Hatchet 4 (4 Stars)

This is the 25th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

The festival host gave a lengthy introduction to this film. She said that the film was made over a two-year period with everyone sworn to secrecy. The press wasn't allowed to know that there would be a fourth Hatchet film. When the festival catalogue was printed the film was listed as the "Hatchet 10th Anniversary Edition" to give the impression that it would be a remastered version of the first film. Today is only the third time that the film has been shown to the public, after recent film festivals in Los Angeles and London. The final name of the film still hasn't been decided. It could be either "Hatchet 4" or "Victor Crowley".

The film takes place 10 years after the events of "Hatchet 3". Andrew Yong was the only survivor of the incident at Honey Island Swamp. We're told that he was originally accused of killing everyone, because nobody believed in the existence of Hatchet, but there wasn't enough evidence to charge him. He's a free man, but the general public still considers him to be a murderer. He's written a book about what happened, but when he appears on a television talk show the host accuses him of lying.

Nevertheless, there's great interest in the story, so a film is planned based on Andrew's book. The crew and cast fly to Honey Island, which they assume to be safe.

When the film came to an end the audience erupted in applause. Based on the audience reaction this was the most popular film of the festival so far. The film has a retro late 1970's feeling to it. There are no computer graphics, everything is done with prosthetic body parts. There was a general buzz of excitement when the festival guests discussed the film afterwards.