Hatchet II is a 2010 horror movie distributed by Dark Sky Films. It stars Danielle Harris as Marybeth, Kane Hodder as Victor Crowley, Tony Todd as Rev. Zombie, Tom Holland as Bob, and Parry Shen as Justin. As before, the director and writer is Adam Green.
The story picks up right where Hatchet left off. Marybeth escapes the swamp, having been the only survivor of the group of tourists. She is pulled from the swamp by Jack Cracker, a nearby hermit. He helps her until he finds out her last name. Then, he tells her to leave. Jack tells Marybeth to go see Rev. Zombie to find out the backstory behind Victor Crowley and her late father. Zombie tells her that Victor had been cursed before birth by his father’s dying wife because he had been unfaithful with the nurse. He also tells her that her father was one of the teenagers that had accidentally set fire to Victor Crowley’s house, resulting in his hatchet to the head and death. Marybeth demands that she go back to retrieve the remains of her father and brother. Zombie agrees to gather a group of hunters to help her, but he asks that she bring along a family member with the group. Yet, Zombie has an ulterior motive for returning with the group to the forbidden swamp.
Unlike this film’s predecessor, Victor Crowley is not the only antagonist in the film. Rev. Zombie wants to free the swamp of Victor Crowley once and for all. It sounds noble until the true reason is revealed. He wants to open up the swamp to hunters and become rich. Zombie is willing to expend every human life there to get what he’s after. He deceives the others by telling them that they’re returning to retrieve the boat that had been lost in the first movie. These motives make Rev. Zombie a sort of secondary antagonist to Crowley.
Another interesting decision is to have Parry Shen return to Hatchet II, this time as his own character’s twin brother Justin. Zombie informs him that the reason they are returning to the swamp was to recover the boat that Justin’s brother Shawn had taken out the previous night. He tells Justin to gather a group of hunters for the trip back out to the swamp. Believing his brother to still be alive, Justin joins the party only to discover the truth later in the film.
To wrap, Hatchet II is, as its predecessor was, a slasher film with many twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat!