ''Halloween 4: The Return of Micha ...
portrays Marybeth, a role originally played by Tamara Feldman. The film was originally screened at the 2010
London FrightFest Film Festival FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween eve ...
on August 26, 2010. It was released unrated in the United States on October 1, 2010. A sequel, ''
Hatchet III ''Hatchet III'' is a 2013 American slasher film directed by B. J. McDonnell and written by Adam Green. It is the sequel to '' Hatchet II'', and the third overall installment in the titular film series. Kane Hodder portrays the main antagonist V ...
'', was released in 2013.


Plot

Immediately after ''
Hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French language, Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a Tool, single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side ...
'', Marybeth Dunston is attacked by Victor Crowley but manages to escape. Jack Cracker finds her and takes her back to his cabin but forces her to leave after discovering her last name, telling her to visit Reverend Zombie. Not long after she leaves, Jack is killed by Victor. Marybeth returns to Reverend Zombie's shop, and he lets her in. After learning her last name, he tells her that her father, Sampson, was one of the boys responsible for causing the fire that led to Victor's death as a child. He also gives her more details on Victor's backstory; Thomas, Victor's father, had cheated on his wife Shyann with her nurse Lena after Shyann was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Moments before dying, Shyann placed a curse on the child conceived by Lena from the affair. Months later, Lena gave birth to Victor Crowley but died of fright after seeing Victor's deformed face. Marybeth tells Reverend Zombie she wants to go back and retrieve the remains of her father and brother. He agrees but tells her she must bring a family member. After she leaves, Zombie calls Justin (the brother of Shawn from the first film) and tells him to summon a group of hunters (specifically including a man named Trent Graves) to go with them. Marybeth returns home, where her uncle Bob promptly shows up. He reluctantly agrees to accompany her to a recruitment meeting in Zombie's shop, where Zombie tells the hunters he will pay them $5,000 for the head of Victor Crowley. Marybeth, Bob, and the hunters proceed to venture into the swamp. As night descends, they find the boat, and as the rest leave, two hunters, Cletus and Chad, stay by the boat while the others fan out. Marybeth, Zombie, Justin, Bob, and Trent look for Crowley's shed, as well as the bodies of his victims. Along the way, Zombie explains to Justin that Trent, Sampson, and Sampson's brother were the kids who started the fire that led to Victor's death. Since Victor has already killed Sampson, Zombie believes that if Crowley kills Bob and Trent, his soul will be at peace, and he will finally leave the swamp. Meanwhile, Victor begins murdering each of the hunters one by one. While searching the cabin, the remaining party members hear Victor outside. As they hide, Justin tells Marybeth about Zombie's plot to get her uncle and Trent killed. As she runs to warn Bob, Victor appears behind Justin and kills him with a
belt sander A belt sander or strip sander is a sander used in shaping and finishing wood and other materials. It consists of an electric motor that turns a pair of drums on which a continuous loop of sandpaper is mounted. Belt sanders may be handheld and ...
. Trent is murdered quickly thereafter, and Zombie drags Marybeth out of the house, trapping Bob inside with Victor, who murders him. Zombie declares Victor Crowley is dead, but Marybeth then reveals Bob was not her real uncle and was her father's best friend; her real uncle had died of
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
when Marybeth was twelve. Now realizing his plan has failed, Zombie turns to see Victor breaking through the cabin wall. Zombie attempts to fight Victor but is brutally killed in doing so. Seconds later, however, Marybeth strikes Victor in the head with his hatchet, knocking him to the ground before she hysterically chops his head into a bloody pulp. She then grabs Zombie's shotgun and fires it into the remains of Victor's head, seemingly killing him.


Cast

Emma Bell Emma Jean Bell (born December 17, 1986) is an American actress, best known for her role as Parker O'Neal in the films '' Frozen'' and '' Hatchet II'' (both 2010), as Molly Harper in ''Final Destination 5'' (2011), and for playing Amy in the firs ...
appears in an uncredited
cameo role A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking one ...
as Parker O'Neal, reprising her role from Adam Green's previous film '' Frozen'' (released seven months before ''Hatchet II'') in a scene serving as an
epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...
to the events of the 2010 film.


Production


Development

''Hatchet II'' was announced in November 2008 when
Anchor Bay Entertainment The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre ...
released a teaser poster for the film. Adam Green stated that he would be writing and directing, depending on how long the other projects he was working on took. He also stated that if the projects took too long, he would pass writing and directing duties on to someone else. On November 24, 2009, it was officially announced that Adam Green would return to write and direct. The final draft of the script was completed on December 7, 2009. In order to keep details under wraps, even the crew did not receive copies of the script and the majority of cast only received select pages. Fake scripts, fake endings, and fake story lines were circulated around the industry and no visitors or guests were allowed near the set. The cast gathered for their first table reading on December 15, 2009.


Casting

On November 24, 2009, along with the announcement that Adam Green would return to write and direct, it was announced that
Kane Hodder Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...
would reprise the role of Victor Crowley. On November 25, it was announced that
Tony Todd Anthony Tiran Todd (December 4, 1954 – November 6, 2024) was an American actor known for his distinctly deep and gravelly voice. He amassed several credits on screen and in video games since the 1980s, including the Candyman (character), titl ...
would be returning. On December 3, 2009
scream queen A scream queen (a wordplay on ''screen queen'') is an actress who is prominent and influential in horror films, either through a notable appearance or recurring roles. Scream king is the equivalent for men. Notable scream queen examples include ...
Danielle Harris Danielle Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress. She is known as a "scream queen" for her roles in multiple horror films, including four entries in the ''Halloween (franchise), Halloween'' franchise: ''Halloween 4: The Return of Micha ...
announced on her official
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account that she would be taking over the role of Marybeth, which was originally played by Tamara Feldman. On December 8, 2009, A. J. Bowen and director
Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...
joined the cast. The rest of the cast was announced on December 28, 2009,
R.A. Mihailoff Randal Allen Mihailoff (born July 31, 1956) is an American actor and former professional wrestler.Kathryn Fiore, Parry Shen, Rileah Vanderbilt, Ed Ackerman, Rick McCallum, Colton Dunn and David Foy.


Filming

To accommodate Green's promotional duties for the film '' Frozen'' shooting had to be split into two parts. The first portion began shooting on January 7, 2010, and ended on January 23. The second portion began January 15, 2010 and shooting for ''Hatchet II'' wrapped on February 24.


Release


Theatrical

''Hatchet II'' premiered in Europe on August 26, 2010, as part of
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
's Frightfest. The film was released unrated in 68 theaters across the United States by
AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (doing business as AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC) is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered ...
as part of their AMC Independent program on October 1, 2010. The film was scheduled to be released in Toronto and Montreal theaters in Canada on the same day, but it was pulled because it was not rated by the cities' provincial rating agencies. The film was also pulled from U.S. theaters on October 4.


Home media

''Hatchet II'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray February 1, 2011.


Reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has a 44% approval rating based on reviews from 34 critics. The site's consensus states, "Funnier and more gleefully gory than most slasher sequels, ''Hatchet II'' aims for so-bad-it's-good territory, but can't quite hack it."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, gave the film an average score of 49 out of 100, based on 11 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Adam Green has personally said that this entry in the series is his favorite.


Sequel


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatchet 2 2010 comedy horror films 2010 films 2010 independent films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s exploitation films 2010s serial killer films 2010s slasher films 2010s supernatural horror films American comedy horror films American exploitation films American films about revenge American independent films American sequel films American slasher films American splatter films American supernatural horror films Backwoods slasher films Films directed by Adam Green (filmmaker) Films set in Louisiana Films set in swamps Films shot in California Films shot in New Orleans Hatchet (film series) English-language comedy horror films English-language independent films English-language crime films Films with screenplays by Adam Green (filmmaker)