Comments on: Is There Really a Hype Machine for Hatchet?

By: sean

sean — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:29:44 +0000

Wow, is this a joke movie? I’m being serious, because I can’t decide if it was terrible, or funny.

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:16:25 +0000

Thanks, always glad to have a new reader (and how they got here).

By: lyle 90

lyle 90 — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:59:00 +0000

No prob. But I do still agree that no matter how good this movie is it doesn’t stand a fighting chance with Anchor Bay putting it out. If it had been with Lionsgate it could have killed like Cabin Fever did. I’m just glad I saw it when I did because I bet you no one else is even gonna know where it’s playing- if it’s playing near them. So you’re right on about the buzz not mattering.

By the way- found this site by doing a google search for Hatchet. Cool site! Love the primevil review.

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:33:57 +0000

Well damn, maybe I am underestimating the buzz surrounding Hatchet if a 3rd of the commentators on this post alone have already seen it and are surely giving it good mouth…

Lyle 90, as for the tag line, thanks for pointing that out as I had no clue. That does make me love its usage, but without that knowledge it just sounds awkward.

By: lyle 90

lyle 90 — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 04:59:14 +0000

Seen it at Fantasia. Absolutely loved it. But must agree with “rach” that with Anchor Bay at the helm this thing will start on 20 screens tops and doesn’t have a chance. Cabin Fever had 15-20 million in marketing and started on thousands of screens- that’s why it did so well at the box office as an indie. If Hatchet had that it would kill Cabin Fever’s records- but it’s not gonna have the same chance. Oh well, quicker to DVD for me.

Oh- and from the montreal Q&A- the festival poster’s tagline “not a remake, not a sequel..” was lifted off an actual rejection letter from the script. A studio person wrote that as the reason why the movie would not get made in today’s market. I actually think that’s brilliant- to make your rejection your slogan. But if you’ve seen the actual movie poster now it’s got Harry Knowles quote on it now- not that. Too bad.

By: rach

rach — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 04:24:56 +0000

I went to fangoria in Burbank this summer and there were more people in the Hatchet panel than Hostel 2 or Halloween. Every horror fan I know is talking about this movie and even my Dad asked me if I had heard about it. (Apparently there are TV spots running now in NY.) With the way the current torture/remake trends are falling flat- I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a lot of eyes on Hatchet in Hollywood. However, despite it being Harry Knowles favorite film and winning awards- does it really matter when you have Anchor Bay at the helm? This movie is going to start out so small that it will never even have a chance to make a difference box office wise. Not to be a downer on it at all. I cheered my little pretty head off at the panel at Fango and Adam green has to be one of the nicest, sweetest guys I’ve ever met. I only hope a miracle happens for this film - cause Anchor Bay does not know how to properly release a movie. Behind The Mask anyone? regardless, I will be at Hatchet at least once opening weekend and I hope people support it. Even if it’s not as good as everyone says it is- Green is so sweet I’m gonna see it twice. Please don’t compare him to Eli. That’s so insulting.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:26:38 +0000

Again, I’m not doubting it is going to be a good movie. I just doubt that, as far as box office business is concerned, anyone outside Anchor Bay and the Hatchet crew itself have its success or failure on the mind.

This is Serenity all over again, but on an even smaller scale and without nearly as large a fan base. Great reviews from a variety of places, people like us know all about it and will be there opening day, but I don’t think anyone outside of fans and the type of person who actually knows what Tribeca is knows that a movie called Hatchet even exists on planet earth.

I’m not hypothesizing it is going to tank at the box office or that it is going to be a Greek Wedding hit, I have seen zero evidence to indicate that,

“Everyone in Hollywood is watching Hatchet to see what it does. The suits are all floored that this little movie actually has NO real marketing dollars behind it — yet everyone knows about it. They’re all scratching their heads and trying to figure out how we have so much buzz- with no money to buy that buzz.”

It’s not buzz if it is only audible to one lunch table in the cafeteria. They’ve got another few weeks to justify that kind of talk - and I wouldn’t put it past some last minute marketing tactics to push it over the edge - but as of yet, I don’t think it is real.

By: Buzz

Buzz — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:48:29 +0000

If you look at any of the horror websites they all have stories and banners for Hatchet on them. I’ve been hearing about this movie since Tribeca last year (which I sadly missed). A lot of my friends caught it there and loved it. Nothing insanely new- just a revamped, better made slasher film from what everyone says. For what it’s worth, they’re all planning on going again when it opens- so it must be decent.