TO HELL AND BACK: THE KANE HODDER STORY

BY JOE X YOUNG 

TO HELL AND BACK: KANE HODDER: THE INDESTRUCTIBLE SPIRIT OF MAN.THE TRUTH BEHIND THE HOCKEY MASK.

Just in case you’ve been living on a distant planet with no electricity for the past few decades and don’t know who Kane Hodder is, he’s an actor famous for numerous character portrayals in horror movies, most notably as undoubtedly the most famous incarnation of Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th Franchise. He is also Victor Crowley in the Hatchet series of films as well as having appeared and starred in a slew of other movies not only balls-deep in monster makeup but also with his face easily visible. You may even have seen him in cameo roles in films such as the Oscar winning ‘Monster’ and not have realised that this is the guy who is the best incarnation of Jason Voorhees in all of the slashers.

Every so often I will make a confession in my reviews and here’s biggie for you… I’m not much of a fan of the Friday the 13th films. Why? Well, it’s because I find franchises get tired very quickly, mainly because there’s nothing new happening. The likes of Friday the 13th and Halloween are really just the same seemingly indestructible guy in a mask going around slaughtering people. I loved them when they first came out in the cinema but after three or four or more movies with the same character doing the same things it gets a bit dull.

What’s that you say? I’m not a fan of Friday the 13th and by extension not a fan of Jason? So why am I reviewing a documentary about Kane Hodder? Simple answer, it came my way and I figured it would have old clips of movies I enjoyed and could possibly show me other films he was in that I didn’t know about as well as stuff about other actors in the slasher pics. It did that and a whole lot more, and I am being totally sincere in saying this… IT CHANGED MY LIFE.

What I was expecting to be a strictly ‘for the fans’ documentary was actually an intimate stripping away of personae to reveal a variety of truths about a horror icon. When I say variety of truths I am not in any way accusing them of having different levels of honesty, no that is not what I am saying at all. The reality is that of a soul laid bare, with the variety being the sheer number of extremely personal and painful details that this man offers up. I am by nature an honest man, I like to see that in others but rarely do, and so I find it to be incredibly powerful when someone goes on record about several truly horrific episodes of their life.

For quite some time there were various stories, mainly created by Kane Hodder, regarding the extensive burn scars he carries which have been reported as happening in numerous different ways on the set of various films in which he performed stunts. In this documentary he finally confesses the painful reality of what happened, with photographic evidence to prove that this is the genuine version of events. It has clearly taken him a vast amount of guts to endure, survive and indeed to thrive after an accident which could very easily have killed him and having survived could have led to him isolating himself from society. There are candid confessions about his life growing up and about his general state of mind and personality throughout as well as some moments I found painful to watch as it is clear certain events of his life had a profound impact.

As regards details of the work he is known for there are testimonials from several legends of the horror ‘establishment’ such as Bruce Campbell, Cassandra Peterson and Robert England to name a few. Kane Hodder (his real name) is now a brand name as he is famous in his own right with his popularity never diminishing during the four decades he’s been devoted to entertaining us. Often the queues at conventions are significantly longer for him than for anyone else there, this in spite of the fact, or perhaps because of it, that this large and powerful man actually enjoys choking his fans. There is something inherently unnerving about Kane Hodder, and this documentary does an excellent job of exposing what it is about him that accounts for his enduring appeal with the fans and his ever increasing presence in the pantheon of movie monsters. As I touched upon earlier, I thought this would be a strictly ‘for the fans’ piece and I have seldom been more wrong. I would be quite happy to suggest that absolutely everyone should watch this, especially those who have ever been bullied, or been a victim of anything which has altered their lives for the worse. Jason Voorhees is seemingly indestructible, he is bullet-proof, fireproof, hell he’s even bombproof and yet the one thing he seems to lack is a soul. Kane Hodder appears to be equally invulnerable, a man with an indestructible soul.

As stated earlier, watching this changed my life. I will now justify that by saying that I have had a life of adversity, there have been times when I have buckled and others when I have broken, yet I have persevered to the point where I’m truly happy with my life and things are getting better exponentially. It has taken great physical and emotional strength to arrive at this point in my life, and although things are still not perfect there is hope. Having seen what Kane has been through it has become clear that there are people who cannot cope with even the slightest difficulties, there are those who handle extreme situations positively and then there are the ‘Kane Hodders’ of the world who possess a superhuman force of will and a determination to rise victorious against all odds. I used to be one who could not cope, I eventually became one who could handle extremes, but even at my very best I cannot compare to Kane Hodder. I need to. What watching ‘To Hell and Back’ has done for me is to recharge my batteries, to give me that extra push forward beyond complacency to truly achieve something of note. He has reminded me that we can be better.
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To Hell and Back will appeal to fanboys and fangirls alike, it has the right nostalgia notes, an interesting insight into a stuntman/actor’s life and enough gory clips to satisfy just about anyone, but what really shines for me is the incredible story of an outstanding human being.
Highly recommended.

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