Friday the 13th series (1980-present)
Friday, July 01, 2005
It's Friday, so here are mini-reviews of each Friday the 13th film.
Friday the 13th (1980) The first definitely relies on a little more mystery than the following films; even Jason is a mysterious child that could be dead, a dream, or "still out there." Although naturally these films can be a little silly, the first has a somewhat realistic feel, perhaps owing simply to the location and the lack of polish. Mother's Day was filming across the lake when this one was.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) Five years later on in the story, Jason is revealed to be an adult killer who wears a burlap sack on his head and likes pitchforks. The story is fairly well thought-out for one of these films, and, although the resolution is a little cheezy, the shrine to Pamela Voorhees is at least quite memorable. Decent scares abound as well, and the characters aren't as ridiculously stupid as you might expect.
Friday the 13th Part 3: 3-D (1982) Part 3 takes place immediately after the events of Part 2 at another location on Crystal Lake, a house with a barn. Some kids visit and miss out on all of the news about the massacre at "Camp Blood." Much of this movie is tempered by the lack of 3-D; it's definitely entertaining, but it's not really very scary, perhaps due to some obvious setups. There's a bit of camp and humor, though, and the infamous hockey mask makes its debut.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) The "end" takes place immediately after Part 3 when Jason is taken to the morgue. In short order, he's terrorizing two houses on the lake, one occupied by a family and one by some teens. Crispin
Glover, Corey Feldman, and the guy from The Powers of Matthew Starr give the film extra appeal, but it's also a pretty good horror film that mixes the horror and humor fairly well. Directed by Joseph Zito (The Prowler).
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) Jason's not really in this one, but his outfit is (and perhaps his spirit). Also, Tommy returns, but he's a mute teenager with American Ninja skills when he gets angry. He's found himself in a home for troubled teens in the woods around Crystal Lake, although the lake is apparently missing. There's a lot of camp humor and wackiness in this one. The body count was the highest for at least the first eight films, and, although many kills were cut out of the film, making it a bit disjointed, it remains entertaining.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) He's back! The man behind the mask! The fans wanted Jason, so they got him. Tommy, played by a different actor (the third to play the character), and assisted by Rorschach from Welcome Back, Kotter, try to kill Jason's spirit once and for all but accidentally reanimate him. Jason starts killing again, and this time he seems a bit more powerful, more unstoppable, more zombie-like. Some more of the supernatural is added to the mix, and we finally see a camp with counselors again, one that actually has children attending. It's more professional and a very entertaining entry, although much of the backwoods charm of pervious entries has vanished.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1987) Jason vs. Carrie! This one is basically set up like The Final Chapter but with a telekinetic girl involved. The make-up and effects are great and save the film, but the plot and the rest of it are only interesting if you missed Part 4. This one also has a bit of Jason walking faster than people running, which is always weak. The evil doctor really steals the show, and you can't wait for him, and most of the other characters, to bite it in horribly disgusting ways.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) AKA Jason Takes a Cruise to Manhattan. The absolute worst of the series by far. In an attempt to keep the movie from being a retread of previous entries, Jason's environment is changed to a boat and, for a brief time, New York City (mainly Vancouver as a stand-in). Jason also makes frequent use of teleportation, and the kills come off as more silly than cool or even gross. Attempts at backstory and resolution fail miserably and really leave the fans out in the cold.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) After a four year hiatus, the FBI get onto this Jason thing and destroy him at Crystal Lake. His heart and soul live on, though, possessing people one at a time through a weird demon. He has to search for his previously unknown relatives so that he can be reborn through one of them. The cast, although mostly minor players, does a good job, and the movie is filled with homages to other horror and action flicks. Although the concept is pretty lame and Jason is absent for much of the film, the gore is creative, and the teenagers have learned to fight back. The lake and camp are also fairly absent; much of it takes place in the town of Crystal Lake (renamed Forest Green in Part 6 to avoid publicity, they now sell Jason burgers and capitalize on the Jason legend).
Jason X (2001) Jason in Space. The script for this film was very funny and filled with some pretty dark and borderline offensive humor, but much of it was lost in the film, which has many elements taken from "Aliens" (writer Todd Farmer is an admitted fan). That said, for Jason in Space, it could have been much worse. That said, considering the script, it could have been much better. There are definitely many good moments, including Jason's hologram experience. Of course, it's in the far future, so the series goes back in time for the next one.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) In serious development hell for well over ten years, this went through many, many scripts and iterations before it finally came together in 2003 with director Ronny Yu. New Line was right to wait, as previous scripts had trouble tackling the essential problem of how to get Freddy and Jason together while simultaneously making a film that would please fans of either film. The result is a creative mix that takes great, essential elements from each series and combines them into a decent plot with some extreme gore and sick humor. Although it's good, it's not a 100% Jason film or a 100% Freddy film, so it has a tendency to disappoint on some level.
The Future of Jason Many rumors have floated around the Internet, including one that Quentin Tarantino would direct The Ultimate Jason Voorhees Movie, but nothing is certain as of yet for what's next in Jason's killing career. The next one would be the 12th entry, and you have to hope they're at least planning something special for the 13th. They've nearly missed the entire 25th anniversary of the first film while barely exploiting it, so they may simply be at a loss for ideas. Besides doing the "ultimate" film, FvJ 2 would be the next mile on a dead-end road, and a simple continuation of Jason killing in the woods might seem like beating a dead horse (although I'd see it). Changing his environment is a risky proposition that hasn't worked very well in the past, so just about all that's left is a remake or, as I'd prefer, an "ultimate"-type of film that wouldn't have to simply be a remake but could draw on the lost and forgotten characters and mythos of the series. Besides, a remake of Part 1 wouldn't have much Jason, so some type of combination with later entries would have to happen for even a remake to work.
The Obligatory Ranking:
#01 - Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter [Part 4]
#02 - Friday the 13th, Part 2
#03 - Friday the 13th
#04 - Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
#05 - Freddy vs. Jason [Part 11]
#06 - Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood
#07 - Friday the 13th: A New Beginning [Part 5]
#08 - Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday [Part 9]
#09 - Friday the 13th, Part 3-D
#10 - Jason X [Part 10]
#11 - Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Friday the 13th (1980) The first definitely relies on a little more mystery than the following films; even Jason is a mysterious child that could be dead, a dream, or "still out there." Although naturally these films can be a little silly, the first has a somewhat realistic feel, perhaps owing simply to the location and the lack of polish. Mother's Day was filming across the lake when this one was.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) Five years later on in the story, Jason is revealed to be an adult killer who wears a burlap sack on his head and likes pitchforks. The story is fairly well thought-out for one of these films, and, although the resolution is a little cheezy, the shrine to Pamela Voorhees is at least quite memorable. Decent scares abound as well, and the characters aren't as ridiculously stupid as you might expect.
Friday the 13th Part 3: 3-D (1982) Part 3 takes place immediately after the events of Part 2 at another location on Crystal Lake, a house with a barn. Some kids visit and miss out on all of the news about the massacre at "Camp Blood." Much of this movie is tempered by the lack of 3-D; it's definitely entertaining, but it's not really very scary, perhaps due to some obvious setups. There's a bit of camp and humor, though, and the infamous hockey mask makes its debut.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) The "end" takes place immediately after Part 3 when Jason is taken to the morgue. In short order, he's terrorizing two houses on the lake, one occupied by a family and one by some teens. Crispin
Glover, Corey Feldman, and the guy from The Powers of Matthew Starr give the film extra appeal, but it's also a pretty good horror film that mixes the horror and humor fairly well. Directed by Joseph Zito (The Prowler).
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Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) Jason's not really in this one, but his outfit is (and perhaps his spirit). Also, Tommy returns, but he's a mute teenager with American Ninja skills when he gets angry. He's found himself in a home for troubled teens in the woods around Crystal Lake, although the lake is apparently missing. There's a lot of camp humor and wackiness in this one. The body count was the highest for at least the first eight films, and, although many kills were cut out of the film, making it a bit disjointed, it remains entertaining.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) He's back! The man behind the mask! The fans wanted Jason, so they got him. Tommy, played by a different actor (the third to play the character), and assisted by Rorschach from Welcome Back, Kotter, try to kill Jason's spirit once and for all but accidentally reanimate him. Jason starts killing again, and this time he seems a bit more powerful, more unstoppable, more zombie-like. Some more of the supernatural is added to the mix, and we finally see a camp with counselors again, one that actually has children attending. It's more professional and a very entertaining entry, although much of the backwoods charm of pervious entries has vanished.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1987) Jason vs. Carrie! This one is basically set up like The Final Chapter but with a telekinetic girl involved. The make-up and effects are great and save the film, but the plot and the rest of it are only interesting if you missed Part 4. This one also has a bit of Jason walking faster than people running, which is always weak. The evil doctor really steals the show, and you can't wait for him, and most of the other characters, to bite it in horribly disgusting ways.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) AKA Jason Takes a Cruise to Manhattan. The absolute worst of the series by far. In an attempt to keep the movie from being a retread of previous entries, Jason's environment is changed to a boat and, for a brief time, New York City (mainly Vancouver as a stand-in). Jason also makes frequent use of teleportation, and the kills come off as more silly than cool or even gross. Attempts at backstory and resolution fail miserably and really leave the fans out in the cold.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) After a four year hiatus, the FBI get onto this Jason thing and destroy him at Crystal Lake. His heart and soul live on, though, possessing people one at a time through a weird demon. He has to search for his previously unknown relatives so that he can be reborn through one of them. The cast, although mostly minor players, does a good job, and the movie is filled with homages to other horror and action flicks. Although the concept is pretty lame and Jason is absent for much of the film, the gore is creative, and the teenagers have learned to fight back. The lake and camp are also fairly absent; much of it takes place in the town of Crystal Lake (renamed Forest Green in Part 6 to avoid publicity, they now sell Jason burgers and capitalize on the Jason legend).
Jason X (2001) Jason in Space. The script for this film was very funny and filled with some pretty dark and borderline offensive humor, but much of it was lost in the film, which has many elements taken from "Aliens" (writer Todd Farmer is an admitted fan). That said, for Jason in Space, it could have been much worse. That said, considering the script, it could have been much better. There are definitely many good moments, including Jason's hologram experience. Of course, it's in the far future, so the series goes back in time for the next one.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) In serious development hell for well over ten years, this went through many, many scripts and iterations before it finally came together in 2003 with director Ronny Yu. New Line was right to wait, as previous scripts had trouble tackling the essential problem of how to get Freddy and Jason together while simultaneously making a film that would please fans of either film. The result is a creative mix that takes great, essential elements from each series and combines them into a decent plot with some extreme gore and sick humor. Although it's good, it's not a 100% Jason film or a 100% Freddy film, so it has a tendency to disappoint on some level.
The Future of Jason Many rumors have floated around the Internet, including one that Quentin Tarantino would direct The Ultimate Jason Voorhees Movie, but nothing is certain as of yet for what's next in Jason's killing career. The next one would be the 12th entry, and you have to hope they're at least planning something special for the 13th. They've nearly missed the entire 25th anniversary of the first film while barely exploiting it, so they may simply be at a loss for ideas. Besides doing the "ultimate" film, FvJ 2 would be the next mile on a dead-end road, and a simple continuation of Jason killing in the woods might seem like beating a dead horse (although I'd see it). Changing his environment is a risky proposition that hasn't worked very well in the past, so just about all that's left is a remake or, as I'd prefer, an "ultimate"-type of film that wouldn't have to simply be a remake but could draw on the lost and forgotten characters and mythos of the series. Besides, a remake of Part 1 wouldn't have much Jason, so some type of combination with later entries would have to happen for even a remake to work.
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The Obligatory Ranking:
#01 - Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter [Part 4]
#02 - Friday the 13th, Part 2
#03 - Friday the 13th
#04 - Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
#05 - Freddy vs. Jason [Part 11]
#06 - Friday the 13th, Part VII: The New Blood
#07 - Friday the 13th: A New Beginning [Part 5]
#08 - Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday [Part 9]
#09 - Friday the 13th, Part 3-D
#10 - Jason X [Part 10]
#11 - Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
- posted by slasherfan @ 7/01/2005 09:45:00 AM | Permanent Link