Hatchet (2007)

"When a group of tourists on a New Orleans haunted swamp tour find themselves stranded in the wilderness, their evening of fun and spooks turns into a horrific nightmare."

This has been the best horror movie that I've seen so far this year. From only a few minutes into the opening scene with Robert Englund, I just knew that I was going to love it.

There was nothing all that original about "Hatchet" since it "homages" just about every 80s backwoods slasher but it was all very well done. With Kane Hodder on board as the bad guy and stunt coordinator, how could it fail?

Apart from jump scares, it's not really scary though as it is very much in the same vein as "Slither". It is very wittily scripted and has over the top gore which just makes you want to say "Lush!" and cheer. Tony Todd's cameo was priceless too.

There is a certain amount of suspense here and there though it doesn't really last all the way to the end. This is more of a comedy-horror with lots of action, running around and screaming, and lots of boobs and blood.

The characterisation was surprisingly effective for this kind of thing and I really missed some of the bigger players after they had been bumped off. The girls in particular were very good especially Mercedes McNab (Harmony from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Tamara Feldman.

Everything was shot well. I'm sure most of the night shots were done in a studio to save money, but this doesn't look like a cheap movie at all. There is some CGI mixed in to good effect with prosthetics although you won't really notice anything detrimental from it for once.

If you like good old fashioned slasher movies then this is one for you. "Hatchet" is just old school horror at its finest.

Really? No, I was just practising my lying. "Hatchet" was only AVERAGE at best! It's a 4 out of 10.