It’s the horror that they didn’t want you to see- the film that spurred a media storm of controversy. Today, Dark Sky Films announced that Adam Green’s Hatchet II will be available on Video on Demand on December 1, 2010. The first unrated independent horror film to be exhibited by a major theater chain in more than 25 years, only to be yanked from screens almost immediately, Hatchet II will be shown on VOD on Time Warner and Comcast systems in its original unrated and uncensored cut.
HATCHET II – a Dark Sky Films production written and directed by Adam Green, creator of 2007’s hit Hatchet – was set to a fall breakout release. AMC Theatres booked screens in top U.S. markets, while Green and other iconic cast members scheduled simultaneous midnight and opening-weekend appearances at theaters around the country. In response to the intense and vocal demand of fans, the much-anticipated sequel opened at special midnight screenings on Friday, October 1, 2010.

Despite being hailed and “one of the best slasher films ever,” the film was pulled from all theaters following, or during opening weekend leaving many to speculate if this highly unusual action was due to the ensuing controversy swirling around the film being released unrated in mainstream cinemas.

Outraged horror fans and supporters of independent cinema instantly began a campaign via the Internet, Twitter, Facebook and other outlets to have the film released. Dark Sky Films immediately moved into action, working feverishly to bring HATCHET II to fans in its complete, uncompromised version – the way the film was meant to be seen. The movie will be available as Video on Demand on Comcast and Time Warner systems on December 1, 2010.

A ferociously fun tribute to the old-school horror sensation slasher movies of the 80’s, HATCHET II is the follow-up to the popular original film, which was released theatrically in 2007 and became a sleeper-hit, gaining a wide following on DVD. Just as the 80’s had their signature murderous maniacs–HALLOWEEN’s Michael Myers of Haddonfield and FRIDAY THE 13th’s Jason Voorhees of Camp Crystal Lake– the original HATCHET marked the arrival of the latest and most lethal of the genre’s stalking murderers: Victor Crowley, a crazed backwoods killer stalking the bayous of New Orleans.

HATCHET II picks up right where the 2007 original film ends, as Marybeth (Danielle Harris from HALLOWEEN) escapes from the clutches of the deformed, swamp-dwelling killer Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder from FRIDAY THE 13th). Marybeth returns to the Louisiana swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact her revenge against Victor Crowley. The film also stars other genre icons including Tony Todd, Tom Holland and well known names including Parry Shen, AJ Bowen and others.