Green’s Homage to “Old School American Horror” Gets Nationwide Theatrical Roll-out This Spring

BURBANK, CA -- Anchor Bay Entertainment, the industry leader and acknowledged master of horror programming, has acquired the rights to Hatchet, the highly anticipated “old-school” horror film from independent filmmaker Adam Green. Mark Ward, Vice President Acquisitions of Anchor Bay Entertainment, made the announcement.

Playing to sell-out crowds at film festivals both home and abroad, Hatchet has enjoyed critical and public acclaim. Hatchet was honored as Official Selections at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Germany’s Fantasy FilmFest, Spain’s Sitges International Film Festival, London’s FrightFest, Austin’s Fantastic Fest and Los Angeles’ Screamfest. Now under the Starz Home Entertainment banner, Anchor Bay Entertainment will release the film theatrically nationwide in April 2007.

Visceral and unrelenting, Hatchet is Adam Green’s blood-soaked love letter to the seminal slasher film genre, which reached its critical and commercial zenith in the 1980s. Starring Joel Moore (Art School Confidential, Grandma’s Boy), Deon Richmond (Not Another Teen Movie, Scream 3) and Mercedes McNab (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”), Hatchet also boasts a stellar supporting cast of genre veterans including Robert Englund (“Freddy Krueger” from the Nightmare on Elm Street film series), Kane Hodder (“Jason” from Friday the 13th Part VII and VIII, Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Chapter and Jason X), Tony Todd (Candyman), and Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project). Hatchet was produced under ArieScope Pictures, Radioaktive Film, and High Seas Entertainment.

The film was written and directed by Adam Green and produced by Cory Neal. Producers were Sarah Elbert and Scott Altomare. Andrew Mysko and Roman Kindrachuk were the Executive Producers. FX wizard John Carl Buechler (Re-Animator, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers) created Hatchet’s unforgettable special make-up and creature effects.

“From the opening frame to the final fade-out, Hatchet brings American film horror back to its independent, no-nonsense roots of scaring the living daylights out of the audience,” remarked Ward. “We regard the film as nothing less than the next great horror film franchise.”

"I am honored and humbled by Anchor Bay's desire to distribute Hatchet theatrically," observed Green. "Their library holds some of my most coveted titles, so to have Hatchet live amongst such classics as ‘Halloween’ and ‘Evil Dead’ is a dream come true."

The film’s tagline says it all: “It’s Not A Remake. It’s Not A Sequel And It’s Not Based On a Japanese One.” Hatchet spins a terrifying tale of tragedy and comeuppance from beyond the grave. Victor Crowley is a hideously deformed boy, living in seclusion with his father (Kane Hodder) in an isolated cabin deep in the Louisiana bayou. When a Halloween prank initiated by local kids goes terribly awry, Victor is accidentally killed in a vicious twist of irony. Years later, a tourist group visiting New Orleans’ “haunted swamps” stumble upon the remnants of that shocking event, transforming an evening of seemingly innocent fun into a horrific nightmare, from which there may be no escape.

Harry Knowles from Aint-It-Cool News declared Hatchet “…so indescribably awesome that you just cannot conceive. Kane Hodder creates a horror film icon that will stand alongside Jason, Michael Myers, and Freddy.” Variety acknowledged the film as “one of the biggest hits at the Tribeca Film Festival” and Horrorview said “If you put Hatchet head-to-head with pretty much any post-Halloween slasher, it is the new film that will emerge as the winner.” Adoration for Hatchet is not limited to “to-die-for” reviews. At Austin’s Fantastic Fest, the film won 1st Place Audience Award, as well as receiving Horror Jury prizes for Best Actor (Kane Hodder) and Best Special Effects.