The film has an ensemble cast, including Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Mercedes McNab, Parry Shen, Joleigh Fioreavanti, Joel Murray, Richard Riehle, Patrika Darbo, Joshua Leonard, Tony Todd, Robert Englund, and Kane Hodder.

Hatchet premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 27, 2006, before releasing in limited theaters domestically on September 7, 2007.

Ben pays for himself and Marcus, and Shawn leads them to his tour bus, where the other tourists, Jim and Shannon Permatteo, a Minnesota married couple, two models, Misty, Jenna and their agent, Shapiro, and hot-tempered Marybeth are waiting.

Director Adam Green said that he got the idea for antagonist Victor Crowley's backstory when he attended Camp Avoda in 1983 at age 8.

Since Green was starting to get into horror movies, he decided to make up a backstory for Hatchet-Face, which he told to the rest of the kids in his cabin that same night.

This backstory, which involved a deformed boy accidentally being killed by his father who was trying to save him from a house fire, was eventually re-used for Crowley's origin story.

[2] In an attempt to ensue financing for the film, producer Sarah Elbert convinced Green and cinematographer Will Barratt to shoot a brief teaser trailer in New Orleans before writing the script.

The teaser simply consisted of establishing shots that Barratt filmed during a swamp tour, with narration done by the young daughter of one of Elbert's friends relaying Victor's backstory.

The film sold out both nights, resulting in extra folding chairs having to be set up in the theater and audience members sitting in the aisles.

The film won the audience award for "Best Picture" as well as jury prizes for "Best Actor" (Kane Hodder) and "Best Special Effects".

As part of the festival, the film toured Munich, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Bochum, Hamburg and Berlin.

[6] Hatchet received a limited theatrical release in the United States, starting from September 7, 2007, by Anchor Bay Entertainment.

The consensus states, "The over-the-top gore, campy acting, and dim cinematography may be part of Hatchet's self-described old-school ethos, but irony alone can't sustain a horror film.

[14] In November 2008, Anchor Bay Entertainment released a teaser poster for a sequel,[15] Hatchet II,[16] and Green returned to direct the film.

Hatchet III has the police finding the bodies of the first two films' victims on the island and Marybeth is the chief suspect.