You're Next (2011) - REVIEW

Well, I waited till You're Next came out on DVD to finally see what everyone has been talking about all year.  I went ahead and pre ordered the Blu Ray since it has been so hyped this year I figured that there was going to be little chance that I would downright hate it.  A fun fact: when looking this up on IMDB I saw this was actually made back in 2011 and just came out last year.

Paul (Rob Moran) and his wife Aubrey (Barbara Crampton) are going to vacation house were all of there children will be joining them for the weekend to celebrate their Anniversary.  As they enter the house the door seems to be open but nothing seems to be amiss until Aubrey hears a thump from the upstairs while cleaning.  Frightened she runs out of the house while Paul goes up to check it out.  Their Son Crispian (AJ Bowen) and his girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson) arrive and Crispian helps his Dad make sure the house is secure.  The next day the whole family arrives and they are sitting down for a nice dinner when it begins.  The rich family is now a target of a sadistic and brutal home invasion.  They are all now fighting for their lives being terrorized by 3 men on animal masks.  Who will make it out alive?

I am just going to say it right off the bat.  I liked Your're Next but I didn't love it.  I was a good movie don't get me wrong i enjoyed it but I think it is way over hyped and does not live up to everything I had heard up to this point.  Now having got that out of my system I am going to go on with my review.  One of the reasons I didn't totally love it was the story.  It wasn't real original and as a matter of fact I had 90% of if figured out within the first ten minutes of the movie.  It really is not too hard to figure out and that kind of took a lot away from it for me.

The cast however was a point of strength for the film.  Casting long time horror queen Barbara Crampton was a huge bonus. She seems to light up the screen with her performance in anything she is in.  I do have to give props to the main character played by Sharni Viinson as well.  Her strength and survival skills really reminded me of a strong female lead much like Heather Lagenkamp in Nightmare on Elm Street.  This film is definitely worth a watch maybe even two.  Just don't go into it expecting too much like I did.  I would rate this one 7 out of 10 stars.  As always stay twisted everyone!

Hatchet II 2010 - REVIEW

If you've followed my sight for very long then you know that I am a huge Adam Green fan. He is quickly becoming a force to reckon with in the horror community. From the original Hatchet to Spiral to Frozen he has consistently given horror fans what they want. The original Hatchet didn't do so well in theaters but gained a huge following once the DVD was released. Green was pelted with requests for a sequel and once again gave horror fans what they wanted. Believe me when I say he knows what we (well most of us) want. A rip roaring good time full of gore and cheesy one liners. He makes me, a child of the 80's, feel like a kid again with his ability to channel the old school style and bring it to life on the big screen.

Once again, we join Marybeth (Danielle Harris) at the exact moment the original ended as she escapes the clutches of Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder). Marybeth seeks out Rev. Zombie (Tony Todd) in search of answers regarding her family's connection to the slasher in the swamp. With his own ulterior motives in mind, he gathers a group of money-hungry hunters and heads off to the swamp to confront the legendary evil.

Before I give my thoughts on the film I have to say that I am seriously disappointed in my local horror community. We got to the theater an hour ahead of start time because I was certain there would be a line of hungry horror fans just waiting to indulge in the gore and mayhem. Turns out it wasn't necessary because we were the only four people in the theater. It was nice because we could kick back and enjoy the film without all the usual distractions but I'd expected to see so many more genre fans come out in support of unrated horror. All the bitching and complaining on Twitter and Facebook about horror not having a voice and this is unfair and that's unfair and we're the only four people in there? WAKE THE FUCK UP PEOPLE! Nothing is gonna change if we keep pussing around and shying away from things we should be standing up for. Ok, stepping off my soap box now.

Keeping with typical slasher format, there really isn't much character development going on but under the circumstances it's not really necessary. Green knows how to make a fun film and if he wanted it to be a likable cast, he'd have written them that way. I often have issues when there's a major cast change in a sequel but veteran scream queen Danielle Harris fit perfectly into the role of Marybeth. Colton Dunn's character Vernon cracked me up every time he appeared on screen. His 'Chicken and Biscuits' song had me rolling. Word is it was completely improvised but I can't say for sure. Parry Shen makes another appearance as the goof ball side kick. Not much different than his role in the original except he may be a little smarter this time around... NAH. AJ Bowen has what will probably go down in horror history as one of the best sex scenes ever. I had hoped he'd have a little more screen time but he made an impression nonetheless. Even Adam Green makes an appearance as a puking Mardi Gras patron. And let's not forget horror veteran R.A. Mihailoff as the take no shit hunter Trent.

Hatchet II starts off rather slow, much slower than the original but rest assured the violence is coming. And while we're on the subject, Green comes up with some of the most creative kill scenes in horror history and apparently scoured the shelves of Fastenal for the biggest chainsaw I have ever seen. It's a good thing Kane Hodder is both Jason and Victor Crowley otherwise there might be a little chainsaw envy going on there. Originally I wasn't convinced that it would make sense for Marybeth to go right back into the swamp after the shit storm she just survived but Green worked his magic and made it plausible. This film is what it is and you know exactly what you're in for when you walk in the theater (well now you have to wait for the DVD - thanks MPAA). Green set out to make a 100% fan film and that's what he did. It's a throwback and a tribute to every slasher before it. Full of grit and guts and campy humor. You're either gonna love it or hate it.

Even though Hatchet II was unfairly pulled from theaters the point has been made. It will still go down in history as one of the few unrated films to show in theaters and all the attention it's getting will bring more horror fans to the DVD once it's released. Whether you're a Hatchet fan or not you have to respect Green for sticking to his guns and fighting for his film to be shown in all it's gory... er... glory. Kudos to him bringing attention to cause of unrated horror. I'm sure it gave him many headaches and caused him much stress but hopefully more indie directors/producers/studios will take a cue from him and fight for the same privileges the bigger budget productions are given.