Victor Crowley (2017)

[mzupeman]

Victor Crowley Blu-ray


Can’t believe this film doesn’t have its own dedicated thread yet. Guess I’ll do the honors!

I watched the Hatchet trilogy a few years back and instantly fell in love. They’re precisely what I look for in slasher flicks, and as advertised, they do emulate that old school schlock, but with awareness. The gore has been second to none, the kills memorable, the proceedings hilarious. So, when they basically announced Victor Crowley (essentially Hatchet 4) by just playing the film (as they had made this one in secret), I had eagerly awaited the time when I could get it on home video. And well, here we are.

How do you people feel about this one?

Personally, I thought it was a decent time, but was lacking in numerous ways. I haven’t researched what the budget for this film was, but it can’t have compared to what they did with Hatchet II and III. Very few sets, and they were definitely on the cheaper side. Never really got to feel the full breadth of the swamp as we did in previous installments, as most of what we saw was very claustrophobic by design. A good chunk of the film takes place in one very specific area, and they utilize every inch of it to an astonishing degree.

The characters in this one are probably the weakest of the entire series. That, too, is seemingly by design, but Victor Crowley is using a bit of meta awareness to move forward, but I don’t think a majority of the cast sold it.

By the way, pretty exciting moment in the post-credits sequence, but I have mixed feelings about that, too.

I’m still glad I watched it, because it was still fun, but Victor Crowley is probably at the bottom of the list as far as Hatchet films go. Also glad I supported it, because I’d love it if this film was used as a springboard to gauge interest in future installments… and if Victor Crowley does well, maybe they can come back a bit bigger and more ‘authentic’ than this outing.

[Todd Tomorrow]

There is a thread in the movie forum. I thought it was the best film in the series since the original, I found it really funny and the gore was excellent. I don't mind that it looks low budget, that just added to its B-movie charm. I thought the characters were fun and Dillon was hilarious, he reminded me of Bruce Campbell in the Evil Dead movies.

[Vlahka]

I only just watched the first one last night. Absolute blast. Now I need to get my hands on the rest.

[Zillamon51]

This one is pretty weak. It's slower, and cheaper-looking than previous entries. LOTS of humor that is more annoying than funny.

This series has a reverse Star Trek thing going on for me. The first and third movies are really good; the second and fourth ones suck pretty hard.

[TripleHBK]

A few of us have posted thoughts/comments on the film in the "Recommend an indie horror movie" thread linked in my signature. Like Zillamon I was a bit disappointed with this film. Too much humor, too much time on board the crashed Jet, and a bit lacking in what Victor himself actually did. It had it's moments, and I certainly don't regret the purchase, but I would rate this film only slightly better than the original, but not as enjoyable as parts 2 or three.

[splintersan]

I personally loved it. I have only watched the third one once but that was my least favorite. I should probably revisit as it seems some people like it more. I love the first film, it's been an October staple since it came out on DVD. Really enjoy part two as well. Some of the jokes in Victor Crowley don't work but I feel like that is just Adam, his jokes can miss pretty hard. This was a combination of Hatchet with a little more of his Holliston writing style. I thought the gore gags were great and the cast was fantastic.

[darkness2918]

I liked it but as others have said not as good as the others.

[JurassicBD]

Originally Posted by Zillamon51

This one is pretty weak. It's slower, and cheaper-looking than previous entries. LOTS of humor that is more annoying than funny.

This series has a reverse Star Trek thing going on for me. The first and third movies are really good; the second and fourth ones suck pretty hard.

So, if a person didn't like the first all that much, maybe the second and fourth will find more favor? From my very poor memory of the first, it seems like more humor was what it needed, as the horror just didn't do it for me. But I can't remember why. Seems like I didn't like the characters all that much or couldn't connect with them. But, I wanted to like it, so I'm up for another go.

[TripleHBK]

Originally Posted by JurassicBD

So, if a person didn't like the first all that much, maybe the second and fourth will find more favor? From my very poor memory of the first, it seems like more humor was what it needed, as the horror just didn't do it for me. But I can't remember why. Seems like I didn't like the characters all that much or couldn't connect with them. But, I wanted to like it, so I'm up for another go.

For me the problem with the franchise at times was the inclusion of too much humor. I really enjoy this series and will continue to purchase any/all future entries but part 4 felt like it relied way to much on humor and sequences of long conversation as opposed to exploration/horror/excitement. I feel like Danielle Harris also helped the previous entries tremendously and her lack of involvement (more or less) with part 4 left it feeling as if something was missing.

Beyond all of that though I just feel like not enough attention was paid to Victor Crowley himself and he wasn't really given anything meaningful to do. He howled, paced back and fourth, and stomped around but it didn't feel like there was much in the way of suspense or creativeness. It didn't ever feel like he was stalking anyone and he (to me) felt more like a wild animal then a person hell bent on revenge.

Overall I think my biggest complaint was that the film felt very small. I don't particularly like how confined to the crashed jet things were and felt that previous entries created a much more believable space in which he Crowley lived. The other entries never really led me to believe that things were shot on a sound stage, this very much had that feel.

I'm hoping that in the event we get a 5th film in the franchise that we see a dramatic switch in the tone/locations. I'd love to see a 15 years later approach where the swamp has been residentially zoned into a residential subdivision by a developing company or something similar and as the developers are set to sell the homes Crowely starts stalking everyone. The first few people that settle in the area could be the developers themselves which would explain the abundance of empty homes and lack of other people around. Since the development is new it could also still have problems that creep up that wouldn't have been known until the development was ready to "go live:. It would allow for a ghost town atmosphere with a legitimate reason behind it, and would create a very stark change in aesthetic to what we are used to in that it would be freshly built homes. Obviously since the film would be set in Louisiana there could/would still be elements of the bayou near and around the homes thus lending moments of familiarity to the film. I imagine that this would give Crowley a purpose again in that he's mad others have invaded his property, while also having a good reason for the invasion beyond the usual "let's go stomp around in the swamp".

I can envision some great Carpenter esque shots of a cool fall night with Crowley standing in the middle of a freshly paved road with his axe and fog swirling around him and he makes his way toward his first victims home.

[Member-222782]

These movies would work better without humor IMO. I laughed out loud at one gag but I'd rather have a straight-up horror flick without one-liners and slapstick. Not sure if I'll purchase future entries - would have to find a way to watch it first. At least this was cheap at $12

[KillaCam]

There's already rumor of a fifth film but Adam said it comes down to how well Victor Crowley sells. Too many people stream and pirate films so I hope it does sell enough to warrant another one.

http://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3...y-leave-swamp/

[Zoland2020]

Hours ago today I've just brought this movie from Amazon (due to my Prime subscription, it'll be here this Saturday), I hope it is as good as the other three Hatchet movies.

[Zoland2020]

A few hours ago I've just got done watching the movie.
Acting & characters not as memorable as the other three films but still delivers great amount of gore (although a bit more cartoony this time) and interesting plot twists, I'll give this movie a 6.5/10.

[TitusTroy]

I didn't even realize there was a trilogy...I saw the first movie...was OK but looked way too low budget and wasn't scary at all...

[MooneyRara]

Originally Posted by TitusTroy

I didn't even realize there was a trilogy...I saw the first movie...was OK but looked way too low budget and wasn't scary at all...

I've watched the original several times. Not sure scary was the intention at all. I would say "fun" was the target. And they nailed it in terms of style and execution.
I really enjoyed the commentary track with Kane Hodder. They clearly enjoyed themselves making it. Highly recommend a listen for fans of the genre!
Didn't mean to derail---> Back to Victor Crowley

[Keegsta]

Love this franchise and loved seeing Victor Crowley back on screen!

Here’s a pic of my Blu-Ray copy from Amazon since this is a Blu forum

[jdw89]

Just bought this today, had been waiting for a bit, I think I’ve seen the first Hatchet movie but can’t remember

[TripleHBK]

As has been stated a few times before... you really need to check out parts 2 and 3 if you haven't already. I consider the first and 4th entries to be the weakest of the franchise. The story also continues with each sequel the same way it did with Friday the 13th, so skipping sequels leaves out some of the backstory as to how/why things are the way they are as well as who characters are and why they act as they do.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by TripleHBK

As has been stated a few times before... you really need to check out parts 2 and 3 if you haven't already. I consider the first and 4th entries to be the weakest of the franchise. The story also continues with each sequel the same way it did with Friday the 13th, so skipping sequels leaves out some of the backstory as to how/why things are the way they are as well as who characters are and why they act as they do.

I think 1&4 are the best.

[PuppetMasterBlu]

I wasn't going to but I have the other 3 and for 5 bucks....sure.