FrightFest 2010 kicked off in style with the world premiere of Adam Green’s long-awaited sequel Hatchet II, which returns to the Louisiana swampland home of deformed boogeyman Victor Crowley. Attending the screening with the director were stars Danielle Harris – who takes over the lead role of Marybeth from original actress Tamara Feldman – and horror legends Kane ‘Jason Voorhees’ Hodder, who takes the role of Victor Crowley, and Tony ‘Candyman’ Todd, who plays the mysterious Reverend Zombie. They spoke about making the movie…
ADAM GREEN (introducing the film) When I came here in 2006 with Hatchet, I had never been anywhere in the world! When I got the call saying Hatchet had been selected for FrightFest, I was over the moon excited. Hatchet had played in the Tribeca Film Festival, but when it came here… this is the people I made the movie for! This sequel was planned before we made the first film. This is much better than the first one!
I’ve always done what I want to do. I’ve been offered studio movies, but this is what I want to do. At Comic-Con, [I met] one soldier who had just come back from Iraq. Every Saturday he and three friends would get together and watch Hatchet. One soldier didn’t make it home [and] October 1st they are going to take his ashes to watch Hatchet II. This is why I do it.
You guys have a reputation to live up to. I told everyone you need to come to London, so don’t let me down. When I did my contract [for Hatchet II] it was in there that FrightFest got to see it first!
Is there going to be a third movie?
ADAM GREEN There’s an idea for a third one. At this time I’m saying I will not be doing any more Hatchet films myself… but I also said I wouldn’t do Hatchet II and that happened! I passed on doing the sequel five times… and they waited. I’m so glad they waited. Maybe if I get to go off and do other things, then maybe I’ll come back and do Hatchet 3.
How long did it take you to write the script?
ADAM GREEN I wrote this one in less than a week, and we shot the first draft and we didn’t change anything. I got to cast the movie before I wrote it.
Was it harder to make the sequel than the first movie?
ADAM GREEN Did you see it? It’s a lot better! In some ways it was harder. With the first movie we had no money, and no time. We had to keep tearing pages out [of the script]. This time around we shot most of it on a sound stage. The production crew for The Dark Knight made out set as they were fans of the original movie. But we had a real swamp in there.. by day two there was mould, but day three it was Ecoli! Everyone was sick. We had to wear surgical masks but we lost 80 percent of the crew! But I loved it. Three years ago, I would have done it cos I was told to and I wanted the money. I’m so happy the powers to be waited. The entire crew came back to make this one.
KANE HODDER On the first movie we shot exteriors in the spring. The night shoots were shorter, so my time in make-up was shorter! Then we go onto the sound stage and I was in the fucking make-up chair for 15 hours. It didn’t matter if it got light, we kept shooting. The make-up was so much better [this time], much less bulky, more blending. But it was really hard for me. I’ve been doing stunts and monster stuff for 30 years, [and] you begin to get complacent. Thank you to Adam for making my job fun again.
DANIELLE HARRIS Adam put me thought hell! I was an emotional wreck every day. Jesus, Lord, I was in hell. But it was fun – look who I got to play with every day!
KANE HODDER When I make a film with Adam, he challenges me in new ways. I hadn’t cried on film until the first Hatchet! When Adam called and told me he was writing the script… he said I was going to have a sex scene. I didn’t believe him!
TONY TODD (to Adam) You didn’t promise me a sex scene in this fucking movie!
Kane, who would win in a fight between Jason Voorhees or Victor Crowley?
KANE HODDER I would say Jason would get his ass kicked. Victor is the shit!
And Tony, Candyman or Victor?
TONY TODD I know Kane too well to answer that…!
Adam, who are your main influences?
ADAM GREEN Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg. You can’t do much better than that. With Spiral and Frozen, you can see the Hitchcock influence. Not so much in this… this is far more Spielberg!
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