Hack! (2007)

Director:

Matt Flynn

Writer:

Matt Flynn

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Reality Kills.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Island | College | Falling In Love | Cult Film | Fishing Boat

Cast

Danica McKellar	...	Emily
Jay Kenneth Johnson	...	Johnny
William Forsythe	...	Willy
Sean Kanan	...	Vincent King
Juliet Landau	...	Mary Shelley
Justin Chon	...	Ricky
Travis Schuldt	...	Tim
Adrienne Frantz	...	Maddy
Gabrielle Richens	...	Sylvia
Noah Guy	...	Tatooed Keg Pumper
Kane Hodder	...	First Victim
Burt Young	...	J.T. Bates
Tony Burton	...	Sheriff Stoker
Won-G	...	Q (as Wondgy Bruny)
Mike Wittlin	...	Mr. Argento
Suzie Pollard	...	Featured extra
Jenna Morasca	...	Tim's Girlfriend
Teague Cowley	...	Dismembered Hunter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Comeau	...	Vincent's Father (uncredited)
Tammy Felice	...	Maddy's Tough Girlfriend (uncredited)
Cody Hartman	...	Young Vincent (uncredited)
Daryl J. Johnson	...	Sweet D (uncredited)
Lochlyn Munro	...	Deputy Radley (uncredited)
Clifford Parks	...	Brandon (uncredited)
Tonia Marie Rosée	...	Sherrie (uncredited)

Directed by
Matt Flynn

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Matt Flynn

Produced by
Stephen Fromkin	....	line producer
Brian Hartman	....	producer
Kyle Dean Jackson	....	post-production producer
Sean Kanan	....	producer
Joe Knee	....	co-producer
Kim Eva Matuka	....	associate producer
Alan Pao	....	post-production producer
Elsa Ramo	....	co-producer
Mike Wittlin	....	executive producer
Mike Wittlin	....	producer

Original Music by
Scott Glasgow

Cinematography by
Roger Chingirian

Film Editing by
Kyle Dean Jackson

Casting by
Derick LaSalla

Production Design by
John O. Hartman		(as John Hartman)

Art Direction by
Lendie Lee

Costume Design by
Annie Bloom

Makeup Department
Autumn Butler	....	key special makeup effects
Myke Michaels	....	makeup department head
Myke Michaels	....	special makeup designer
Alex Noble	....	special makeup effects artist
Shay Pulliam	....	special makeup effects artist
Traci E. Smithe	....	hair department head
Jenna Tibbetts	....	key makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John O. Hartman	....	second unit director
G. Peter King	....	second unit director
Michelle Roussell	....	second second assistant director
Kimberly Stuckwisch	....	second assistant director
Martin Veselich	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Phillip Broste	....	storyboard artist
Joe Megna	....	assistant property master
Kristeen Reimnitz	....	scenic painter
Mark Richardson	....	property master
Hillel Chaim Smith	....	property master

Sound Department
Miriam Cole	....	adr coordinator
Casey A. Fife	....	sound designer
Casey A. Fife	....	sound editor
Frank Herman	....	boom operator
Andrew Ing	....	dialogue editor
Andrew Ing	....	sound effects editor
Sam C. Lewis	....	adr recordist
Sam C. Lewis	....	foley recordist
Michael J. McDonald	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Michael McDonald)
Michael J. McDonald	....	supervising sound editor (as Michael McDonald)
G.W. Pope III	....	sound effects editor
Alan B. Samuels	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Ian Eyre	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
Peter Allendale	....	digital compositor
Kenneth Armstrong	....	digital compositor
Joseph Bailey	....	digital compositor
Jon Berry	....	digital intermediate editor
Phillip Broste	....	effects animator
Tim Carras	....	visual effects supervisor
Joshua D. Comen	....	main title producer: Comen VFX
Elizabeth Marriner	....	digital compositor
Narbeh Tatoussian	....	digital intermediate colorist

Stunts
Kane Hodder	....	stunts
Kelly Kerby	....	stunts
G. Peter King	....	stunt coordinator
Rene Mousseux	....	stunt coordinator
Tarah Paige	....	stunt double: Emily
Ann Scott	....	stunt double
C.C. Taylor	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeremie Brillant	....	grip
Ben Chananie	....	loader
Andrew Chojnacki	....	grip
Elisha Christian	....	dolly grip
Elisha Christian	....	key grip
Greg Code	....	Steadicam operator
Jesse Crusing	....	best boy electric
Scott Donahue	....	additional grip
Michael Druez	....	best boy grip
Nikola Dupkanic	....	camera loader
Shane English	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Alex Gaynor	....	electrician
Brad Grimmett	....	additional Steadicam operator
Brad Grimmett	....	additional camera operator
Kyle Klutz	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Steven Lundgren	....	gaffer
Steven A. Lundgren	....	gaffer
Christina Ortiz	....	second assistant camera
Scott Probe	....	grip
David Sheetz	....	electrician
Zachary Sieffert	....	additional first assistant camera
Chris Tonkovich	....	electrician
Nicholas Tredway	....	grip
Amanda Treyz	....	electrician
Ben Van Cleave	....	electrician
Peter Villani	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Peter Villani	....	director of photography: second unit
Annie Wildmoser	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Alexander Yellen	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera

Casting Department
Sally Jackson	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mayumi Masaoka	....	costume supervisor
Sarah Peters	....	wardrobe assistant
Carmen Thompson	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Sebastian Perez-Burchard	....	digital intermediate editor

Music Department
James Barth	....	music editor
Mikael Carlsson	....	executive soundtrack producer
Tim Rodier	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Renetta G. Amador	....	script supervisor
Darryll DiPietro	....	production assistant
Gabrielle Eisenstadt	....	production assistant
Rosemary Flynn	....	production assistant
Sean E. McCarthy	....	production assistant
Bryan Porter	....	production assistant
Elsa Ramo	....	production legal
Alex Reveliotty	....	production assistant
Diane Schulz	....	set medic (as Diane Schulz-Graves)
Stan Szewczyk	....	production assistant
Peter Addison Webb	....	production legal associate

Production Companies

• Autumn Entertainment (in association with)
• Smithfield Street Productions

Distributors

• Allumination Filmworks
• CDK Entertainment (2008) (Greece) (all media)
• Free Dolphin Entertainment (2008) (France) (DVD)
• MIG Film (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Murena International (2007) (Russia) (all media)
• Phase 4 Films (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Voulez Vous Film (2013) (Germany) (DVD) (and Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Bonus Light (visual effects)
• Comen VFX (digital visual effects: main title sequence)

Other Companies

• Ramo Law PC  production legal (as Law Offices of Elsa Ramo)
• Tunnel Post  digital intermediate

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, nudity, sexuality, language and drug use

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | UK:18 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:18 | France:-12 | Argentina:18 | Brazil:18 | Spain:18 | Japan:R-15 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Autumn Entertainment

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the shots of Emily talking while supposedly moving at a moderate speed on the boat, it is obvious the boat is stationary as the water directly behind her is hardly moving.

Movie Connections:

References Jaws (1975)

average horror let down by idiocy

Some 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.