Jason Widgington

The Violent Kind has divided audiences, and by no means is it a genre-crossing masterpiece, but it's a solid (if convoluted) horror story featuring strong acting performances all around, not to mention enough blood and violence to satisfy the darkest of hearts.

Action fans were salivating at the thought of modern masters Dan Chupong and Tony Jaa facing off, but that particular fight is a bit of a let-down, especially coming after an excellent scene in which Jaa actually enlists the aid of elephants in fighting off an army of Chupong's followers.

Action fans were salivating at the thought of modern masters Dan Chupong and Tony Jaa facing off, but that particular fight is a bit of a let-down, especially coming after an excellent scene in which Jaa actually enlists the aid of elephants in fighting off an army of Chupong's followers.

When a film is set in 1348 during the throes of the bubonic plague, as Black Death is, and is directed by British horror master Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance, and the woefully underseen but brilliant Triangle), it's understandable that genre fans would expect wall-to-wall grisly deaths and spraying bodily fluids. But while the film has its fair share of that kind of stuff, Smith has delivered a surprisingly thoughtful philosophical treatise on religious faith, making for a truly frightening horror film that was among the best of the festival this year.

A bigger budget, faster action, and more blood and guts than the first make for a must-see flick for not just Hatchet fans, but for any and all fans of horror.