[HorrorScience] Victor Crowley (Hatchet IV): The fourth installment that arrived without warning

When Adam Green decided to close the trilogy ofHatchetwith histhird installment in 2013, he probably thought he had already said everything he had to say about the Louisiana swamp killer. But horror films, and especially the B-series slasher, have that strange ability to resurrect when you least expect it. And that's exactly what happened withVictor Crowley, the fourth film in the franchise that no one saw coming.

Filmed in secret for two years and released by surprise on the tenth anniversary of the firstHatchet, the film arrived without a marketing campaign, without massive trailers, and without fans having any idea it was even in the works. Green, who wrote and directed the first two installments and only wrote the third, got behind the camera again for this fourth adventure. The result is a film that, as they say, is made "by fans and for fans", but that also reveals the seams of a tighter budget and ideas that, at times, are left halfway.

A plane, a swamp and a lot of bad luck

The film takes us ten years after the events of the first installment.Andrew Yong(Parry Shen) is the only survivor of the Honey Island swamp massacre and has managed to turn his trauma into a best seller. But life does not smile at him at all: he is still accused of being responsible for the more than forty deaths that occurred that night, and although he was exonerated, the shadow of doubt always follows him.

One day, his publicistKathleen(Felissa Rose) tells him that a television network wants to interview him about the massacre. The problem is that they insist that the recording be done in the Honey Island swamp itself. Andrew, logically, flatly refuses. But Kathleen has an ace up her sleeve: they offer her $600,000, and she has managed to raise the offer to a million. Money can do anything, and Andrew accepts.

So Andrew, Kathleen and a production team led bySabrina(Krystal Joy Brown), Andrew's ex-wife, board a private plane to Louisiana. During the flight, one of the engines explodes and the plane begins to plummet. Some of the team is killed on impact, and the survivors are trapped in a fuselage partially submerged in the swamp, with the water slowly rising.

Meanwhile, in the swamp, a trio of young aspiring filmmakers—Chloe(Katie Booth), her boyfriendAlexand her friendRose(Laura Ortiz)—are preparing the trailer for a film based on the legend of Victor Crowley. To document himself, Rose searches YouTube for videos of people trying to recite the voodoo spell that originally resurrected Crowley. And then the coincidence happens that changes everything: Rose's phone automatically plays a video of theReverend Zombiereciting the damn spell. Victor Crowley comes back to life.

A slasher locked in a fuselage

From there,Victor Crowleybecomes what fans of the saga expect: a bloody, grotesque and, at times, absurdly funny massacre. The problem is that much of the action takes place inside the fuselage of the crashed plane. This has a double edge: on the one hand, it creates a claustrophobic atmosphere and constant tension; On the other hand, it shows that the budget did not allow for filming large scenes in the swamp, and that the set is not always up to par.

Crowley, played once again by the legendaryKane Hodder(the actor who gave the face and body to Jason Voorhees in several installments ofFriday the 13th), appears less than in previous installments. When he does it, yes, it is to distribute tow with his characteristic style: ax blows, dismemberments and deaths so exaggerated that they border on parody. But his presence feels more diluted, and the character loses some of the strength he had in the first films.

Humor, blood and a limping script

What most divides viewersVictor CrowleyIt's his tone. The film is, without a doubt, the most comedy-inclined installment of the entire saga. The jokes are constant, the humor is crude and sometimes childish, and the characters are so exaggerated that it is difficult to take anything seriously. That can be a plus if you enter the game, or a liability if you were expecting something closer to the tone of the first installments.

The script, for its part, has received mixed reviews. There are those who call it "poor" and "nonsense", while others defend that it is "intelligently written" and that the film is "a love letter to slasher fans." The truth, as is often the case, is somewhere in between. The premise is as absurd as the previous ones – an immortal murderer who is resurrected by a YouTube video – but the execution has ups and downs. There are moments of real tension and others in which the film seems to be improvising on the fly.

The cast: old acquaintances and new faces

One of the film's strong points is its cast.Parry ShenHe returns as Andrew Yong, a role he already played in the first installment (and in which he played a completely different character). His performance is solid, and his character, despite being the "survivor", does not become an action hero, but rather a guy trapped by his own past.

Laura Ortizas Rose is, for many, the heart of the film. His character is the most human and the one who provides the dose of empathy that is missing in the rest of the group.Felissa Rose(remembered bySleepaway Camp) is stunning as publicist Kathleen, stealing every scene she's in. ANDBrian Quinn, uno de losImpractical Jokers, aporta su carisma habitual en un papel secundario.

Kane Hodder, con más de sesenta años a cuestas, sigue siendo un portento físico. Su Victor Crowley es tan imponente como siempre, aunque la película no le dé todo el protagonismo que merece.

Conclusion: a worthy return or a false step?

Victor Crowleyes una película que divide. Para los fans incondicionales de la saga, es un regalo inesperado que mantiene el espíritu de la franquicia: sangre a borbotones, humor negro y un asesino imparable. Para quienes esperaban algo más, puede resultar una entrega menor, con un guión más flojo y un presupuesto más visible que en las anteriores.

A mí personalmente me parece una película honesta en lo que pretende ser. No engaña a nadie: es un slasher de serie B, hecho con cariño y con la intención de entretener a los fans. Pero también es cierto que la saga había alcanzado un cierto nivel de calidad en sus primeras entregas que aquí no se mantiene del todo. El cambio de escenario —del pantano al interior de un avión— resta variedad visual, y el humor, aunque en ocasiones funciona, otras veces se siente forzado.

Aun así, hay que reconocer el mérito de Adam Green por haber mantenido el secreto durante dos años y por haber regalado a los fans una película que nadie esperaba.

Six curiosities of the Honey Island swamp

1. Estreno sorpresa en Hollywood: Los fans que acudieron a una proyección especial de la primera película se llevaron la sorpresa de sus vidas cuando Green apareció en el escenario y proyectóVictor Crowleysin previo aviso.
2. La voz de Crowley es una mezcla: El rugido y los gruñidos del asesino del pantano son una combinación de la voz de Kane Hodder y la del propio Adam Green, mezcladas y procesadas para sonar más graves y bestiales.
3. Un incendio forestal casi lo destruye todo: Antes de que comenzara el rodaje, un incendio forestal arrasó la zona donde se iba a filmar. El equipo tuvo que retrasar la producción y buscar localizaciones alternativas.
4. La música es un homenaje a Wes Craven: La canción de los créditos, «Hatchet (The Ballad of Victor Crowley)», es un guiño a «Demon Bell (The Ballad of Horace Pinker)», el tema deShocker(1989), una de las películas favoritas de Green.
5. Green lo hizo por Wes Craven y George Romero: Tras la muerte de Wes Craven, Green estaba devastado. Fue George Romero quien lo animó a seguir haciendo películas de terror y a honrar el legado de Craven con su trabajo.
6. Desnudez: Los momentos en los que Kristina muestra sus pechos y Linus expone sus genitales a Andrew durante la firma de la librería fueron alterados en todas las versiones digitales/en streaming de la película y las tomas fueron reencuadradas para no mostrar la desnudez. El director Adam Green ha expresado una severa decepción por esta decisión, ya que la desnudez masculina frontal completa se hizo como un guiño al subgénero slasher por tener siempre desnudez femenina gratuita. El corte teatral de la película y todos los medios físicos (Blu-Ray y DVD) tienen intacta la escena de la librería y se reproducen como pretendía el cineasta.