Hatchet III (Uncut and Unrated)

Perhaps redeeming the franchise for the previous sequel, and matching the former glory of part 1! Oh, and sooooooooooo wonderfully, deliciously, splatteringly gory!!!!Part II SIDEBAR: So after Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder; Friday the 13th parts VII-X, Hatchet) survived being burned alive and speared through the neck in part 1, he pulled a Jason Voorhees and aquatic-ambushed Marybeth (then played by Tamara Feldman), the credits rolling with Marybeth in his clutches. Replacing Tamara Feldman as Marybeth, Danielle Harris (Halloween I-II, The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond) escapes Crowley and assembles a hunting party to put an end to the curse and avenge her murdered alligator-poaching family. Part II ended when Marybeth gave Victor Crowley a mutilating head smashing with his own hatchet and then finished off his skull muck with a shot gun. So, clearly, he’s dead now, right? Psssssh.As if apologizing for the notable drop in quality observed in part II, director BJ McDonnell picks up former writer/director Adam Green’s (Frozen, Hatchet I-II) spoofy franchise and begins part III with a mushy gooey extra sloppy opener! That’s right, Crowley impossibly got right back up with nothing but Sloppy Joe filling for a face! Gorehounds will rejoice as Marybeth buries her fist into Crowley’s caved in face with all the lip-smacking sound effects of stomping your boots in thick sludgy mud. Oh, and the chainsaw-induced gore… just delicious!Franchise Timeline SIDEBAR: Note that part 1 took place in just one day, and part II was the very next day… much as the swift continuity of Friday the 13th parts II-IV. Now part III begins right after Marybeth shot Crowley in the face… or what was left of it. So these three movies span only three back-to-back days in movieland.Sheriff Fowler (Zach Galligan; Waxwork, Gremlins) and his local Crowley folklore expert ex-wife (Caroline Williams; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leprechaun 3) team up with Marybeth and SWAT leader Hawes (Derek Mears; Friday the 13th, Cursed) to put an end to the unkillable mutant hillbilly Crowley. Rounding out the cast, Parry Shen (The Hazing/Dead Scared) returns yet again in a third role (Andrew) in as many movies after playing the part II’s brother (Shawn) of part I’s tour guide (Justin)!This third franchise installment brings viciously awesome pacing and completely redeems 2010’s slow starting (and slow middling) sequel by delivering a defibrillator death scene, loads of spine-ripping and limb-tearing dismemberment, torso rending, severed head throwing (at other victims!!!!), head gauging, head exploding, head splitting and smushy gushy head stomping. The gore is heavy and by the end everything is painted in blood! Amid the zany fun are nods to Predator (1987; shooting down the forest), Jason Voorhees’ incredible resurrections (e.g., the knife in the head), 80s death curses (e.g., Myers and Voorhees), and Fright Night’s (1985) disturbingly messy melting death.The whole curse thing was probably the weakest aspect of the movie, but who could even care or notice? There was so much action and blood and gore… horrorhounds will find themselves smiling throughout the entire running time of this wonderful sequel that does true honor to the 2006 original and forgives any hiccups of part II.

Another outrageously gory, entertaining, funny entry in the Hatchet horror franchise.

I consider this the best of the Hatchet series. The first two Hatchet movies were enjoyable, but I find this the most entertaining.Danielle Harris returns from Hatchet II as Marybeth, starting where Hatchet II ended and has her going to the police station. There she is arrested for having a shotgun, Victor Crowley's scalp, and being covered in blood. The police investigate the swamp and are killed by Victor Crowley. Kane Hodder returns as Victor, giving a menacing and gruesome portrayal of the character. There's several graphic kills and the practical effects look fairly believable. The movie features several horror movie stars including: Danielle Harris, from Halloween 4, 5, the remakes, and Hatchet II; Kane Hodder, from Friday the 13th Parts VII to Jason X and Hatchets I and II; Derek Mears from the Friday the 13th reboot; Zach Galligan from Gremlins; Caroline Williams from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II; and Sid Haig from House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects.The story is basic, Marybeth is arrested for believed murder, the police investigate the swamp, the SWAT team led by Derek Mears arrive, and they are killed by Victor. Caroline Williams' character talks the remaining cop to take Marybeth to give Victor his father's ashes, believing the spell will be released. The entire police and SWAT teams are killed except for one coroner. Marybeth is impaled on a tree and spills the ashes on Victor and as he melts, she blows him up with a grenade launcher. It is unknown whether she is alive or dead. I believe she is alive.This is easily the most entertaining, violent, graphic, and probably the funniest of the whole trilogy. If you are a fan of the Hatchet movies or movies that are darkly comedic, I recommend this movie. I would also say that it's better to understand the story if you watch them in chronological order because they are all closely connected and the whole trilogy takes place in a few days. I like Hatchet III a lot.