While Eli Roth skated by the censors with an “R” rating for his HOSTEL II gorefest, Adam Green did not have it so easy with HATCHET. After getting stuck with the dreaded “NC-17″ rating” he fought for 2 months to get it reduced to a fair “R” rating. I am beginning to wonder what is so bad about the film… Maybe the board was just pissed they were not paid off.

Anchor Bay states, “The “R” rating is for “Strong bloody horror violence, sexual content, nudity and language.” But HATCHET will still have a helping of trouble as some theaters are refusing to show the film. You can fight to have your local theater show the film by either calling them directly or by visiting the Hatchet Army’s MySpace Page to learn more.

Green issued this release, “A big thanks to everyone for their continued support and enthusiasm. Mainstream Hollywood claims that the fans will only support remakes and “PG-13″ horror at the box office these days. I hope that on September 7th we prove them wrong.”

As you may remember, Horror Yearbook did a write up of the Fangoria Burbank convention and I picked HATCHET as the horror movie to see this year, beating out the obvious competitors like HOSTEL II, HALLOWEEN, and SAW IV. So make sure to support “R” rated, independent horror that is sure to give you what you pay for.

Molly Celaschi