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Marybeth Dunston is the main protagonist of the Hatchet series.

She is currently portrayed by Danielle Harris, but was formerly portrayed by Tamara Feldman.

History[]

She is the daughter of Sampson Dunston and sister of Ainsley Dunston both who were killed by Victor Crowley. She went to the swamp to find them only to discover their dead bodies, have her fellow tourists killed in front of her, and barely escaping with her life and all her pieces. With nothing left to lose, she swore vengeance against the ghost of Honey Island Swamp and returned to the swamp twice to kill him.

Personality[]

Although Marybeth is a quiet and shy young woman, she’s not afraid to speak her mind. She’s also foul-mouthed, quick-tempered, and defiant. She possesses incredible bravery as she’s willing to risk her life if it means helping others get out of danger and she went looking for her family in Honey Island Swamp despite knowing how dangerous it is at night. Marybeth also appears to be quite intelligent as she outsmarted Victor Crowley twice.

Hatchet[]

She is first mentioned indirectly by her brother Ainsley in the opening scene.

Marybeth then makes her first appearance on the bus going on the swamp tour. Ben attempts to converse with Marybeth who is sitting next to him, but she’s in no mood to talk. In reality, she’s on the tour to search for her brother and her father.

On the tour, Shawn and the tourists are warned by Jack Cracker not to go to Honey Island Swamp. When the boat starts sinking after hitting a rock, the swamp tourists (including Shawn) make it to shore by climbing a tree branch hanging out of the water. Marybeth shoots an alligator that bites the leg of fellow tourist Jim Permatteo as he’s crossing the tree to get to land. They end up stranded in the woods where Victor Crowley dwells.

Marybeth reveals why she came on the tour and the reason for the gun she’s carrying. She then tells the tragic legend of Victor Crowley who was ridiculed for his deformity and grotesque appearance. One Halloween night, a trio of teenagers came to the house and threw firecrackers at the door of the cabin in order to scare him out of the cabin so they could get a look at him. Thomas Crowley arrived, scaring the teens away, picked up a hatchet, and started chopping at the flaming door. Thomas ended up nailing his own son in the head when he was pressed against the inside of the door. Thomas then became a recluse and died of a broken heart ten years later.

Marybeth then reveals the Crowley house right in front of the group. The Permatteos approach the house to get help for Jim ignoring the protests from the rest of the group. Victor Crowley reveals himself once the Permatteos get close enough to the door and proceeds to hack Jim to death by chopping at his right shoulder. Shannon tries to run only for Victor to catch her and rip her head vertically in half scaring away the rest of the group except for Marybeth. Crowley then runs toward Marybeth only to get shot in the chest and fall flat on his back for the moment.

Marybeth then runs into Ben and then the rest of the group. They find Marcus up in a tree who at first refuses to come down. Jenna notices Shapiro is missing. Shapiro gets his head twisted all the way around and then off when he runs into Victor Crowley. The group then finds Shapiro’s bag that he dropped while running away. In the bag, they find a flashlight and some business cards under his real name: Samuel M. Barrett. The remaining six then keep moving until Ben trips over Shapiro’s corpse. They then hear Misty’s missing cell phone ringing and find it only to find themselves back at Victor Crowley’s cabin. Marybeth, running low on ammunition decides to search the cabin for more potential weapons. Ben follows but the rest stay outside.

In the shed, Marybeth finds the dismembered bodies of her father and brother. Outside, the rest of the group hears something in the bushes that turns out to be a raccoon. Victor Crowley then appears behind them, alerting Ben and Marybeth who have taken a shovel and a pitchfork from the shed. Crowley then starts mutilating Jenna’s mouth with a belt sander and Marybeth nails Crowley in the head with the shovel. Shawn goes for the shovel, but Crowley gets to it first. Crowley then knocks Shawn’s right foot off with the shovel, knocking him down. Crowley looks back at Marybeth when she tries shooting him more, but she runs out of bullets. Shawn gets decapitated and Jenna is impaled on the shovel. Once the remaining four are a distance away from the carnage, Misty stops and says she can’t continue running. Ben and Marybeth need her to continue. Misty insults Marybeth who responds with a back fist. Marybeth then threatens to kick Misty’s teeth out if she doesn’t shut up. Crowley finds the rest of the remaining group once again, only to get stabbed with the pitchfork by Ben.

Ben decides to fight Crowley instead of waiting for Crowley to slaughter them all one by one convincing the rest of the group. The remaining four return to the Crowley house. Misty stands guard just outside the Crowley cabin, Ben goes inside the cabin looking for gas in the gas canisters, and Marcus and Marybeth stand back-to-back waiting for Crowley. Marcus starts calling out for Victor Crowley and Marybeth follows suit. Marcus soon spots the jacket Misty was wearing and starts yelling for Ben to escape the shed. Crowley then finds Ben in the shed and throws Misty’s head and now limbless body at him. Crowley charges Ben but Marybeth sneaks up from behind and stabs Crowley in the back of the head with a tine curved fork. Ben then douses Crowley’s overalls with the gas in the gas canisters. Ben then sets Crowley ablaze who then collapses. Unfortunately, rain starts pouring and the fire is extinguished.

The remaining three find themselves in a cemetery, but Crowley then reappears and chases them. Crowley catches Ben and Marcus and drools on Ben. Marybeth kicks Crowley in the head. Crowley catches Marcus by his foot and Marybeth kicks Crowley’s arm until he lets Marcus go. Crowley then writhes in pain. The remaining three then look for another way out only for Crowley to grab Marcus from behind. Crowley breaks Marcus’ bones, tears both of his arms off, and finishes off Marcus by swinging him against a gravestone. Ben and Marybeth run for the open gate and make it.

Ben vomits once he and Marybeth are a safe distance out of the cemetery. Marybeth pleads with Ben not to give up escaping Victor Crowley. Ben and Marybeth run to the river only to back up out of fear they’ll be eaten. Crowley catches up and throws a pole he pried out of the cemetery’s gate into Ben’s foot. Crowley charges but Ben and Marybeth push against the pole and Crowley is impaled. Crowley coughs up blood into Ben’s face.

Ben and Marybeth then find her father’s small boat. Marybeth wraps her little jacket around Ben’s injured foot as they row away from Honey Island Swamp. Marybeth suddenly falls off the port of the boat. Marybeth then sees Ben’s arm reaching for her and grabs it only to discover that Crowley has found them once again and torn Ben’s arm off. She screams in terror.

Hatchet II[]

Victor Crowley grabs Marybeth by her throat. She pokes him in the eye with her thumb, causing him enough pain for him to fall off the starboard of the boat. Marybeth swims away until she is picked up by Jack Cracker. Cracker brings Marybeth to his cabin.

At Cracker’s cabin, Marybeth explains what she was doing in Honey Island Swamp. Cracker offers her some warm liquid and to get her to a doctor. Marybeth wants to go to the police. Cracker tries to discourage her from ever coming back anywhere near Honey Island Swamp, saying that she’s lucky to get out of there in one piece. When Marybeth provides him with her name, he orders her out of the cabin, presuming she’s the daughter of Sampson Dunston. He tells her he knows what Sampson did and wants nothing to do with it. He threatens to shoot her unless she leaves but not before suggesting she goes see Reverend Zombie if she has questions she wants answered. Shortly after Marybeth leaves, Victor Crowley appears inside the cabin and strangles Cracker with Cracker’s own intestines until his head pops off.

The next morning, Marybeth goes to Reverend Zombie’s shop in New Orleans. He initially tells her to return next month, but she insists on talking right then and Zombie relents. Zombie explains that the boat driver worked for him, and the boat was one of Zombie’s. Marybeth asks Zombie what he knows about her father. She confirms that Crowley killed her father and her brother. He then provides additional information about Victor Crowley’s legend. Thomas Crowley lived with his wife Shyann, who was dying of cancer. While the cancer was taking its time with Shyann, Thomas had an affair with Shyann’s nurse Lena. Just before Shyann passed away, she found out about the affair and placed a curse on the unborn child that Lena was now pregnant with. Ironically, as Victor Crowley was born, his mother Lena died from the sight of him. People wanted to believe that Thomas Crowley kept his son hidden to protect him, but Thomas hiding his infidelity was the real reason. As time went on, Thomas grew to love his deformed son. After the night Victor was struck in the face by a hatchet, Thomas went to find the teens responsible for the fire and blamed them for his son’s death. The teens hid behind their parents and denied everything. Since then, Victor Crowley has been a monster trapped in the night he was killed, forced to relive that night over and over again in an endless cycle. From then on, anyone who stepped into Honey Island Swamp would be massacred. Marybeth wonders how all of that relates to her and Zombie tells her that her father was one third of the teens who set the Crowley house on fire decades ago. Marybeth asks how Zombie knows about her father's involvement in the fire. He claims to be an old acquaintance of Sampson. Marybeth then berates the reverend for sending a boat full of innocent people knowing all about Victor Crowley and the dangers in that swamp. She tells Zombie what she was really doing in Honey Island Swamp, looking for her family who she managed to find. Zombie then tells her how lucky she is to see Victor Crowley's face and survive, but she disagrees considering the fact that she's lost her family. Marybeth then demands to be taken back to Honey Island Swamp much to Zombie's shock. She wants to retrieve her family's remains and bury them. She'll get even more satisfaction if she can somehow end Victor's Crowley reign of terror as well. She vows to bury the hatchet into Crowley's face. She then threatens to report his swamp tour business to the police, so he agrees to help her under certain conditions. Marybeth must bring a family member. She initially refuses but changes her mind and says she’ll return at 2:00.

Marybeth’s uncle Bob arrives at Marybeth’s house while she’s taking a shower. After the shower, Marybeth asks Bob if Sampson was really one of the people who caused the Crowley fire. He asks what she’s doing talking to Reverend Zombie whom he calls a thief and a crook. He also reveals Reverend Zombie’s true name: Clive Washington. Bob refuses to believe in the existence of Victor Crowley but Marybeth insists that Crowley is real. She begs him to accompany her to the swamp. He decides to get to the bottom of it. Before he leaves, Bob asks Marybeth for her word that she won’t have anything to do with the so-called reverend. She gives him her word.

Marybeth returns to Zombie’s shop. Now with a whole bunch of hunters that Zombie agreed to bring along on the expedition, Zombie offers $500 to each to retrieve his lost boat. When Zombie answers Trent’s question of what they’re hunting, half the hunters walk out including Trent at first. Zombie is able to convince Trent to reluctantly go through with the hunt for Victor Crowley. Bob then arrives and Reverend Zombie introduces himself to Bob. Bob's intention is to look after Marybeth, not to get to know Zombie. Bob takes the seat next to Marybeth. Marybeth apologizes for going back on her word. Bob just says he’ll go with her if it’s what she needs. He establishes conditions for the trip, and the two of them depart upon his orders. This now leaves Marybeth, Bob, Reverend Zombie, Zombie's right hand man Justin, Trent, Vernon, John, Avery, Cleatus, Chad, and Layton going on the expedition.

On the boat ride to the swamp, Marybeth is concerned that all of the people with them are in danger without realizing it. They find the sign that belonged to the boat from the previous night floating out of the water. This makes Justin wonder if his brother Shawn got off the boat. Zombie doesn’t sound too concerned. Marybeth ends up walking into Vernon who introduces himself and starts hitting on her until Bob slaps his hand.

The group makes it to shore at dusk. They start looking for the Crowley house with Marybeth leading the way. Cleatus asks if they should split up into groups, but Marybeth advises against that. Zombie agrees, saying they’ll have more ground to cover. They decide to split into groups. Trent goes with Justin, Reverend Zombie, Marybeth, and Bob. The rest go off in twos.

Marybeth finds the shed and leads her group into the shed where she found her family. Their remains are now gone. Bob does his best to comfort her and suggests she was just scared, and it was a different shed. Marybeth insists she saw them right there and then decides to search the house. Trent is impressed with her bravery.

Bob eventually starts losing his patience and offers to take her back to the house during the day and bring the sheriff with them. Justin now wants to get out and so does Trent. Zombie tells Justin to get back to the boat but teases giving him the keys thinking Justin will leave him there. Justin promises otherwise. The five of them start hearing Victor Crowley crying for his daddy. Marybeth says to shut the door immediately.

After the five in the house hear John and Vernon firing shots, Justin asks Marybeth if Shawn is dead. She confirms that Shawn is. Marybeth assumed Zombie would've told Justin considering the fact that everything Marybeth told Zombie was true.

Trent believes that there's more than one way in the house they're in. Bob offers to scope it out and orders Marybeth to hide. She refuses at first, but Justin pulls her into a room. Justin asks why she would come back there if she knows that Shawn is dead. Since her family is gone, she now wants to see Crowley die. She believes that Crowley can die since he is capable of feeling pain. Justin tells Marybeth that Zombie is setting up Bob and Trent for Crowley to have his revenge on so Crowley will supposedly be at peace and the curse will be lifted. Marybeth goes to warn her uncle leaving Justin in the room.

Marybeth finds Bob and warns him about the trap saying Zombie's trying to get him killed. Bob hears Victor Crowley killing Justin in the room Marybeth just left. Bob tries to open the door, but Justin has already trapped himself in the room with Victor Crowley unintentionally. Bob is now about to shoot the door down but Victor Crowley breaks through the other side and tackles Bob to the floor. Marybeth butt-strokes Crowley in the head with Justin’s shotgun causing him to stagger for a moment. She then pulls out her pistol only for Crowley to knock it out of her hands and throw her against the wall nearby. Marybeth slowly gets back up after Trent and Crowley end up taking their fight to the kitchen. She tries to heave Bob up to his feet only for Zombie to grab her and drag her outside against her will. Bob slowly gets up and goes after Zombie.

After Crowley has killed Trent and Zombie has locked Bob in the house, Crowley goes after Bob. Marybeth struggles to get out of Zombie's grasp as she's forced to watch Crowley tear Bob apart. Zombie then declares Victor Crowley gone and declares the swamp his. Marybeth on her knees holds Zombie responsible for the murders of all those people. She swears to report Zombie to the police. In fact she'll tell everybody. Zombie gets ready to blow her head off. Marybeth then lets the cat out of the bag by revealing that Bob was actually her father's best friend and that her real uncle has been dead since she was twelve. Therefore, Victor Crowley is still there and appears in front of Zombie, much to his horror.

After Crowley has skinned Zombie alive, Marybeth strikes Crowley in the head with his own hatchet knocking Crowley flat on his back. She then continues bashing Crowley's head to a bloody pulp screaming at the top of her lungs. Crowley's left hand starts twitching, but Marybeth comes back to blow the rest of Crowley's head off with Zombie's shotgun.

Hatchet III[]

Marybeth continues shooting Victor Crowley’s head until she runs out of shotgun shells. She is now soaked in Crowley's blood. Marybeth drops to her knees only a few feet away from the fallen Victor Crowley. Crowley sits up as Marybeth stands back up after a few seconds. She then starts walking through the woods and comes across the chainsaw that Crowley used against John and Vernon. She starts pulling the cord only for Crowley to appear and grab her by the throat, lifting her off her feet. Marybeth punches her whole arm through Crowley's now bashed in face, forcing Crowley to drop her. Crowley falls backwards on the revving blade of the chainsaw and is sliced in half, splashing Marybeth with even more of Crowley's blood in the process. Marybeth then leaves the swamp, taking Victor Crowley’s scalp and a shotgun she found near John and Vernon’s bodies.

Marybeth walks into a police station all bloodied carrying a shotgun and the scalp saying she killed Victor Crowley. The police there take her into custody, shower her down with a hose, and give her a clean set of clothes to wear. Sheriff Louis Fowler questions Marybeth’s story. She insists she’s not lying. Fowler finds her story suspicious and unbelievable although he claims they know who Victor Crowley is. Fowler then hears Hamilton on the other end of his radio saying that they’ve covered about forty yards of Honey Island Swamp and found four corpses all without faces. Fowler then tells Hamilton he’s coming out there to Honey Island Swamp. Before he leaves, Fowler tells Deputy Winslow to get the fire and paramedics out to Honey Island Swamp pronto. Winslow approaches Marybeth in her cell and she orders him away.

Reporter and ex-wife of Sheriff Fowler, Amanda Fowler approaches a sleeping Marybeth for an interview. Amanda keeps clearing her throat until Marybeth sits up and gives Amanda her undivided attention. Amanda explains who she is and what’s she’s doing there. Marybeth soon cuts to the chase and asks Amanda what she wants from her. Amanda wants to prove that Victor Crowley exists and Marybeth is looking at life in jail after what the police are finding at Honey Island Swamp. Marybeth wants a lawyer instead of an interview with a reporter. Amanda brings up Sampson and Ainsley’s past before they were killed. Amanda gives Marybeth the choice to either prove the existence of Victor Crowley or possibly get executed by lethal injection. Marybeth just says “do it”. Amanda now brings up the fact that Sampson hasn’t come by to see Marybeth. Marybeth replies that Sampson has already been killed by Victor Crowley. Amanda wants to know what happened knowing she can help Marybeth.

Marybeth is now giving Amanda her full cooperation reluctantly. Marybeth tells Amanda what happened between her and Crowley during the early morning hours. Taking Crowley’s head didn’t stop him but sawing him in half did. Marybeth doesn’t see how Crowley can come back after being sawed in half. Amanda reminds Marybeth that Victor Crowley is what’s known as a repeater that can’t be killed given that he’s already dead.

Deputy Hamilton is heard on the other end of Winslow’s radio in a panic. Marybeth can’t believe it but this just tells Amanda that Victor Crowley is still out there. Hamilton on the other end, gets his head sliced in half by Crowley. Amanda says the true way to lift the curse is to give Victor Crowley the remains of his father. She also says that since Marybeth is Sampson’s only living relative, only Marybeth can end the curse by giving Crowley his father’s ashes. Winslow reluctantly turns the key to Marybeth’s cell and takes her and Amanda for a ride.

In Winslow’s car, Marybeth begs to be let out of the handcuffs but Winslow refuses. Amanda wants to go to Ozona to pay Abbott McMullen a visit to retrieve the ashes of Thomas Crowley. Winslow almost calls Sheriff Fowler to inform him of what’s going on but Amanda says it’s not time yet. Marybeth wants to know what they’ll be doing in Ozona. Amanda replies that Thomas Crowley is there but they’re taking his ashes.

Amanda tries calling McMullen causing Winslow to pull over apparently knowing all about McMullen. Marybeth soon insults Winslow so Winslow almost gets out of the car. Amanda explains that Abbot McMullen is Thomas Crowley’s great nephew and is the only living relative of the Crowleys. McMullen is also in possession of Thomas Crowley’s urn. Therefore, the only way to end the curse of Victor Crowley is for Marybeth, Sampson’s only living relative to give Victor Crowley his father’s ashes. Reluctantly, Winslow starts driving towards McMullen’s house.

When the three of them arrive at McMullen’s house, Amanda and Winslow go into the house leaving Marybeth in the car. Eventually, Amanda and Winslow leave with Thomas Crowley’s ashes.

Marybeth is now being taken back to Honey Island Swamp to face Victor Crowley for the third night in a row.

The three of them first get into the first boat they come across. When Amanda and Winslow decide they’re close enough to where they need to be, they ditch the boat and continue on foot. Winslow promises not to let anything happen to Marybeth although she spits in his face. Winslow responds by telling Marybeth that his promise to her is quickly fading.

When they arrive at Crowley’s house, Amanda starts calling for her ex-husband but they find a bunch of dismembered corpses and Crowley’s house burnt to the ground. Amanda starts calling for Victor Crowley.

When Victor Crowley finally shows up, Amanda starts literally pushing Marybeth to give Crowley the ashes. Marybeth slowly lowers the urn to the ground for Crowley to pick up apologizing for what her father did to him. Crowley takes one long hard look at the urn and says his only word “daddy.” Crowley roars which causes Winslow to empty his pistol into Crowley’s chest. Crowley falls flat on his back but gets right back up once Winslow declares him dead and rips Winslow’s chest open killing him in the process. Amanda rolls the urn to Marybeth and goes for a pistol on the ground but Crowley steps on her hand, pulls Amanda back up to her feet, and then proceeds to rip her head off. Crowley then throws Amanda’s head right at Marybeth’s, knocking her down. Marybeth with the urn back in her hands, is impaled on a tree branch by Crowley. Crowley sees a machete right by the tree and picks it up to finish Marybeth off. She then smashes the urn over Crowley’s head spreading the ashes all over Victor Crowley. Crowley takes a few steps back, throws the machete down, and finally starts melting before dropping to his knees. Marybeth is able to break the tree branch off the tree, dropping her to the ground. She then blows away Victor Crowley’s remains with one of the SWAT team’s guns. She then starts breathing heavily as she sees lights from helicopters searching for survivors. Marybeth then takes another deep breath.

Victor Crowley[]

In the film’s post credits scene, Marybeth is shown to have survived her impalement at the hands of Victor Crowley, this is when she was watching the news that she hears of a report about the crash and then she grabs a shotgun and says: "I've been waiting for you, motherfucker!", showcasing she’s been waiting on his return.

Appearance[]

Trivia[]

  • Mary has survived being impaled as shown in the sequel.
  • For reasons unknown Andrew Yong recieved fame as the sole survivor of the Crowley massacre instead of her.
  • She has survived against Crowley 3 times, as she was absent in Victor Crowley (Hatchet 4).

Reference[]

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