After the Postal panel with Uwe Boll (I’ll get to that one later), Brad sent me huffing and puffing to the Hatchet panel. The Boll interview went over time so I was late when I walked in. Writer-Director Adam Green (Coffee & Donuts) was in the midst of an inspirational story about starting in the business. This kid (he looks like Eli Roth’s younger, shorter brother), I must admit, got the house rocking. He talked about what a mentor Dee Snyder was to him, how he made his first movie on illegal equipment and was threatened with jail time, but Snyder was the guy who kept telling him to keep “stealing the equipment and keep making your fucking movie!”
It was therefore appropriate that it would be Snyder who was the panel’s host, bringing together the likes of Kane Hodder (as the hatchet-wielding Victor Crowley) Tony Todd, Robert Englund, director Green and other members of the cast. Yes, you read that right. Jason, Candyman and Freddy all in the same movie.
I didn’t have the best seat, but I tried my best to sneak up a little closer and take a couple of snapshots of these three horror icons. The audience was completely nuts for these guys, but no one was more excited that the film’s director. “How cool is it that I have the Karloff, the Lugosi and the Chaney of this generation in attendance … in my movie?”
The crowd, full of freaky-geeky horror fans erupted in applause. Green then went on to talk about getting his cast to really feel the fear “in the moment”. As a result, the look of Kane’s Victor Crowley was not revealed until the character’s reveal was shot for the first time with other members of the cast. Tamara Feldman talked about her role in the film and how they didn’t know what Crawley was going to look like until it was too late. Other on-set scares occured when she was conducting an interview in her trailer and Kane Hodder surprised her by hiding out in her bathroom. Funny, whenever I try that move, I get a visit by the local authorites. Tamra also said Hodder didn’t know what it meant when the director shouted “cut” as he’d continue to “terrorize” the cast long after people went on their donut breaks.
Snyder asked co-star Joliegh Fioreavanti, about her experience on the film: “Joliegh, you have one of the nastiest death scenes to ever grace the film. What was it like?”
Joliegh: “I needed to get this part. I thought … I need to get my face mangled,” later revealing, “I get a belt sander to my face”. Now there’s an insurance conundrum you won’t see in Sicko.
Snyder had his own quip handy and without missing a beat said, “You sound like a fun date.” Touche, Mr. Snyder, touche.
They then revealed an exclusive clip of the movie. It was typical horror stuff, young people running away in fear through a cemetary in a dark, foggy night. They’re being chased by Victor Crowley who, by the way, looks like a cross between the the Toxic Avenger and that pathetic mutant dude in 300. The clip did show one fun bit though where Crowley grabs a guy on the ground and – face to face with his victim – vomits this goo in the dude’s mouth. Yum. Not sure what that was about, but it was pretty damn cool. The crowd, of course, ate it up (no pun intended).
Robert Englund was probably the most well-spoken guy on the panel. He said before signing on to the film he talked to guys like Eli Roth about Adam Green and heard nothing but good things. Englund then went on to talk about the state of horror today and he seemed pretty happy about it. England: “We fell so in love with cgi, that writers and directors dropped the ball on what really scares you. Hostel and Saw are a reaction to the bloated cgi films that don’t really deliver the scares … the garage punk scene was a response to the country rock of the 70s … the early punk scene was a response to guys that really weren’t talking to kids anymore … the fans love the old school and the hardcore.”
The crowd had a geekasm in unison and I started to wonder if I should leave before it was too late. These folks were rabid. They fielded some questions from the audience but they were mostly lame. I did, however, like one of them:
“If you can remake any disney film into a horror movie what would it be?”
Adam: “I get asked that all the time … um, the The Fox and the Hound … I, uh, in my version I would have Copper eat Todd”
Somebody else didn’t really have a question, but told Englund she loved the Nightmare on Elm Street series so much, she wrote her grad paper on it.
Englund responded, “There’s something about sitting in the dark with a horror film. There’s some kind of electricity and catharsis found there that can’t be matched by any other genre except maybe a comedy … ” He went on at more length but I missed most of it because my typing couldn’t keep up.
The panel ended with the world premiere of the the Hatchet trailer. Here’s a brief description: A creepy little girl is heard telling the legend of how a young Victor Crawley a la Freddy Krueger. Then there’s you standard horror movie shots of people screaming, getting chased (some of which involved that exclusive clip revealed earlier), lots of mayhem and then final tagline: “Victor Crowley Lives”
Overall, I was more impressed with the spirit of the cast, Snyder and director Adam than I was with the clips. Then again, word has been very good on this one so maybe it just plays better whole.
That’s it for me, I’m off to the Lost panel which has something interesting rules … No video cameras, no snapshots and no audio recorders. Hmm, this should be good.
