In 2007, forty-nine people were brutally torn to pieces in Louisiana’s Honey Island Swamp. Over the past decade, lone survivor Andrew Yong’s claims that local legend Victor Crowley was responsible for the horrific massacre have been met with great controversy, but when a twist of fate puts him back at the scene of the tragedy, Crowley is mistakenly resurrected and Yong must face the bloodthirsty ghost from his past. – (Source)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 58% (Critics) / 48% (Audience)
MetaScore: N/A
Directed By: Adam Green
Written By: Adam Green
Starring: Parry Shen, Laura Ortiz, Dave Sheridan, Felissa Rose and Kane Hodder
Studio: Ariescope Pictures

The Good:
Kane Hodder still plays the hulking murderous bad guy better than anyone else who has ever swung an ax at an unsuspecting dimwitted damsel. He may be a bit older than his heyday of playing Jason Voorhees but he still does this type of role extremely well.

This movie is so over the top in it’s gory excesses that you can’t really take it all that seriously. The deaths may be brutal on paper but in execution pretty much every kill in VICTOR CROWLEY had an undercurrent of goofball childish glee to it that you never take any of it too seriously. And one of the funniest and most gonzo parts of this movie was the opening prelude that featured a couple getting engaged (in a creepy swamp at night for some reason) right before having a fateful encounter with Mr. Crowley.

Angela from SLEEPAWAY CAMP is in it! That made me the horror geek in me extremely happy. And the fact that she was hilarious as well was just a cherry on top of this blood and guts sundae. The rest of the cast was good too with some likeable performances especially from Dave Sheridan as swamp tour guide/struggling actor Dillon who embraced the silliness and ran wild with it. It also was nice to have Parry Shen back (he was in the first HATCHET movie) and it was cool to have a POC as the lead of a horror movie. We don’t get that kind of thing too much even today.

There is also a mid-credits scene that brings back a fan favorite character from a previous HATCHET film while also setting up what should be a pretty freaking great fifth film in this series.

The Bad:
There was no weight to anything that happened in this movie and as a result all the death didn’t really matter much. It is hard to care about a group of people being horribly killed when the movie doesn’t seem to give all that much of a rat’s ass about it either.

As much as Kane Hodder excelled at the physicality aspects of his performance needed to bring Victor Crowley to life, as a character Victor is pretty one note. There is no personality to Victor aside from being a murderous force of nature and that makes him a bit boring.

The Ugly:
There is a kill in this movie that involves a cellphone, a ripped off arm and an orifice that is quite possibly one of the craziest kills I have ever seen in a slasher movie. Click THIS LINK if you want to but be warned, it is a nutso sight to behold.

Final Verdict: A blood-soaked over the top bit of throwback slasher horror that keeps its tongue firmly in cheek while body parts are flying all over the screen. It’s mindless fun with heavy emphasis on the mindless part.

Grade: B-