Film4 FrightFest 2013 Review – Hatchet III (2013)

Hatchet III, 2013.

Directed by BJ McDonnell.
Starring Danielle Harris, Kane Hodder, Zach Galligan, Caroline Williams, Derek Mears, Cody Blue Snider, and Rileah Vanderbilt.

SYNOPSIS:

 A search and recovery team heads into the haunted swamp to pick up the pieces and Marybeth learns the secret to ending the voodoo curse that has left Victor Crowley haunting and terrorizing Honey Island Swamp for decades.

Adam Green has become somewhat of an icon among horror fans and its community. As someone who grew up loving the 80s slasher genre, he stole blood thirsty hearts with his homage to the decades greats with 2006’s Hatchet. And now, with the release of Hatchet III, the legend of Victor Crowley comes to an end.

Opening at the exact point the second film closes, Hatchet III sees Marybeth (Danielle Harris) head back into town to tell the local police force of the swamp’s horrific events as well as announce the death of Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder). But the curse of the deformed psychopath isn’t over as he  regenerates once more to take on the police, fire and rescue and a fully armed SWAT team with the kind of bloodshed and violence the series has become synonymous with.

Green has said that Hatchet III essentially serves as the third act to one long movie, making this one the ‘epic climax’. And while it doesn’t reach the levels of gore that the first one did, it certainly doesn’t hold back. The kills of the cannon fodder cast members are very creative and executed brilliantly thanks to Green’s ‘no CGI’ rule and it is bound to raise cheers from slasher movie fans. There is an argument to be made that it isn’t as action packed as perhaps it probably should have been, but it doesn’t disappoint on what it sets out to do.

This is also the first film in the trilogy not directed by Green himself who resigns to a simple writers credit, but the film is for all intents and purposes his vision. First time director BJ McDonnell (who cut his teeth working in the camera and electrical department) never deviates away from what Green set up in the first two instalments which makes Hatchet III feel familiar while still remaining fresh. To be honest, the film would have been no different if someone else was behind the camera as this is still, and always will be, Green’s baby.

Danielle Harris is once again on top form as lead scream queen Marybeth even though this script gives her the least amount to do of all the movies. Everyone’s favourite Jason Voorhees, Kane Hodder, also looks to be having a lot of fun as the murderous Crowley and he emotes the characters struggles through the many layers of prosthetics. The rest of the cast, including Gremilns star Zach Galligan, also look to be really enjoying themselves, even if they are only there to be offed by the movie’s monster.

As you’d expect from the series, there are some good cameos from horror legends (although significantly less than the second movie) and it does lead to a fan service Jason vs. Jason showdown between Hodder and Derek Mears. It further shows that the Hatchet series has been made by horror fans, for horror fans which creates a lot of awesome moments.

However, much like the Final Destination series, Hatchet III gets bogged down by constantly having to reiterate Crowley’s backstory with Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 star Caroline Williams spending all of her screentime repeating the same few lines of dialogue. These scenes do sadly stall the movie as it cuts from hardcore violence and gore to the same exposition scene over and over again. You do have to explain the character’s backstory and motivation for first time viewers, but Green’s script goes back to this well far too many times to the point of annoyance.

Originally published August 24, 2013. Updated November 7, 2019.