Film

Hatchet

Name: Hatchet
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Released: 2006
Cast: Joel David Moore, Amara Zaragoza, Deon Richmond, Kane Hodder, Joleigh Fioravanti

Other titles called Hatchet: the 1986 film.

Horror

Hatchet is a deliberately throwback slasher that swings for the fences: big gore, dark humour, and zero apologies. It's a love letter to '80s horror that knows exactly what it is—schlocky, gleeful, and committed to making you squirm and laugh simultaneously. For anyone who misses when horror movies seemed to enjoy themselves.

TMDb rating

2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy gory, unpretentious slasher romps played with a straight face and a grin, where the kills are the point and the characters are happily disposable.

Skip it if you want suspense that builds slowly or a plot with real complications; this one moves fast and mostly trades on splatter and broad, loud jokes.

What it asks of you: It runs a brisk 84 minutes and asks little more than a willingness to laugh at its excesses while the body count climbs steadily.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Friday the 13th1980

The foundational template: teens in the woods, a killer with a memorable weapon, and a body count that climbs with increasingly creative brutality. Hatchet's entire DNA comes from here.

But The pacing drags in stretches, and the final act reveals undercut some of the mystery. It's also genuinely dated in ways that might feel slow.

Evil Dead II1987

Sam Raimi proved horror and comedy aren't enemies—they're dance partners. Grotesque effects, slapstick violence, and a tone that winks at you while disembowelling someone. Hatchet learned this lesson well.

But The intentional absurdity isn't everyone's wavelength. If you want genuine scares over laughs, this will feel ridiculous.

Sleepaway Camp1983

Another '80s slasher with an oddball sense of humour and genuine nastiness. The kills are inventive, the social awkwardness is real, and it swings for shock value in unexpected ways.

But The acting is uneven, and what passes for humour here is weird and dated. The infamous twist ending divides people sharply.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Hatchet

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Motel Hell1980

Both treat gore and humour as complementary tones rather than competing ones. Each finds the absurd horror in their premise and leans into it completely.

A pitch-black horror-comedy about a motel owner with sinister secrets. It's grotesque and darkly funny in exactly the way Hatchet is—committed to its own awfulness without winking at the camera too hard.

But The humour is arch and strange; if you need your horror to be either scary or funny, not both muddy together, this won't work. Also genuinely trashy in ways that can feel exploitative.

The Descent2005

Claustrophobic, visceral, and genuinely terrifying. A tighter film than Hatchet but equally committed to making you feel things through physical horror rather than jump scares.

But The creature designs and gore won't be surprising if you've seen modern horror. It's also relentlessly bleak—no comic relief here.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil2010

A slasher deconstruction with warmth and wit. It flips the formula while celebrating the genre, with genuinely funny moments that land because the characters matter.

But The premise is clever but the execution can feel sitcom-y. It's gentler than Hatchet, which some will see as less satisfying.

Hostel2006

Eli Roth's visceral take on tourists in danger. It's nasty, it's tense, and it understands that Gore isn't thoughtless—it's a tool. Released the same year, it shares Hatchet's refusal to look away.

But The second half loses momentum and the politics feel dated. Some will find it gratuitous without enough story to justify it.

The Cabin in the Woods2012

A slasher that understands every trope you know and deconstructs them lovingly. Smart, funny, gory, and made by people who genuinely love horror.

But Knowing the premise in advance ruins some surprises. It's also more clever-clever than scary, which can feel exhausting.

Scream1996

Wes Craven's meta-slasher that saved the genre by letting it laugh at itself. Quotable, tense, and built on the idea that horror fans understand the rules better than anyone.

But Now that everyone has seen it and referenced it to death, the novelty is gone. The knowingness can feel smug on repeat viewings.

Feast2005

A B-movie about people trapped in a bar by creatures. It's crude, it's funny, and it has zero interest in being respectable. Ballsy indie horror at its most entertaining.

But The creature design is cheap-looking, and the script feels improvised in ways that can read as sloppy rather than charming.

A Serbian Film2010

Both are exercises in pure transgression: what happens when a filmmaker decides rules don't apply? The difference is Hatchet plays for fun; this one doesn't. Seeing the contrast is enlightening and necessary.

An unflinching exploration of exploitation and degradation. It's maximalist body horror with real ideas underneath, not just shock for shock's sake. If you loved Hatchet's commitment to viscerality, this goes further.

But It's one of the most disturbing films ever made. Graphic sexual violence, child harm (implied), and no catharsis—purely grinding awfulness. Not for a casual evening.

Blood and Black Lace1964

Hatchet owes more to this than to any American slasher. Both understand that horror can be beautiful, that the killer can have a visual signature, that watching someone die can be formally interesting.

Mario Bava's proto-slasher in vivid colour and Giallo style. It invents half the visual language Hatchet uses: the masked killer, the creative kills, the sense that the violence is almost balletic. And it's gorgeous.

But It's in Italian with subtitles, and the plot is threadbare. The pacing is deliberately slow—this is about mood and aesthetics, not narrative momentum.