Victor Crowley Lives - Adam Green is Back in the Bayou

The news was broken yesterday that the 10th anniversary screening of Adam Green’s old-school slasher, Hatchet, was not what fans thought at all. Instead of seeing an extended cut of the original film, fans were shocked when it was revealed that the screening was actually of a fourth film in the Hatchet franchise, helmed by Green himself.

The fourth instalment is titled ‘Victor Crowley’, named after the demented slasher that has garnered a substantial cult following with genre fans. In 2006 when the film was screened to festival- goers it received a lot of praise; Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News dubbed Crowley as ‘The next icon of horror’, and Time Out regarded the film as ‘A new and unexpected benchmark in horror’. Since its release the impact it has had on fans of the slasher sub-genre has grown - there have been two sequels, and now with the surprise announcement of a third, people are understandably going crazy.

In this day and age it is incredible that a film with this much of a following can be kept a secret. This happened similarly with 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane, which was filmed under an alias to the surprise of cinema-goers when the trailer announced its connection to Matt Reeves 2008 found footage romp. Although this is a much smaller film in terms of scope and budget, it may remain even more impressive simply because of how last minute the reveal has been. It premiered in Los Angeles last night, and will be screened for UK fans of the original this Saturday at London Frightfest.

In terms of narrative, it has been confirmed that the film will be set ten years after the series ended; lone survivor Andrew Yong (Parry Shen) once again finds himself in Crowley’s swamp, and under unknown circumstances the notorious slasher is resurrected to wreak havoc once again. Fortunately, Shen is not the only regular to return, horror legend Kane Hodder has undergone the make-up process once again to provide another performance as Crowley.

It is great to see that Adam Green is directing, as BJ McDonnell took over directorial duties of Hatchet 3 - which many fans will agree, although still lots of fun, is the worst of the series. If there is one thing that this instalment will provide, it will be fun, and lots of it. But, it will be much more than that, Adam Green is clearly so passionate about making slasher movies, and this passion translates onto the screen with ease. This is arguably what make the first two Hatchet films such a pleasure to watch time and time again. They are brutal, gory, but instilled with a humour that only a lover of the eighties heyday can successfully employ to make such a successful throwback. We at Daze of Heaven cannot wait to venture back into the sweltering swamp, cluelessly wandering around with new characters as if we had never swung by the old Crowley house at all. Victor Crowley lives! Who would have known!

Written by Chris Weston