To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story

Kane Hodder is probably the most recognizable ambassador for horror movies working in film today, even though he wore a hockey mask for his most famous role (Jason Voorhees) and heavy prosthetic make-up for his second major franchise character (Victor Crowley). Hodder was a fan favorite before the industry understood the horror genre had fan favorites and he still brings something special to every film he makes. However, he had to endure quite a bit to get to where he is now. No matter what you thought of him before, you will develop enormous new respect for Hodder after watching Derek Dennis Herbert’s documentary, To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story (trailer here), which releases tomorrow on DVD/BluRay and VOD.

It is not clear whether it is an established fact, but many of Hodder’s friends and colleagues are convinced he has committed more on-screen murders with his own hands (machine-gunning faceless charging troops in war movies wouldn’t count) than any other actor. His tenure as Jason in the Friday the 13^th movies are a big part of that body count. He wore the hockey mask for four films, starting with Friday the 13^th Part VII: The New Blood and concluding with Jason X. They might not be the best films in the series, but fans still consider him the definitive Jason.

Yet, there is far more to his story. It sounds remarkable now, given his unmistakable size and daredevil reputation, but Hodder was bullied relentlessly during his pre-teen years. This almost sounds like a cliché from a 1980s slasher film, but Hodder talks about the experience in direct and personal terms. Frankly, he explains the psychological impact of bullying better than any other documentary we’ve seen.

Unfortunately, that was not his lowest point. Early in Hodder’s stunt career, he nearly died when a fire stunt went disastrously wrong. Yet, it is even more harrowing to hear about the months of pain and botched care Hodder suffered until he was finally transferred to the Bothin Burn Center, one of the top burn wards in the country. It is pretty heavy to see Hodder return to express his gratitude to the specialists there.

Of course, there is also plenty of fun stuff in Herbert’s doc, like Hodder pal Robert Englund, who definitely came to play. Fans of Cannon action films will be interested to learn Hodder did stunt work on Avenging Force—in a case of getting back up on the horse that threw you, they were actually fire stunts. Adam Green also discusses his collaborations with Hodder at length, many of which really brought out the actor’s sense of humor (such as Digging Up the Marrow, which remains bafflingly under-appreciated).

To his credit, Hodder is remarkably forthright about all the mistakes he has made in life. Clearly, he hopes others can learn from his experiences. Hodder is a survivor—that’s what really comes through loud and clear—and it always behooves us to listen to how trauma survivors endured their ordeals. Plus, he genuinely seems to love what he does and has a real affection for most of the films he made, which is cool. That is why it always gives us confidence to see his name in a film’s credits. This is not a breezy film, but it will confirm your horror fandom tenfold, at least. Very highly recommended for horror aficionados in general and Hodder fans particularly, To Hell and Back has a special screening tonight (7/12) at the Galaxy Theatre in Austin, TX, before releasing tomorrow on DVD/BluRay and iTunes.

Victor Crowley: The 4th Hatchet

There seems to be a trend in horror movies to drop the series name and numbering, in favor of the signature villain’s name, as in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre becoming Leatherface and Saw becoming Jigsaw. The fourth Hatchet film is the latest to go down this path, but in this case, there is a little life (and plenty of gory death) left in the franchise. Indeed, for a film about the ghost of a deformed psychopath hacking people to bits in the swamps of Louisiana, it is shockingly funny. The big dude swings the hatchet again in Adam Green’s Victor Crowley (trailer here), which releases today on DVD and VOD.

You could call Andrew Yong the “final boy.” Through sheer dumb luck, he survived Hatchet III, but the succeeding ten years were difficult. After being tried and exonerated for Crowley’s murders, he has done his best to trade off his notoriety. Reluctantly, he accepts (a deceitfully exaggerated) offer to return to Honey Island Swamp with a camera crew and his ex-wife “Sabrina,” a bargain basement Oprah. Drat the luck, their charter flight crashes right over Crowley’s old stomping grounds.

It has been ten years since Crowley was last heard from, but he is about to come back with a vengeance, thanks to Chloe’s micro-budget film crew. To film a proof-of-concept trailer about the Crowley murders, she plays several YouTube videos of freaks reciting the voodoo incantation that raised Crowley the first time around. That is what we in the horror movie business call a very bad decision.

Naturally, a supernatural psychopath like Crowley always hits the ground running. Soon the remnants the film crew take refuge in the wrecked plane’s fuselage with Yong and his party. Unfortunately, Yong the former survivor knows only too well it is only a matter of time before Crowley finds a way in.

Granted, Crowley is ridiculously over-the-top gory, but it is also wickedly sly and witty. This is honestly a funny film that mercilessly skewers the media and fame seeking behavior. Plus, there is plenty of what could be called splatterstick humor.

Parry Shen is totally on the money as the disgusted-at-himself Yong. Likewise, Krystal Joy Brown is horrifyingly spiteful as Serena. Together, they share some terrific non-Valentines chemistry. As a bonus, Crowley features three horror movie veterans doing their thing: Kane Hodder as the big guy himself, Tiffany Shepis as one of Serena’s unfortunate production assistants, and Chase Williamson as Chloe’s indulgent boyfriend.

Admittedly, VC is  built around some pretty conventional horror movie terrain. The key art certainly looks savage—and it is not misrepresentative. Yet, Green’s writing is still as razor-sharp as it is in his uber-meta mashup Digging Up the Marrow. This is a hip, snarky, and caustic film, fully stocked with mordant mirth and plenty of body parts. Highly recommended for discerning slasher fans, Victor Crowley releases today on DVD and VOD, from Dark Sky Films.

Digging Up the Marrow: Don’t Call It Found Footage

Thanks to the found footage sub-genre, the horror movie community hardly knows what to do when the real thing comes along. At least that it sort of the premise of the new meta-meta mock-and-shock doc from the team behind the Holliston television series. Director Adam Green, playing himself and riffing off his Holliston persona, starts to suspect monsters are real, so naturally he sets out to film them in Digging Up the Marrow (trailer here), which launches on VOD and opens in select theaters this Friday.

Green really does get a great deal of intricately constructed fan fiction sent to him, in some cases much like the incredibly detailed but presumably barking mad missive that starts his on-camera excursion down the rabbit hole. A retired Boston cop named William Decker claims a secret band of the freakishly deformed live in a subterranean world he calls the Marrow. The entrances are closely guarded, but he has discovered one, logically located in an out of the way cemetery. Thus begins a series of futile stakeouts, with his reluctant cinematographer Will Barratt (played by cinematographer Will Barratt) in tow.

Of course, just when Green decides Decker is a complete nut leading them on a wild goose chase, they finally see something that changes everything. However, they still have to convince their colleagues to take their footage seriously. Green’s real life editor Josh Ethier (who also played the killer lumberjack-alien in Joe Begos’ Almost Human) is particularly skeptical, but he is perfectly willing to cut Green’s stolen shots. “It’s not found footage, it’s . . . footage” he insists.

Frankly, this is one of the best postmodern self-referential genre films since Wes Craven turned his signature franchise on its head with New Nightmare. It is light-years better than the Vicious Brothers’ knowing but disappointingly flat Grave Encounters 2. While there are plenty of creepy moments, the film is more about exploring how the horror industry and sub-culture would respond when confronted with possible evidence that maybe some of this stuff might just be real.

In a pleasant turn of events, Ethier and Hatchet star Kane Hodder (best known for his stint as Jason in the old school Friday the 13^th films) are totally hilarious playing off each other and Green. They give the film a major energy boost during their scenes. Green himself is a good sport as the straight man for their quips and all of Decker’s macabre madness, whereas Ray Wise, the only cast member assuming a fictional personal, is reliably looney as the unreliable Decker.

Inspired by the Alex Pardee’s monster art, Marrow is a strong creature feature that might even be more interesting when it operates in the ostensibly real world. Sadly, the film also marks the last screen appearance of Green’s late series co-star Dave Brockie. Green also was disciplined enough as a director to keep the scenes of actress Rileah Vanderbilt playing his actress-wife Rileah, even though she would now have to play his ex-wife should there ever be a sequel.

Given all that seems to transpire, fans will not be expecting a third season of Holliston anytime soon after watching it, but they should enjoy appearances from leading genre filmmakers like Don Coscarelli, Mick Garris, and Tom Holland. Highly recommended as a clever, fully developed, ironically meta genre film, Digging Up the Marrow hits iTunes this Friday (2/20).