Synopsis

A gleefully macabre animated sing-along follows Jason after he buys a hatchet and turns his harmless-looking plan into a spree of cartoon carnage. As the band chants his name, pets, bandmates, relatives, and assorted unlucky targets meet increasingly ridiculous fates. The escalating chorus expands the chopping joke into an absurd list of people, objects, illnesses, and pop-culture ideas, ending on a deliberately silly food gag. The bright, playful presentation makes the violent lyrics feel more like lowbrow comedy than genuine horror.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Jason Bought A Hatchet" appeared on Giggle Party's EP "The Holes In Your Face Are Pleasing," released October 20, 2008. The track runs for 2 minutes and 52 seconds.

• The video was animated by Damien Weighill and illustrated by Stephen Wake. The pair had studied graphic design together and shared an interest in taking familiar elements from everyday life and popular culture out of context.

• Its visual world mixes cartoon gore with an anything-goes parade of recognizable figures and absurd images, including Darth Vader, Mother Teresa, a Dalek, Death, and mutilated pets.

• The song's spelling chant, "J-A-S-O-N H-A-T-C-H-E-T," gives the video an unusually strong sing-along quality, despite the deliberately gruesome subject matter.

• The video began attracting online attention in 2009. The Dallas Observer praised it as a standout of the year, while Promonews highlighted its energetic mixture of illustration, animation, gore, and comedy.

• Giggle Party described its music as connected to lowbrow and pop-surrealist ideas, with a belief that music did not need to take itself seriously. "Jason Bought A Hatchet" is a particularly direct expression of that approach.