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[Review] ‘Victor Crowley’ Should Have Stayed Dead

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VICTOR CROWLEY image source Dark Sky Films

Horror fans were irate when they learned that Kane Hodder had been replaced as Jason Voorhees in New Line Cinema’s Freddy vs. Jason (2003). Independent filmmaker Adam Green‘s response was to create his own throwback slasher and cast Hodder as the film’s iconic villain. Hatchet (2006) introduced Hodder’s Victor Crowley, the bayou-butcher who hacks up a group of tourists during a New Orleans haunted swamp tour. It hit the slasher sweet-spot, mixing innocent humor with incredibly well done over-the-top special effects. While Hatchet has since become an iconic franchise, none of the sequels have been able to recreate the magic of the first film. The latest, Victor Crowley, is easily the worst of the bunch.

Taking place a decade after the events in Hatchet, lone-survivor Andrew Yong (Parry Shen) has become a celebrity and best-selling author. The film, written and directed by Green, painstakingly follows Yong as he appears on a morning talk show, signs books for fans, and takes off on a private jet to return to the location of the infamous murders. You see, Yong has been offered a hilarious great sum of money to do an on-location interview…

Meanwhile, a film crew are working on their own film about the murders and are planning to shoot a trailer to show financiers. While location scouting, they perform the same voodoo curse that gave birth to Victor Crowley, which causes the plane to fall out of the sky and the bayou-butcher to return.

While Hatchet cruised along with frantic energy, Victor Crowley is painfully slow, with each and every pointless scene feeling as excruciating as a visit to the dentist. Green somehow hits rock bottom with Victor Crowley, digressing the franchise from a wickedly fun and inspired slasher to a Troma-esque dick joke. That’s not hyperbole as there’s literally a moment where a “fan” places his penis on a table and asks Yong to sign it (albeit, they don’t actually show it). A complete deviation from the spirit of the first Hatchet (imagine if the next Friday the 13th was all dick and fart jokes), most of the comedy is insufferable and juvenile.

Another crime is the underwhelming special effects that look astoundingly cheap, which may or may not have been because of Green’s decision to hang on every shot for way too long. And much like the film’s tone, the death sequences are another insult to Hatchet, shifting from dead-pan serious to goofy winks that are trying way too hard to be funny. In fact, even the finale is bogged down by a continual attempt at humor in which Green force-feeds jokes into a sequence where Crowley stands around waiting for something to happen.

Honestly, it’s a bit startling to see the digression from Hatchet to Victor Crowley. I think it’s fair to call this one of the worst sequels in a long time, if not one of the most disappointing. Victor Crowley should have stayed dead.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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