The streets of New Orleans may be filled with high hopes and joy as it celebrates the city’s first-ever Super Bowl victory and Fat Tuesday, but such positive and celebratory vibes during Mardi Gras were not on display in the 2006 film Hatchet. It was in Hatchet that a few exploratory souls drifted from Bourbon Street and into the eerily dark and dank swamps just beyond the stirring parties that give New Orleans all its life and luster, only to find death, horror and mayhem.

Four years later, the story is reprised. As locals celebrate the city’s first professional sports championship, Marybeth will be seeking vengeance for her father’s death in those same murky swamps she drifted into in Hatchet.

As director Adam Green rounds up a fresh new crew for his slasher film sequel in Hatchet 2, Campus Circle paid a visit to the film’s set in Silver Lake, where a detailed re-creation of the Louisiana set that serves as the home of the movie’s villain would make anyone forget they are in the shadows of the Hollywood sign. Indeed, just a few moments on set easily make you feel like you're in the throws of the villainous Victor Crowley, whose fictional residence set up in Occidental Studios could make anyone’s blood curdle.

One person whose blood did not curdle was Danielle Harris, who is replacing Tamara Feldman as Marybeth, the film’s lead. Screaming a few times at the top of her lungs before enjoying a sizable portion fettuccine during the lunch break, Harris says Hatchet 2 is totally up her alley.

“I was worried that I was replacing somebody, and people would feel weird or awkward in calling me Marybeth instead of Tamara,” Harris candidly tells us in an exclusive interview. “I tried to win them over. But no one made Julianne Moore look like Jodie Foster [in the sequel of The Silence of the Lambs]. No one tried to make Maggie Gyllenhaal look like Katie Holmes [The Dark Knight]. Everyone knows that I am not [Tamara]. They know the difference.”

Apparently, fans will also be able to tell the difference between Hatchet 2 and its 2006 predecessor.

“This movie literally starts where the first one ends,” Harris says, giving a sneak peek into the film as she stands on set preparing for one of the film’s closing sequences. “In [Hatchet 2], they are really coming with me, and the supporting cast kind of brings flavor to the story. It really is about them joining me on my journey and getting my revenge on Victor Crowley.”

As for what separates this second chapter of the Hatchet slasher saga from the gory first, Harris says the fireworks in the sequel are far more spectacular than in the original film.

“Gun-packing, ass-kicking, I am definitely not the victim anymore. This is one of the reasons I wanted to do this movie,” she says. “[The fans] are going to think this is really better than the first. This movie has so much more of what people want to see in sequels. The action is better, the set looks like it has a $20 million budget and it’s really badass.”

To that end, Harris said she was excited to be in Hatchet 2 because she thinks it establishes her as a top-shelf actress in the horror film space.

“I think this is probably my best work as an actor so far. I feel like I am the Lara Croft of the horror genre,” she not-so-humbly admits just as it began to rain outside the studio.

Indeed, it remains to be seen whether Harris, who starred in several other horror films such as Halloween 4, Halloween 5 and Urban Legend, will have topped herself in Hatchet 2 – especially since production is not complete. For now, we will just have to take Harris’ word for it. When the film releases in the fall, her words will be put to the test, and her feet will be put to the fire.