Theater Chain Pulls Unrated, Uncut ‘Hatchet II’

“Hatchet II,” the sequel to the 2006 gorefest that admittedly redefined the slasher American movie genre, arrived in AMC theaters on October 1, unrated, uncut and “uncompromised” – and was pulled days later, without notice.

According to Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch and director Adam Green, AMC actually offered to run the film unrated, after Green said the MPAA was an “evil” organization.

The comment came after the Motion Picture Association of American refused to give “Hatchet II” an R rating but at least Green knew it had AMC theaters to rely on.

Or so he thought. As the director puts it, one day, Green woke up to find that his movie was no longer running in AMC theaters, and he hadn’t even received a notice of some kind.

This was all the more shocking as the initial decision from the theater chain had attracted a lot of attention, with many horror fans saying online the move to show an unrated film was unprecedented.

Perhaps it was all this attention that eventually killed the movie’s run, Green speculated. Or perhaps AMC gave in to Hollywood politics and took heed of the MPAA’s recommendation.

“I assume it probably had something to do with the controversy online about an unrated movie playing in theaters. To me, the whole thing is unfortunate because this is not a movie that deserves to be unrated,” Green says.

“It’s a very funny, silly slasher movie about a swamp ghost that’s killing people in ridiculous ways. And now it’s become, you know, ‘Banned from cinemas.’ I’ve lost 11 pounds in the last week from stress,” the director adds.

Green says he’s “bewildered and confused” about his movie being pulled from cinema screens, but people at AMC insist it’s standard practice to review the distribution of a film based on box office success.

“At AMC theaters, we review all films in all of our theatres every week and then make our business decisions based on their performance,” says a spokesperson.

Green, of course, is not convinced, saying it was his movie only that was pulled like this – and all because of the initial refusal from the MPAA to give it an R rating.

“It’s an unrated cult movie that didn’t have commercials and all those other things. I don’t see them pulling a movie on Sunday because it doesn’t look like the box office is going to blow people away,” the director explains.

However, not all is lost, as Green is convinced Dark Skies, the production company, will do anything to get “Hatchet II” out there, while fans will most certainly demand it on DVD and make of it a hit, just like the first “Hatchet” also was.

Critics, though, are saying fans of slasher pics shouldn’t even bother on this one. Below is the official red band trailer for “Hatchet II,” see it and judge for yourself.

*Caution is advised as it includes images of graphic violence.