Title: Hatchet II and Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Actors/Director/Anything Worth Mentioning Right Away: Hatchet 2 returns with almost the entire same cast and NOES has pretty much some teen actors in it you’d expect with someone who is not Robert Englund as Freddy.
Introduction: I bought Hatchet 2 and got NOES from the library.
Location: Hatchet 2 is still where Hatchet took place. NOES is in some small town somewhere.
Plot: In Hatchet 2, the gang goes out to look for the tour boat that was lost in the first movie. This is filled with a lot of clichés in horror movies such as people saying Victory Crowley isn’t real and this is all just a waste of time (the non-believer) just to be killed mere moments later. NOES pretty much comes off the way the first one did way back when and the sequels. Someone is haunting my dreams, blah blah blah. The kids thought initially that Janitor Fred never did them no wrong and that he was seeking his revenge because he was falsely accused. In the end it turns out that the kids told the truth and the parents were sort of justified in their killing of old Freddy. But hey, let me ask you this, since probably nobody cares about the plot of the new NOES… How cool is it that a bunch of parents kill someone and then instead of him exacting his revenge on them, he takes it out on their children? It’s kind of like how when you die your children will inherit all of your debt. And, I mean, really, you can always have more kids. The mom from Friday Night Lights should just be happy Freddy isn’t trying to kill her.
Acting: Kane Hodder actually portrays Victor Crowley’s dad in this one and does a great job as a somewhat serious actor. Tony Todd is also great in Hatchet 2 as he has a much bigger role than the original. Someone who is not only not Robert Englund but also happens to have played Rorschach as well as a goofy redneck in Semi-Pro is now playing Freddy in NOES, so I’ll just let that settle with you there.
Production: They both look to be made for theaters, though NOES has a much bigger budget look to it.
Sex/Nudity: Not so much, but some in both I guess.
Special Effects: They actually look good in both. There is a lot more blood in Hatchet 2 than in the original.
Overall Verdict: Now the big overall verdict and the question of why to review these two movies together. It’s quite simple really: They share a common bond in movies that bothers me, but one goes one way and the other goes another way. In Hatchet 2, when Reverend Zombie is recruiting a, shall we say, posse to hunt down and kill Victor Crowley, one redneck says, “Who’s Victor Crowley?” When it is explained to him, he replies, “You mean like Jason Voorhees?” Now, the funny thing about this (for most people) is that Kane Hodder plays Victory Crowley but also played the Jason character when it mattered. What bothers me about it is that the movie seems to be violating some sort of fifth wall, if you will, by incorporating a movie monster into a movie. I’m not saying that these two movies are in any way related, but honestly, if that guy can reference Jason then why can’t Freddy be referenced in NOES? If someone comes up to you and says, “I’m having these nightmares and the guy in them wants to kill me. And if I die in my dreams I’m really dead”, I’d be likely to reply “Oh, you mean like the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. Oh that Freddy!” But people in the NOES movie don’t get that reference and a lot of people are non-believers. So I guess it bothers me because you can reference Jason in one movie, which for all extents and purpose Jason himself is actually kind of in, but yet in another movie these kids have no idea who Freddy is. I mean, come on, Johnny Depp is still relevant. So, mainly, I think some kind of line needs to be drawn. More importantly, as to not offend the viewer (in this case me), I think future directors and movie makers need to take a nod from Adam Green and let this stuff out of the box. The fact that the kids explain Freddy to each other just makes me want to pull my hair out because none of them will say, “Oh, like in that movie”. Maybe instead of trying to do a straight remake that can never quite compare to the original, they should try to add a new twist where Freddy is already something people know about because of his movie history. And I’m not just saying this for the NOES crowd, I’m saying it for everyone. (Though the Halloween remakes were really well done) I mean- and this may just be me- but wouldn’t it add a sort of new level of terror to things if Freddy discussed first as being just a fictional character from the movies, but then later within the movies there was doubt put into your mind about whether or not he was real. I’m no movie maker, but I think something like this needs to happen because these endless studio remakes are doing more harm than good.
