Since 2006’s Hatchet provided a pleasant horror surprise, I figured I’d see if lightning could strike twice with its 2010 sequel. Like many flicks of this sort, Hatchet II begins at the very end of the first flick. Marybeth Dunston (Danielle Harris) narrowly escapes slaughter at the hands of deformed swamp monster Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder).

Local Jack Cracker (John Carl Buechler) initially helps her, but when he finds out she’s the daughter of fisherman Sampson Dunston, he demands that she leave immediately. She doesn’t get what Cracker holds against her pop, so she heads to Reverend Zombie (Tony Todd) for more info and he connects the dots.

Since Victor killed Sampson, Marybeth becomes intent on revenge, so she plans to head back to the swamp and destroy Victor. Reverend Zombie claims Victor can’t be killed, but she certainly wants to try to eradicate him nonetheless. This leads to a mission to get rid of the evil Victor once and for all.

While it lacks the same sense of goofy horror fun that made the first movie enjoyable, Hatchet II does come with positives of its own. For one, I admire the fact that it doesn’t simply rehash its predecessor. Too many sequels act as de facto remakes of the original movies, but that’s definitely not the case here. Though we do see some similarities, Hatchet II prefers the Aliens path; instead of another collection of innocent victims, it sends experienced hunters to go after their supernatural prey. Of course, they still get chopped up the same as those ordinary folks, but I like the twist.

Hatchet II also works harder to create a mythology – though maybe a little too hard at times. Both movies follow a similar sense of pacing in that the real killing doesn’t start until more than halfway through the flick. The difference is that the original opted for a general comedic sensibility as it led its victims to the slaughter, while the sequel prefers a more dramatic tone. It works overtime to develop the Crowley backstory.

Which it then pretty much ignores, which is a bit of a problem. After the intriguing set-up, the second half of the flick essentially plays about the same as what we saw in the original. Even though the hunters should have some good skills and they know what to expect, they get knocked off just the same as their less aware/accomplished predecessors.

That feels like a missed opportunity. Essentially, the movie simply throws out the same “monster appears out of nowhere and graphically slaughters” technique seen in the first movie and in most other genre efforts. That’s really the best the filmmakers could do? Why set up more powerful foes for Crowley if they’re not going to put up much of a fight? Yeah, the climax conveys more of a battle than we saw in the first movie, but I’d still think the hunters could’ve given Victor more trouble than they do.

Despite these missteps, I think Hatchet II still stands as a reasonably good follow-up to the first movie. Fans of graphic horror kills should find what they want, and the movie’s action climax proves to be pretty effective; that part of the flick almost lives up to the hopes the set-up generated. I don’t like this one as much as its predecessor, but it works well enough to succeed.

Hatchet II appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. As far as SD-DVD transfers go, this one looked pretty mediocre.

Sharpness was up and down, as the movie exhibited inconsistent levels of clarity. Overall, close-ups boasted good definition but wider shots suffered from mild to moderate softness. Artifacts made the image a bit messy at times, but no issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and edge enhancement failed to appear throughout the movie. Source flaws weren’t a factor.

Colors weren’t much of a concern in this fairly monochromatic affair. Given the nature of the story, I didn’t expect dynamic hues, and the film tended toward a subdued brownish look much of the time. What colors we found seemed decent but unexceptional. Blacks tended to appear somewhat loose and inky, though, and shadows were often too dark. That was an issue given the fact that so much of the film took place in low-light swamp shots. All in all, there was enough positive material on display for a “C+”, but it wasn’t an inspiring presentation.

Stronger material cropped up with the film’s Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Like many horror movies, it mostly went with creepy atmosphere. A few action/scare sequences brought the track to life in a more active manner, but these were infrequent. Instead, the mix usually focused on general environment, and that side of things worked well. The audio used the speakers in a natural manner that created a good soundscape.

Music also featured nice stereo imaging, and the surrounds contributed to the ambience. The back channels didn’t have a lot to do, but that added to the film’s aura. The whole package connected together in a reasonably involving manner.

Audio quality was positive. Music showed nice range and clarity, while effects offered good accuracy and punch. The smattering of loud scenes showed solid definition, and they lacked distortion. Speech was also concise and natural. Nothing here dazzled, but it achieved its modest goals.

This DVD nearly equals the roster of extras found on the Hatchet Blu-ray. It also includes two separate audio commentaries, the first of which comes from writer/director Adam Green, cinematographer Will Barratt, and makeup effects supervisor Robert Pendergraft. They sit together for their running, screen-specific discussion of story/character topics, sets and locations, cinematography, various effects, cast and performances, and some other subjects.

A good audio commentary requires a chatty participant, and Green delivers that in spades. Barratt and Pendergraft throw in useful notes as well, but Green is the one who makes this an above average piece. He digs into topics with gusto and helps deliver an engaging, informative chat.

For the second commentary, we hear from writer/director Adam Green and actors Kane Hodder and Tony Todd. All three also sit together for this running, screen-specific look at a variety of movie-related topics, but two dominate: cast/performances and issues connected to the movie’s rating and release.

To his credit, Green consciously avoids repetition of material from the first commentary, so that means lots of fresh information here. He and the actors delve into the various topics in a compelling manner, though as usual, Green dominates; Todd and Hodder offer some nice reflections, but they’re not a major aspect of the track. Given how passionate and interesting Green tends to be, I don’t mind that; he helps turn this into another useful chat.

A documentary called Behind the Screams runs 33 minutes, 38 seconds and features notes from Green, Barratt, Hodder, Todd, producer Sarah Elbert, producer/2nd unit director Jason Miller, and actors Parry Shen, AJ Bowen, RA Mihailoff, Tom Holland, Danielle Harris, and David Foy. “Screams” looks at coming back for the sequel, the movie’s body count and story areas, cast/performances, music and editing, sets and effects, and a few other topics.

The Hatchet Blu-ray included a terrific documentary, but “Screams” doesn’t live up to that one; it’s a bit scattershot and doesn’t offer a lot of depth. Still, it throws out some good footage from the set and storyboards. The interview notes are unremarkable, but we still get a decent look at the flick.

The disc opens with ads for Bitter Feast, House of the Devil, and The Last Lovecraft. We also find two trailers for Hatchet II along with a TV spot and a radio ad.

Though not as loose and fun as its predecessor, Hatchet II delivers a pretty good horror flick. It delivers the requisite gore and action to make it reasonably entertaining. The DVD offers average picture quality along with positive audio and some interesting audio commentaries. Slasher fans will dig this movie.