Hack! Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Reality Kills.
Wanting to raise their grades, a handful of college kids are randomly selected for a field trip to study wildlife, but don't get the chance as cliché horror film-style murders occur.
| Danica McKellar | Emily Longley |
| William Forsythe | Willy |
| Sean Kanan | Vincent King |
| Lochlyn Munro | Sheriff Radley |
| Tony Burton | Sheriff Stoker |
| Jay Kenneth Johnson | Johnny |
| Burt Young | JT Bates |
| Juliet Landau | Mary Shelley King |
| Adrienne Frantz | Maddy Roth |
| Justin Chon | Ricky |
| Travis Schuldt | Tim |
| Mike Wittlin | Mr. Argento |
| Gabrielle Richens | Sylvia |
| Kane Hodder | Mr. Carpenter |
| Cody Hartman | Young Vincent |
| Matt Flynn |
4.40 out of 10 (136 votes)
Visitor Reviews
A Fun little homage to slasher flicks for the horror geek in us all
posted on 15 Jul 2009After watching this flick a few times, and reading the various reviews regarding this, I felt compelled to write my take on this film. First off, I think that there is some confusion, for many, whether this is an actual horror movie, or a homage (ala Scream) or even a spoof (ala Scary Movie)... Personally, I feel that it is best viewed as a humorous homage to not only 80's slasher films but of "teen movies" and pop culture, in general..Each cast member/character represents a typical teen movie cliché... The brain-dead, sexist narcissistic jock, the self-absorbed social climber, the IQ challenged vulgar blonde, the "street"/hip hop black kid, the ultra intelligent (and over-the-top homosexual) Asian guy, the glasses wearing, pigtailed bookish nerd girl and the quiet, honorable guy who the nerd girl has a crush on....and best of all, this addressed by one of the characters about 55 minutes into the film..On top of that, we have the crusty boat captain, the odd-ball couple who owns the place they are all staying at..."the secluded island". Of course no secluded island would be complete without a psycho or two running around offing people...for having sex, drinking, smoking weed, listening to boy-bands...pretty much all the social evils of the world...We also have plenty of the obligatory "point of view" camera shots, red herrings, a good-hearted sheriff and his bumbling deputy, T&A, gore, creative murders, and a truckload of "in-jokes" and pop culture references... and some nice "breaking the forth wall" moments, addressing things that "always happen in horror movies" .It was the cornucopia of in-jokes and references which really made the movie a treat for me and my wife. The character names alone cracked me up, most comprising of names related to famed horror directors (Dario Argento, Eli Roth, John Carpenter), authors (Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Stephen and Tabitha King) and movie characters, (Bates of Psycho, "Q" of James Bond, Johnny of NotLD, and (Boo) Radley of To Kill a Mokingbird), as well a tip of the hat to Vincent (Price) and even a appearance from everyone's favorite serial killer: Kane "Jason Vorhees" Hodder, Buffy's Juliet "Drucilla" Landau, The Wonder Years' Danica "Winnie Cooper" McKellar, and Rocky Balboa's well meaning brother-in-law, Burt "Paulie" Young and his corner man, Tony "Duke Burton.. Of course, that's just scratching the surface...The amount of movies and TV shows nodde3d to is staggering...I found myself chucking time and time again at the quotes and film references that made this movie a horror geek's nirvana... Just off the top of my head, some of the films/TV shows touched upon are: IT, Jaws, The Shining, Guinea Pig, Ringu/The Ring, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, House of 1000 Corpses, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Scream, Pinky and the Brain, Dracula (1931), Fame, Reefer Madness, Lara Croft, The Birds, People Under the Stairs, Hellraiser, Saw, Free Willy, Shakespeare, Siskel and Ebert, Pet Semetary, Shocker, A Few Good Men, Elephant Man, Dead Calm, even a reference to the 80's Budweiser slogan ("This Bud's for you") and the Cingular "Can you hear me now" commercial.. Of course, some of these things may have been unintended, as I tend to connect the most obscure things (the first thing I thought when Maddy was hit with the brick was Krazy Kat and Ignatz), but anyone wishing to have me elaborate, feel free to drop me a messageAnyway, I found this movie to be a fun little flick, and recommend it to anyone into 80's slasher films....and a must for horror geeks into movies like "Saturday the 14th"...
I don't even know what to say
posted on 03 Jul 2009It seems like the writer is a big fan of horror movies with the countless references to many horror classics. I don't think that the actors are the problem of this film, but more so the dialogue. Some of the actors are actually really good, but not in this film, a lot of the dialogue just makes them sound stupid. The writing is really horrible in this. There is no investment in the characters, you don't really care about any of them.It seems to me that this film is trying to be a homage to horror films, but instead looks like film saying "Hey, look at me, I like horror films." This isn't just a bad horror movie, it's a bad attempt at a horror movie.
This is the sort of film I like to review...
posted on 30 Apr 2009...in order to dissuade prospective viewers from wasting their time watching it. A buddy of mine found it at the library and let me borrow it if I promised to return it on time. I was tempted to turn it in late just to teach him a lesson, and you may rightfully guess that my opinion of his taste in movies dropped a notch or two. I suspect he was simply bedazzled by the occasional baring of boobies, infrequent as that flashing was. That, and like me he's got a thing for Juliet Landau."Hack!" is basically a poor man's version of "Scream," and nowhere near as entertaining. I'll admit its heart was in the right place (top shelf, second drawer), but the execution left much to be desired. Much. And I do mean much.Tyro writer/director Matt Flynn and his crew give it a go, but we all know about good intentions and damned infrastructure. Flynn's script just isn't polished enough to survive the film's low budget. The incessant genre references get old fast (been there, done that), much of the dialog sounds bogus (though there are a few gems amongst the dross), and dramatic structure is almost non-existent. Suspense and tension ARE non-existent. The sound at times is poor. Much of "Hack!" seemed badly lit, and I don't mean purposefully. DP Roger "Loaded" Chingirian does what he can (and a number of shots are quite nice), but the storytelling just isn't visual enough to matter.The acting is hardly award-winning, but when you're hamstrung with a clunker, whaddaya do? Standouts include the above-mentioned Juliet "Ed Wood" Landau as a wannabe filmmaker with a perverse kink or two, Sean "The Bold and the Beautiful" Kanan as her even more twisted hubby, Danica "Inspector Mom" McKellar assaying the "gotcha" girl (which any astute viewer will see coming from miles away), and Jay Kenneth "Days of Our Lives" Johnson manfully taking on the romantic lead. Burt "Rocky" Young and Tony "Me, too!" Burton make token appearances, along with William "Raising Arizona" Forsythe, proving once again that even respected professionals can take a paycheck and run.I've already devoted far too many words to a movie that is best critiqued as "eh, there are plenty of better choices for your entertainment dollar." I tried it because Forsythe was in it, and more so, the delectable Ms. Landau. Sadly, even that didn't really make it a worthwhile time-killer. I suppose your mileage may vary, but I'd just as soon go back and watch "Scream" again. Or "Ed Wood". Now, there was a guy who knew how to make bad movies....
I recommend this just for laughs.
posted on 28 Apr 2009I recommend this just for laughs. I must admit I kinda liked this movie. Now before you start hammering me let me tell you why. It doesn't take itself too seriously. If you are looking for a good scare then this movie won't punch your ticket. The plot is something new and ingenious. A few students take a field trip to study the wildlife on an island to earn extra credit while the owners of the island are making a reality show and start killing the students in the fashion of classic horror movie slaying's.If you are a fan of horror movies then try to identify all the references to other horror movies that this movie spoofs. There are quite a few. One for example is the fact that the owners of the island are The King's as in Stephen King. The acting was decent as the actors are not new to the scene such as Juliet Landau from the television series Buffy the Vampire slayer. Burt Young from the Rocky series and William Forsythe who stared in 88 Minutes and Halloween 2007. The Actors seem to poke fun at themselves which is fun to watch.Overall the movie could have been better. The acting was decent, the music was good, and the plot was original. Where the movie fell apart was the dialog. It seems the actors were ad-libbing at times but maybe that was intentional.
Boring
posted on 12 Apr 2009Me and my partner rented Hack thinking that it would be quite a good/gory horror film but i was very disappointed. I should know better by now not to rent low budget straight to DVD horror films as they are never great. First of all the acting was terrible, i could have done a better job myself and i mean it was really bad, i don't know where these "actors" came from. The dialogue was very poor too and you could just tell it was very low budget and not a lot of thought had really gone into it, well thats what it seemed like to me. The only one good thing about this movie was that there was a twist towards the end and i didn't see it coming so thats why i gave it 4 out of 10, i thought that it was clever but thats it. The characters were not well developed at all and you couldn't care less really if they did end up being chopped up with a chainsaw or whatever cause they were just so bad. I have to say though, it was a very good idea for a horror film but it just didn't seem to work, between the bad acting and the script it failed which is a shame because it could have been so much better. I would say watch it if you have nothing better to do if its on Sky or something but don't buy it, it would be a waste of money.
Hack!
posted on 15 Mar 2009A class trip to an island turns into a nightmare as the college students hoping for a high grade to boost their GPA fall prey to their hosts, a married couple, obsessed film buffs, who record those they murder in ways associated with horror movies.This, at first, appears to be just another formula slasher. You have a check list of stereotypes that normally appear in slashers and can pretty much mark an X by the characters who will die as the film continues. But, what sets it apart from the fray of the usual is the wicked sense of humor, expert casting of genre veterans, and some perverse acts by a bizarre couple of psychos. But, also important is that HACK! actually plays against norm in that a guy actually is the one at the end fleeing from killers. And, a specific twist regarding a third(..and possibly fourth)party perhaps involved with the psychotic duo certainly adds to the terror for our hero, Jay Kenneth Johnson(..as the hunk Johnny)as he must find a way out a very sticky situation as his friends are dead and his options of escape are limited. Danica McKellar(..the cutie from Wonder Years)is "nerded" up as the unflappable, scholarly Emily, but we all know that a pair of glasses and braided hair can not mask the babe underneath the disguise. Emily is google-eyed for Johnny, who, in a change of pace for a slasher film, actually takes up for her when fellow classmates poke fun at her supposed dorky nature..yet, Johnny is still able to gain rapport with his fellow students because he's just a cool dude. The rest of cast are merely supplying cultural stereotypes bound for violent death..a dumb, impolite jock quarterback needing a high grade to make his football team, a sexpot, a foul-mouthed, weed-smoking skank, an Asian homosexual whose sexual orientation is the butt of many jokes and gags, and the token black character who supplies the pot, talks ghetto and is always trying to dial up someone on his cellphone that doesn't work(..imagine that). Most of these characters service the film as victims running through the island woods as the predators give chase. There's a dungeon the loonies have, a chamber of horrors where destroyed victims, grisly corpses, are used as set-pieces for memorable images in movies like Hellraiser & Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and one captured character is held in a large bird cage over a piranha-infested water hole! Surprising number of recognizable faces pop up in minor parts such as Kane Hodder(..as the opening victim trying to escape from his pursuers), Burt Young(..as a crusty boat captain who takes the crew to the island), Tony Burton(..as nervous Sheriff Stoker, who worries that something dire has happened to the kids when they don't return;he has a scene with ROCKY co-star Burt Young which might bring a grin to fans' faces), William Forsythe(..as a gruff Irish island fisherman who attempts to save the day, and has some memorable exchanges with the psychos), and Lochlyn Munro(..as Burton's moronic deputy). Lots of in-jokes such as the names of the crazies, Vincent King(Sean Kanan, whose chiseled features and clean-cut looks adds a unique dimension to his nutcase)and Mary Shelley(Juliet Landau;who's always obviously a bit weird, her camera by her side at all times ready to record even the most mundane occurrences for a "new movie"). Even the professor, who is to chaperon the students, is named Mr. Argento(..nice!). There also an abundance of references to horror classics and iconic characters popping up in the dialogue. This is made by filmmakers who love the genre and try to express that in as many ways as possible. The violence derives from an ax, hand gun(..rarely a weapon used in horror) shot gun(..makes a real bloody mess of a victim's skull), thrown loose brick, a well(..the homage to The Grudge is quite an eye-opener), clown's hammer(!), chainsaw, and a spinning saw blade(..decapitating a bound person's leg as he screams in horror). A thrown saw blade decapitates a victim whose leaning up against a tree. Lots of gore and viscera. Gabrielle Richens as Sylvia, a foreign exchange student lusting for the quarterback, is quite a looker. Once McKellar is able to shed her geeky disguise..yummy. Slasher fans might embrace this one..it's dark heart is in the right place.
Everyone Hates This Film... Except Me!
posted on 07 Mar 2009A group of students go to an island to study biology, although they all seem to like discussing horror films and almost no one wants to actually do their work. Drugs and sex are rampant, and the island's residents are a bit odd. Not "odd" in a weird way so much as eccentric, so the students go along with it. Then someone decides to kill the kids... and suspicions fall on one after another suspect.Danica McKellar stars in this film as teacher's assistant Emily Longley. When the movie began and Danica entered the screen, I was smitten: I knew I had found possibly the most beautiful woman in movies (aside from my all-time favorites of Mandy Moore and Christina Ricci). So I looked her up and was shocked -- this was Winnie Cooper from "The Wonder Years" (who was never "hot" by any means, even though I think many kids had a crush on her for some reason). So, my point is: McKellar as the shy, bespectacled teacher's aide... priceless.From there on out, I can understand why this film is generally considered pretty lackluster. It has a cheese factor somewhere between Gouda and Camembert. The movie rips off other horror films -- many character names are horror-based (Argento, Carpenter, etc.) and there's countless references (the boat being named Orca after the "we're going to need a bigger boat" line was awesome). If you don't love horror, these jokes are not funny... and even if you do, it might take a special kind of humor (the film is called "Hack" -- lighten up!).Treat the movie like a game, and see how many references and rip-offs you can catch. Some are obvious (they directly mention a variety of films, including the Billy Zane classic "Dead Calm") and others not so much. I guarantee you I missed some of the references -- now I have to watch it again, and I gladly would.Horror fans will also like the nudity (it's limited but it's here) and the blood. We got chainsaws, piranhas, sharp blades and even a scene with samurai or something (a reference I definitely missed). I can't wait to see it again so I can write a better review... oh yeah, Kane Hodder shows up briefly, too, and William Forsythe is a weird Scottish groundskeeper. Just watch this!!!
Truly Awful.
posted on 24 Jan 2009I actually really dig the premise behind the movie.Lets say more tongue in check and exploratory of horror clichés then Scream, but not a full blown spoof like Scary Movie.Aesthetically the casting was really good. The jock, the slutty girl, the alt chick etc etc. But the acting, even though I'm sure the directing was half to blame, just let most of the scenes down. Had there been better chemistry between the actors, it could've worked a lot better. The characterisation also seemed as though it couldn't decide on how certain aspects of the characters were being represented.Actually the whole movie didn't know how to represent itself. I remember thinking 'is this a spoof?' a few times half way through, and honestly, I wasn't sure until the very end. Even though there were parts that were pretty obviously 'spoof like' they just came across as bad, or illogical. E.g. When you find out the nerd girl was bad, and you remember how she was acting at the start of the movie, and when she was by herself getting on the boat etc. Just illogical.For the movie to have been truly effective as a newly invented sub genre. The 'Suprise Spoof', lol. It really had to have been a GOOD horror movie for the first two thirds. Even if it was in a clichéd horror way, it just had to have been well shot, and well acted. But alas it just plain sucked.This movie doesn't even deserve a review this long, but there's two other things I want to mention. It canes me that Juliet Landau was cast in this cos that most probably means the guy that made it is a Buffy fan. As a Buffy fan I want to hurt him.Also the only reason I gave this two stars instead of one, which is fairly akin to giving one star as you can't give zero (which I figure is because it would mess up the combined ratings), was for the shining scene, because it wasn't expected and was overall a neat reference.2/10(reviewed after first viewing)
Cliché ridden, bad acted, terrible plot, poor story, poor me for watching.
posted on 09 Dec 2008I'm not sure what the last reviewer saw in this film that I didn't because I have to say this was one of the worst movies I ever saw. I'd go as far as saying William Forsythe's Scottish "accent" was the best thing in the movie and THAT sounded Irish and bad Irish at that. True, the film is full of cliché's and references to other horror/slasher movies and where some will say it was appropriate to the storyline, I'd say there was no originality. There were no "scary" moments and no suspense whatsoever and the blood & gore effects were right out of a 50's B-movie. One scene where someone was shot while close to the camera you could see that the blood splatter was superimposed and was moving independent of the "actor". Note the quotes, no one in this movie could act. One or two scenes were inappropriate and could have been left out all together but there are weird people out there who would probably lap them up. I really can't think of anything positive about this move and found myself skipping five minutes at a time to make it end sooner only out of curiosity that I was right about a possible twist. I must have skipped at least half an hour but I promise you, I saw the whole movie. I always considered William Forsythe as a great actor but after seeing him in this, I'm beginning to think I was wrong, you see great actors sometimes don't need much direction and it looked like he didn't get much in this movie proving that he needs it to look good on screen. Every other actor in the movie I have never seen before except for the two cops, one about 80 yrs old and the other an idiot who fitted in with the rest of the characters. Without giving away any of the plot, at the end of the movie there was a scene where it flashed through the victims and to be honest, I'd actually forgotten about them being in the movie at all. What I'm trying to say is, there is nothing memorable about the characters, the plot and the acting other than it was ALL bad. Why is it in slasher movies that cell phones never get a signal, when someone goes missing they go looking for them at night and not during the day. Why do they all split up and make a lot of noise shouting when they know there may be a killer out there. This is what I mean about no originality, every slasher movie is exactly the same with one exception, some can pull it off, this movie doesn't. If you want to see a better movie, go and rent Plan 9 from outer space.
Who dies when & how in HACK!
posted on 21 Nov 2008There's a maze of mayhem, the editing leaves a lot to be desired, and this flick is NOT worth watching MORE than once. Hopefully this will help those not afraid of spoilers to decide if they want to see it even one time, as well as to erase the need of those who fell asleep halfway through to spend more than another minute to find out what happened.........SPOILERS.....SPOILERS.....SPOILERS........Horror flick veteran Kane Hodder is the first shown island victim, beheaded in a throwaway scene. I'm not sure the movie is edited well enough to make it clear which is which among victims two and three; let's say Emily's biology prof, Dr. Argento (Mike Wittlin), is the second dismembered-on-a-table victim, and some random poacher (Teague Cowley) is the vivisected third party. ORCA fishing boat skipper J.T. Bates (the ROCKY movie franchise's Burt Young) is the fourth to croak, via a hook through his eye socket. Football quarterback Tim (Travis Schuldt) can't get out of the pocket as he's chainsawed to death (#5), with token black student Q (Wondgy Bruny) self-consciously defying convention, as he's KO'ed in the 6th rather than the opening round (by croquet mallet, no less!). Sheriff Stoker (Tony Burton) succumbs during the 7th inning stretch (pick-axed), with gay student Ricky (Justin Chon) becoming the third student--and 8th vic overall--to pass away, gunned down while singing "I'm Going to Live Forever" from FAME. (By the way, if you don't have a life, the "Movie Connections" section here mentions only one-third of the direct references to other flicks and TV shows made by characters in HACK!; you can perform a public service by jotting down some more while watching the movie, and add them to the list. Thanks.) Lesbian student Maddy meets her maker at the bottom of the island's well for the ninth notch in the killers' belts, with bearded nutso island homeless guy "free" Willy (William Forsythe) becoming the 10th and final "victim" thanks to a fairly mundane shotgun blast. Meanwhile, film-maker killer Mary Shelley (Juliet Landau) has been bitten to death by her niece, killer clown student Emily (Danica McKellar), who shoots Willie after Willie has offed her film-buff Uncle Vincent King (Sean Kanan). Emily's two surviving classmates, topless Brazilian exchange student Sylvia (Garielle Richens) and Emily's crush, Johnny (Jay Kenneth Johnson) manage to blast her corpse into the ocean before boating back to shore with Deputy Radley (Lochlyn Munro). Hope this play-by-play helps!
"Everything you do is a cliché." A not to bad teen slasher.
posted on 03 Nov 2008Hack! starts as seven college students & their teacher Mr Argento (executive producer & producer Mike Wittlin) that signed up for a biology project board a boat & sail to a small isolated island owned by husband & wife Vincent (Sean Kanan) & Mary Shelley King (Juliet Landau) to study the indigenous wildlife, what could possibly go wrong? Well the fact that Vincent & Mary Shelley are both homicidal snuff film makers who are working on their masterpiece & want our bunch of teens to star in it could cut their careers in biology rather short...Written & directed by Matt Flyn this a is a fairly good teen slasher that could have been better but could just have easily been worse. The script which never takes itself too seriously is a fan-boy geeks wet dream come true, it's absolutely stuffed with film references, homages, rip-offs & clichés. In fact I don't think I've ever seen another film as blatant as Hack! when it comes to stealing dialogue, situations, name-checking actors & referring to loads of other films. From lines like 'was Psycho shot here?' to discussions on their favourite horror films to an Indiana Jones rip-off as someone does some fancy karate moves before someone just shoots him to bits of scenery like the boat which is called the Orca definitely as in the killer whale flick Orca (1977) then the snuff film makers base their film on other films like The Birds (1963), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) & Hellraiser (1987) among others to the way someone talks about the people on the island in terms of film clichés & several character's are named after horror film icons, Mr Argento anyone? This constant self referential fan-boy dialogue is fun at times but does get a bit old as literally every opportunity is used to slip a film title, cliché or homage into the story. Then there's the fact that the snuff film doesn't really feature that much or is particularly relevant, basically this is a Friday the 13th (1980) teen slasher with a thin snuff film sub plot that doesn't amount to much except for a few throw away lines at the end. Then there's the character's who are alright but not brilliant, the teens aren't too annoying but why did Vincent suddenly turn on his wife Mary Shelley & kill her? There's no reason, motivation or explanation for it at all. Then there's that Scottish guy Willy, where the hell did he come from & who was he? He is never given any back-story & just suddenly turns up without any satisfactory explanation.Director Flyn does a pretty good job here, it's well made & it actually looks like a proper film which many low budget horrors can't boast. It's not overly stylish or imaginative but it looks nice enough. I wouldn't say it's scary as it's too silly. The gore is decent but it definitely feels like an 'R' rated film, the blood & violence just seems restrained & quite brief. There are decapitations, severed limbs, someone gets a hook through the back of their head, someone is killed with a chainsaw & their severed upper torso is seen, someones head is bashed with a mallet, someone gets an axe in the stomach, someone gets a chunk of flesh bitten from their neck, someone falls down a well & is impaled on branches/spikes at the bottom, someone gets a axe in the shoulder, people are shot with arrows & there are several shotgun kills including a shot of the back of someones head exploding open.With a supposed healthy sounding budget of about $2,000,000 technically the film is good, everything considered even impressive. Most low budget horror flicks don't look anywhere near as good as this. The special effects are good with the absolute minimum usage of horrible CGI & the satisfying use of proper on set special make-up prosthetic effects. The acting is alright I suppose, the teen cast is suitably good looking both boys & girls even though personally I'm only interested in the girls.Hack! is an OK teen slasher, forget about the snuff film angle because it doesn't feature that prominently & therefore it's a silly Friday the 13th clone which has some decent gore & some amusing fan-boy dialogue although it does get old before it's end. If your a horror fan then Hack! is well worth a watch especially when you consider the crap that gets released these days, definitely one of the better low budget horror film from this year.
Fun with great plot twists
posted on 28 Oct 2008I'm not a big fan of the horror genre, but I have to admit that I really like this flick. When I saw that "Winnie" from Wonder Years had made a slasher, I had to see it. She was excellent! I thought the numerous references to movie history were great -- hints, quotes, direct homages, etc. at almost every turn. I was constantly trying to catch all the references and keep up with the action at the same time. Without spoiling the story for anyone, I just have to say that I was thrown for a loop by the plot twists at the end. Winnie making out with ?????? I was surprised, I have to admit. This is obviously not a mega-budget production, but it doesn't look cheap, either. The cast was good, and complemented each other very well. It might not be Psycho, but it was pretty darn entertaining. Oh, yeah and the foreign exchange student is a hottie! When she whips off her shirt on the beach...ay caramba! A lot of the comments made about this film on the board miss the point completely. How can anyone take sheer entertainment so seriously? Get a life, lighten up, and have a little fun (without all the neuroticism) for a change!
I liked HACK!
posted on 14 Sep 2008HACK!, contrary to some posted comments, is not a true "horror" film. And thank god for that! I found it amusing and a breath of fresh air the twist with Danica McKellar at the end was great! I rent a lot of horror movies that are mundane, you know what's going to happen and most are basically a bore! I had a lot of fun with HACK! which I just happened to pick up at Blockbuster last weekend. Although far from perfect it was a treat. Without a doubt it makes more references to horror films than any other film I've seen, probably more than 100. (Does anyone know?) That alone was worth renting it. And the acting was good, I believe it was suppose to be campy and that kept with the theme. I really enjoyed HACK! and definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the genre and has a sense of humor!!
Horror/Comedy? Hell Yeah!!
posted on 10 Jun 2008This movie was pretty sweet. I loved it. I came across it last summer and bought it. After i watched it, i was like hell yeah! i mean this movie was a total gore-fest from start to finish, but the cast members made this movie hilarious. It's centered on a group of hot and young college kids including Danica McKellar(the wonder years), Jay K. Johnson, Adrienne Frantz, Gabrielle Richens, JustinChon, Travis Schuldt and a few others that are picked to stay the weekend on an island with one of their instructors and her husband. What starts out as a weekend of sex, drugs, alcohol, soon turns into a horrifying bloodbath, when unseen killers begin to target those on the island and film each gruesome killing. This is an excellent flick to watch while having a party. It made me laugh and scream at the same time, so i highly recommend it!
Actually Pretty Good
posted on 14 Mar 2008I Rented This Movie With Extremely Low Expectations , But I Was Greatly Surprised By How It Turned Out , The Movie Starts With Some High School/College Kids Signing Up For An Extra Credit Program , The Project Is Studying Wildlife On A Remote Island , But The Wealthy Couple That Lives On The Island Are Crazy And Making Snuff Movies , The Acting Was Good , The Special Effects Were Good , The Jokes Were Good Too , The Movie Is More Comedy Than Horror , At The End The Bad Guys Were All Killed Off And The Only Survivors Were The Deputy , The Foregn Chick , And The Main Character , I Also Like The Hidden Message Of This Movie , The Hidden Message Is Telling Horror Writers Not To Rip Off Other Movies And Come Up With Their Own Ideas
A self-hating horror movie?
posted on 04 Mar 2008This movie is, above all else, confused. It tries to talk you into believing that it's a tribute to classic campy slasher films, it dazzles you with good production design, cinematography and some fairly decent actors, but ultimately it turns to tired slapstick and surrealism without purpose, all courtesy of the only horrifying aspect of this movie; the script! Maybe it isn't a tribute, maybe it's meant as satire or some kind of black comedy? I can't tell! Even if that's the case, it's not funny because the jokes are mostly based around how unfunny horror movies are, and this is clearly one of those unfunny horror movies. Violence is plentiful and graphic, like the genre prescribes, but it is only there as a reference to other films or for purely gratuitous purposes, so in effect it's either unoriginal or holding up the story. The characters are consistently written in a way that at best, makes you not care about them at all and at worst, quietly hoping that they are next in line for swift death. If a bunch of college kids had made this movie and put it on the Internet, it would have been sort of an impressive effort. As a "real" Hollywood movie, it's depressing and begs the question; Who the hell would green-light a script like this? My advice: pick any one of the 20+ classic horror movies that this movie references and watch that again, odds are good that you'll have a better time!
Funny movie with gore, but not too scary.
posted on 05 Feb 2008This movie delivers a decent amount of gore, but will not scare you. It's more of a comical horror movie than anything else. Sometimes in horror movies I like to make fun of certain parts of the movie that look cheesy and corny. This movie simply does it for you. Several references to classic horror movies and spoof about these movies. Pay attention and catch ALL of the references they make to the horror industry. It's a fun movie to watch if you don't mind a little blood and gore. Gabrielle Richens gets topless in three different scenes, who is just stunningly hot. Danica McKellar (Winnie from The Wonder Years) is also quite attractive as a "book worm" role and her other role as well in the movie. Definitely recommend it if you like comedy horror movies.
Reasonably original premise, ruined by horrible execution (See This Slasher #10)
posted on 18 Jan 2008When a group of students head to a remote island for an extra-credit field trip, a crazed murderer meets them there to kill them in various horror-movie styles. It's up to the select few survivors to solve the mystery of the identity of the killer, or never leave the island again.Winnie Cooper, I mean Danica McKellar, stars in this modern slasher alongside Jay Kenneth Johnson (Days of Our Lives) and Juliet Landau (daughter of Hollywood legend Martin Landau). The film, as expected, is just about as lame and predictable as the majority of other recent slashers. Its acting, writing, and direction are all typical of a low-budget horror, and is made special only because of its luck of grabbing a few 'name' castmembers. Sadly, those actors who may be familiar are completely wasted due to the horrendous dialogue and lack of motivation. The story is trite and extends itself further than it should, but it does have a few interesting moments. Also, the writer/director seems to have a lot of love for the horror genre with his constant in-script references to horror films and character names (Professor Argento, Mary Shelley King, Sheriff Stoker, etc.). . . but, you'd think that a real horror fan would know that Boris Karloff did not play Frankenstein. Visually, the film isn't completely awful. The cast isn't bad to look at and there are a few good kills. Unfortunately, when it all comes together into a perfect storm of below-mediocrity, nothing comes out but a very lame film that will be forgotten nearly as soon as it's watched.Obligatory Slasher Elements:- Violence/Gore: I liked a few of the deaths, especially the seemingly useless opening scene, and the gore wasn't too bad. I think the filmmakers should've gone for the 'more is more' tactic of gore, however, because a few extra buckets of blood can sometimes make up for the endless mediocrity and dullness.- Sex/Nudity: There's a good amount of sexuality & nudity from the secondary castmembers. It's not excessive, and it doesn't hurt to make the film more enjoyable. Those who grew up in the late 80s/early 90s, however, will be disappointed in the lack of skin shown by the still-hot Danica McKellar. She didn't show it to Kevin on The Wonder Years and she doesn't give us much here.- Cool Killer(s): Well, they had an interesting idea, I suppose, but overall. . . nothing special.- Scares/Suspense: As it's played out as a comedy-slasher, there is little-to-no suspense. There are a few good jump scares, but they can all be seen coming from a mile away.- Mystery: Barely any. You see the killer's face (whether on purpose or by accident, I'm not sure) about fifteen minutes into the film, and let's just say that the twist will never really be 'Keyser Söze'-memorable.- Awkward Dance Scene: Nope.Final verdict: 3.5/10. Do not see this slasher! Note: Keep an eye out for Burt Young (Paulie from Rocky), William Forsythe, and Kane Hodder in small roles.-AP3-
Somewhat enjoyable, though standard, modern day slasher.
posted on 25 Dec 2007Written and directed by Matt Flynn, this medium-budget SCREAM-inspired slasher is full of horror film references and in-jokes, many of which are far too obvious, annoying and in-your-face to be even remotely amusing, while a few are kind of clever and more obscure when they aren't blatantly pointing out the film to us. Despite the very low rating here on IMDb (2.7 as of this writing), I think enough effort was put into this to make it watchable for the most part. It was pretty entertaining for the most part. HACK! opens with a man being decapitated with a saw before cutting to a bunch of college students who seem obsessed with, and never stop talking about, various horror films. The characters are your usual stereotypes, though this film at least tries to give us a reason for that. We have sweet, geeky, pretty teaching assistant Emily (Danica McKellar), good-looking nice guy Johnny (Jay Kenneth Johnson), hot big-breasted foreign exchange student Sylvia (Gabrielle Richens), obnoxious football jock Tim (Travis Schuldt), "flamboyant" gay Asian Ricky (Justin Chon), pot-smoking black guy Q (Won-G) and trashy alternative chick Maddy (Adrienne Frantz). They, along with their professor Mr. Argento (producer Mike Wittlin), go to a nearly-secluded island for a science-related field trip that no one actually seems to care about once they get there. A friendly and equally film-obsessed couple; Mary Shelley (Juliet Landau) and Vincent King (Sean Kanan, also a producer) put the students up for the weekend and naturally, someone in the group starts killing off the others. It seems that Mary and Vincent are actually amateur filmmakers themselves and want to shoot their own "reality horror" (i.e. snuff) movie using the students as their victims. There are also a few expected twists you may or may not see coming.Despite the rampant clichés, countless movie references (HELLRAISER, THE RING, DEAD CALM, FATAL ATTRACTION and JAWS, just to name a few) and the often-annoying non-stop chatter about various horror films, it's upbeat, energetic, fairly well-made when it comes to editing, photography and fx and gives slasher fans the gore and nudity they expect to see. The whole cast look like they had a good time making it and sometimes a little enthusiasm goes a long way, as is the case with this one. Kane Hodder appears in a one-scene cameo at the beginning and there are also cameos by Burt Young of ROCKY fame (playing the boat captain who shuttles the students to the island) and William Forsythe (as some kind of long-haired Scottish or Irish survivalist type who also lives on the island).
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average horror let down by idiocy
posted on 12 Aug 2009Some things, despite being good, should never have happened: N.W.A. caused the creative hip-hop of the 80s to be buried underneath hordes of unpleasant gangsta rappers; Disney-Pixar's magical films have replaced the charm of hand-drawn animation with sterile CGI; postmodern horror classic Scream launched a thousand dull horror films that thought they were clever. Which brings me to Hack!, a film that very much follows Scream's template, with a touch of (underdeveloped) reality TV satire. Seven students and their teacher come to an island for a biology project, soon, of course, they are being hacked apart. Hack! tries to freshen up its slasher clichés by introducing a snuff twist, but it adds nothing to the film other than some annoying shots through an old-fashioned, wind-up camera, while the way the film tempers its classical horror references (The Birds, Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) with more modern phenomena (Saw, cult TV series Desperate Housewives, reality show Survivor) feels like a desperate bid to be hip. Technically, this film is a mess. Shots slip randomly in and out of focus: some are a few seconds long, some scenes continue far after their end; continuity seems to have been deliberately disregarded, the music seems to be totally unrelated to what is happening on the film (I believe if you listen to your favourite album while you watch, a la Dark Side of the Rainbow, it will match up better); in one scene, it is so clear stock footage is being used that you feel a bit embarrassed. The script fares no better: moronic characters spout film references with such unsubtlety that every gentle nod is a headbutt, every playful nudge an elbow in the ribs. The acting is appallingly inane (other than the always-lovely Danica McKellar's turn as Emily) and plot holes gape at you at every moment: characters act with no motivation, every boy and girl couple up despite having nothing in common. In spite of all its flaws, however, there is something likable about Hack!. I can't for the life of me place what it is, but it's there. This is a film, bless it, that really tries hard, but it ultimately fails. It fails because it wallows in its own stupidity while trying to be all clever-clever with the audience, it fails because it believes that pointing out that it is full of clichés prevents the clichés from being boring, and it fails because its constant self-referentiality soon becomes a drag. People, it's been eleven years since Scream; surely it's time for a new horror bandwagon?In the end, while I would sincerely like to declare this film a cult classic, I cannot possibly score it in the upper half of scores - so it gets a 4, the highest score a bad film can get.