Runtime: 81 minutes
Release Date: June 14, 2013
Rating: R
Director: BJ McDonnell
Marybeth (Dannelle Harris) is a real bad ass. Hatchet III starts right after the second film ends, which means that she just took down Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder). Since this is a Hatchet film, nothing can really stop Crowley, not even Marybeth and her chainsaw, which she uses to cut him in half. Completing her work, she heads back into town, where Sheriff Fowler (Zach Galligan) captures her. Not believing her story, which he thinks is just an urban legend, he arrests her for murder.
Fowler then makes the mistake of taking a team of men deep into the swamp to discover what really happened. His ex-wife, who just so happens to be an investigative reporter, heads to the jail and interviews Marybeth. Though Amanda doesn't really believe her story is 100% true, she does agree to take her and another cop to investigate her claims. As Amanda's father was one of the ones who originally helped kill Crowley, she thinks that she knows the answers to why Crowley keeps coming back.
I really, really loved Hatchet. I watched in once, took it back to the video store, and immediately bought a copy and watched it again. It's one of those movies that I recommend to people who love horror movies and those who don't really love horror. Everyone I ever recommended it to loved the movie too. When I heard it was a trilogy, I couldn't wait to see the rest of the films. The way I feel about Hatchet 3 is the same way I felt about Hatchet 2: meh.
On their own, the sequels are fairly good films, but when compared to the first one, they are definitely lacking. I absolutely love Parry Shen, and I love that they find a way to bring him back after his character died. He's incredibly funny and easily the highlight of the movie. The rest of the characters are just kind of meh.
Seeing Zach Galligan, who I absolutely loved in Waxwork and Gremlins, was fun, but once the fun and excitement wears off, he's pretty much a one-dimensional character like most of the actors and characters in the movie. It was a treat to see Sid Haig, but he's unfortunately not in the movie for very long.
One of the problems I had with the sequels is the replacement of Marybeth. I really enjoyed the original actress and thought she brought a lot to the movie, but I don't feel the same way about Harris. Casting her in a horror film at this point almost feels like stunt casting. It was one of those wink and nod moments to horror fans when she showed up in Urban Legend, but now she's appears in what seems like every horror movie ever made. While some horror fans love her, I liked the original actress better.
Hatchet 3 was an okay movie, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first one and it didn't really feel like it added much to the franchise.
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