Doctor Gash’s Tip of the Scalpel: A Tribute to Kane Hodder
Steve Barton
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Who the hell is Kane Hodder? I distinctly remember saying those exact words. Picture it, a young, 14-year-old Doctor Gash. Here I was, not even an intern yet, preparing for a visit to my hometown cinema, The Community Theater, to see Jason Voorhees’ newest offering, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood.
And being the burgeoning horror sage I was, I made a point to check out who was playing what role in all my favorite horror movies. I remember looking, probably in my newest edition of Fangoria, and discovered Kane Hodder was playing Jason. And I thought: Who the hell is Kane Hodder?
Little did I know, by the time the early teenaged Doctor Gash was first hearing the name Kane Hodder, Kane had already acted or performed stunt work in 10 major films, including House and House 2: The Second Story, The Hills Have Eyes 2 and even Hardbodies.
Fast forward to 1997 … a now 19-year-old Doctor Gash, more astute, but still learning the ways of the world, decides to take in a showing of a new horror film entitled Wishmaster at the Hudson Triple-plex. And in a tribute to the films that came before it, the makers of Wishmaster decided to cast standout horror stars in the film. Viewers immediately recognized Robert Englund and Tony Todd (a bit more clandestine was Angus Scrimm as the narrator). We soon discovered the burly security guard was Kane Hodder. And I said, “Who the hell is Kane Hodder to be cast with these other stars of horror? All he’s done is a Friday the 13th movie.” Alas, to be so young and naïve.
Little did I know, by this time in mid-1997, Kane had plied his trade in well over 30 films. When Wishmaster was released, he had starred in three Friday the 13th films (making him the only actor to play Jason more than once). He’d also appeared in sequels to House, Scanners, Pumpkinhead and Alligator and had worked as a stuntman in such horror films as Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go To College and Waxwork. His stunt credits also included such mainstream films as The Last Boy Scout, Se7en, Demolition Man, Spawn, The Fan and three Steven Seagal films (and this when Seagal was still making kick-ass films. Way before he ballooned up and thought he was a police officer. “Lawman” my ass).
Kane Hodder had quietly become a Hollywood regular. No, you didn’t always see his face, but his resume was growing at an amazing rate. In fact, Kane is the only actor who can claim the horror trifecta. He’s played Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th Parts 7-10), Leatherface (as a stuntman in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III) and Freddy Krueger (that was Kane’s hand in the Freddy glove that came up out of the ground to drag Jason’s mask under at the end of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday). In my book, that alone gives him entry into the horror hall of fame. But wait, there’s more.
We jump ahead once again to 2006. Doctor Gash has now fully grown into the Practitioner of Malpractice we all know and love. A mysterious trailer has begun making the rounds on the internet for a film called Hatchet. This movie promises to introduce you to a new face of horror, and the trailer seems to back it up. And now, older and wiser, upon seeing who will be playing said new killer, Victor Crowley, I think, “Kick-ass. Who better to star in a fresh new horror series, who better to bring a new killer to live, than the one and only Kane Hodder. The man.”
Who the hell is Kane Hodder? Simply put, he’s the hardest working man in the business. He’s performed as a stuntman in nearly 100 films and acted in almost 90, including 12 that are either in pre-production, post-production, currently filming or just being announced. Obviously, at age 56, Kane is just hitting his stride.
I’m really pleased to have this opportunity to thank Kane Hodder for all the work he’s done for the genre. Whether it’s as an actor, a stuntman, or an ambassador for horror at any of the film festivals or conventions he attends, he simply never stops and deserves all the credit we can heap upon his huge shoulders.
Thank you, Kane, may your pocket pairs be large and plentiful.
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Categorized:Tip of the Scalpel
