Ten years after the events of the original movie, Victor Crowley is mistakenly resurrected and proceeds to kill once more.

Gore and laughs are the hallmarks of the Hatchet series written and directed by Adam Green (Frozen, all the other Hatchet movies). Long-time fans of this campy, over-the-top splatterfest are sated as long as these two requirements are met. We are happy to report that the titular slasher, or in this case, hatcheter, delivers a healthy portion of both.

Our story opens 10 years after the incidents in the previous films. Andrew (Parry Shen) the sole survivor of Victor Crowley’s 40-person murder spree is working the talk show circuit and touring with his brand new memoir. Meanwhile, in a sort of meta-commentary, Rose (Laura Ortiz) and her two friends hope to return to the location of the murders and shoot a fan-made trailer of a movie based on the murder spree.

While flying over the swamp in a private plane, Andrew and a host of other expendables lose control and crash land in the very swamp that Victor Crowley ( Kane Hodder) prowls. At this same moment, the three would-be filmmakers chant a spell that resurrects our beloved killer from beyond.

The stage is now set for hijinks, chases, and absurd kills that would make Takashi Miike chuckle at their inventiveness. The three filmmakers attempt to rescue the survivors of the downed plane while Crowley makes fast work of each victim in various, comically gory ways. With a treacherous swamp, a rampaging killer limited cell coverage, the bumbling victims are fighting to survive the night.

Green seems like he is having a lot of fun getting back to this brutal monster in the bayou. In fact, everyone from Hodder to Shen looks like they are right at home, back in the swamp, covered in mud, blood, and tossing out quips. Green’s script gets closer to the first two films and their biting wit and balls-out gore. There is a bit of a claustrophobic feel with long stretches inside the downed plane rather than outside in the vast wilderness, but this is a minor quibble.

The Hatchet franchise never once takes itself too seriously. These are movies made specifically who like to laugh and squirm at the same time and Victor Crowley delivers on both requirements. No, it’s not a great piece of cinema, but dammit I laughed out loud a lot. Plus, I am never really going to look at iPhones the same way again.

When can we go back to the swamp guys?