Victor Crowley

Director - Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen)
Starring - Parry Shen (The New Guy, Hatchet), Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Ghoulies Go to College), and Laura Ortiz (Holliston, Guardians of the Galaxy)
Release Date - 2018
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Return to his swamp"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Is everyone ready for unpopular opinion time?  When I was in college I bought the first Hatchet flick.  I had just finished re-watching Feast and decided to give it a go.  I fucking loved it.  I watched it a couple times that month.  It was a fantastic slasher.  I bought the sequel a few years later and was not satisfied with the film.  It was more of the same with very little new material added to it.  When the third was released I found it for $1.99 at Wal-Mart in a Halloween display.  I had no desire to watch it but needed it for my collection.  I've hard that for a few years now and decided to finally check it out when Victor Crowley was released.  I tossed it in and was shocked by how bad the film was.  Fantastic gore but nothing else.  After watching all the other films in the series I decided to give Victor Crowley a go and see if it was an improvement over the third film in the series.

    The film follows Andrew (Shen) who is the only survivor of the third film.  It has been 10 years since the massacre and he has written a book about his ordeal.  His publicist Kathleen (Felissa Rose) tricks him into going to the swamp with his ex-wife who is a daytime television host and a camera crew to show viewers the area where so many lost their life to the legendary Victor Crowley.  What they don't know is that a no-budget film crew is there to make a movie about Crowley and accidentally resurrect him.  Now everyone must fight to survive or become another notch on Crowley's bedpost.

     I love slashers and I am one of the few horror fans that actually get excited over remakes and sequels but the Hatchet series is just boring to me.  The first film has it all.  It has a great slasher story that is the perfect throwback to the "in the woods" slashers I grew up watching.  The killer has one hell of a backstory that is clichéd but it works for the film..and the gore.  The gore is fantastic.  The sequel is nothing but gore and the third film is literally the same gore with nothing new in way of the story.  Victor Crowley falls prey to the same faults as the third film.  The acting in this one is good.  I really enjoyed most of the cast.  It was cool seeing Parry Shen return.  When I was younger I visited my brother in Tennessee and he took me to my first drive-in which was playing The New Guy.  This is one of my favorite memories with my late brother and Shen is tied to that.  His performance is great.  I also enjoyed Scary Movie and The Walking Deceased star Dave Sheridan's performance.  His character was over the top but is a little more ground than his other performances.   My favorite performance belonged to Holliston alumni Laura Ortiz.  She was fantastic as the strong female lead.  The story for this one is repetitive by this point.  We once again follow Crowley as he closes in and kills everyone in sight.  The story is very predictable and has nothing new for the viewer except that it does toss in a YouTube angle that brings it to modern day but other than that the story is nothing new.  We get some jokes randomly tossed in but that is it.  Finally, if you want blood Victor Crowley has it.  The film is overflowing with gore.  We get some of the best practical effects I have seen and some of the most brutal kills.  When horror fans ask for gore I will be recommending this one for some time but if they are looking for story they will be let down.  Overall, Victory Crowley was a bit of a let down.  The cast consists of con regulars that deliver solid performances but the story was lacking.  The only upside to this film is the amazing gore and effects.  You have to see this film just for that reason.  Sadly, there is no replay value.