Warning
May Contain Spoilers
Friday the 13th (1980)
*** Out of ****
It's back to the classics with the 1980 horror original, Friday the 13th. This intended standalone sleeper hit is kin to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween in their genre defining impact on the horror industry.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this film is that it manages to still remain the best and still remain chilling after 30 years, and all without the staples that made this series what it is; no Jason, no hockey mask, no machete, no nothing.
No, this flick suceeds on its unique twist to the who-dunit senario, its cimema verite camera work and its still acceptably grizly violence and tension. Friday the 13th pulsates with staples of the current horror industry, and is a true classic.
Friday the 13th Part II (1981)
**½ Out of ****
There is nothing particularly wrong with the next installment of 13th series, it is just that it is nothing new, and watching these films again, this and part 3 meld together and become nothing memorable and all but repetative.
The plus? Jason is here. Sans hockey mask yes, but Part 2 could be considered the true beginning of the series that is so famous today. At a counselor training center just 'round the bend from Camp Crystal Lake, Jason Voorhees is non to pleased with the beheading of his mother in part 1. Let the mayhem begin.
Part 2 does have some good kills, the most infamous being the ol' 'machete to the head' of a wheelchair-bound camp patron. (Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6xIrCXxjZI)
All in all, there is nothing really memorable about this entry, but no harm can be had from checking it out. It still retains the early series tension, and those patient enough will get their first look at an unmasked Jason.
Friday the 13th Part 3-D (1982)
** Out of ****
The third outing for Jason and gang is a mixed blessing. This is when the series truely gained its own niche (as director of the original Sean S. Cunnigham himself said it was just a rip-off) Jason dons the hockey mask and the series was still grounded in reality; no lumbering undead Jason, no zombie super powers, just a psycho with a grudge.
Again, there is nothing too abruptly wrong about this entry, it is however wholly unmenorable and is detrimented further by it's more annoying and underdevelped characters and utterly shameless use of 3-D gimmicks which takes you out of the film in a big way.
Part 3 again boasts some great kills, and one of, if not the best climax of the early films. That was one thing you could count on in the first half of the 10 film series. Even if a film was sub-par the climax was always thrilling. A terrifying tracking shot of Jason searching for his victims in a barn caps off the film nicely, and sets the base for the excellent 'Final Chapter'.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
*** Out of ****
Picking off right where part 3 finished, Jason awakens at the morgue to begin his final (yeah right) rampage. Part IV comes as close as any other film of the series (and it comes very close) to being the best, and is actually the best 'slasher' film of the bunch.
Everything is here: Jason, the mask, the machete. Everything is real: Jason bleeds, he runs ad he dies at the end. This is the last film to feature a fast, hunter-like Jason which gave way to standing, teleporting Jason in the later films. The pace of the movie is relentless and combines the tension of the original with the gore of the latter.
This film also introduces the long running series protagonist, Tommy Jarvis, who would return for two more installments and becomes Jason's cryptonite. The death of Jason at the climax is the most disturbing and gory death I have ever seen, and it is certainly sadistically satisfying, as is the closing scene of young Tommy hacking away at the fallen monster.
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985)
**½ Out of ****
Here is a perculiar entry in the series, and one of only two in the bunch not to feature Jason. And the rule goes: No Jason, no good.
That might not be entirely true, as there are good elements to this film, which picks up with Tommy Jarvis who is haunted by his encounter years earlier. Sent to a halfway house (which seemed to serve as no purpose but to band together idiots for the slaughter) the residents' begin to show up dead, and by Jason-esque means. But Jason is dead...is he not?
The characters are certainly an issue in this installment, as they are either punks, insane or have a handicap (and they are all annoying), which actually begs to ask the question of what they are all doing in the same place. Again, the climax saves the film as does the fiesty character Reggie, a young boy visiting his grandfather at the facility. The twist is satisfactory, and the film owes itself some credibility as it is the last of the series to not fly of the rails in some way.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
** Out of ****
Now here is a fan favourite of the series I will never fully understand the appeal of. This final installment to feature Tommy Jarvis has the now late teen unearthing Jason's grave to burn his body once and for all. *Cough* But after Tommy sticks Jason with a pole and lightning strikes, *cough cough* Jason awakens, now invincible, stronger and more teleportable then ever before.
The level of camp is high in part 6, and I can see how this sense of humour could win some over. I found it fairly tedious, and siphoned away all tension. But even for those who like this goofier entry, they must feel cheated when it decides to play itself straight in the final third. It left me bored.
Especially in the following films, I became increasingly exasperated by Jason's newfound industructable nature. It's not that I don't like to see a formitable foe, its that I want a villian who is human and flawed. Jason may live, but this is where the series died.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
**½ Out of ****
The New Blood is the last watchable film in the series, and it is the firsr Friday movie I ever saw; and everyone remembers their first Jason.
Years and years after Tommy Jarvis chained Jason under the glassy waters of Crystal Lake, a teenager named Tina accidentally awakens Jason from his eternal slumber. (Oh, and did I mention she is psychic? Well, she is) This senario at least pits Jason against a formitable foe, and features some great fight scenes, and another great climax.
Part 7 introduces Kane Hodder, who would play Jason all the way up to Jason X, and if Part IV featured the most menacing and relentless Jason, this film features the best looking Jason; his coat in tatters, a length of chain still around his neck, years of decay at the bottom of the lake have left his spine and ribs exposed, and a chilling grin stretches across his face thanks to a missing cheek. This is always how I picture Jason in my nightmares.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
* Out of ****
It seems almost too easy to bash this entry; the title alone begs a good jest. But Part 8 deserves every bit of crud you can throw at it, and is every bit as bad as you may have heard.
Withholding the premise for a moment, the movie is still a mess. Jason is back with a cleaner look, in fact he seems to have de-rotted after his 'death' in part 7. Perhaps this is the beginning of the 'Jason regeneration' story element, but I don't really care. Not an ounce of tension is present, it's just slice and dice and blah blah blah. Jason teleports like a wizard, and dispatches of teens who manage to be developed as thin as a saltine and as annoying as the sound of someone eating them.
Not only does it take a full hour to get to Manhattan, I don't think I can remember a less flattering portrayal of a city. By the end you're rooting for Jason to just sink the island and be done with it. Jason strolls by hoards of people without a glance, only concentrated on those specific targets...it just all compounds to absolute tedium and utter annoyance.
Friday the 13th Part IX: Jason Goes to Hell (1993)
*½ Out of ****
No Jason, no good. It still applies, and for 90% of part 9, Jason is dead. Caught in a police sting back at Crystal Lake (how he got back from Manhattan I don't know...oh and he is also alive again apparently) Jason is finially blow to smitherines; the nightmare is over.
That is until the doctor in charge of the autopsy becomes tansfixed with Jason's heart and eats it, becoming posessed by the Voorhees soul...helloooo Oscars... There is something about the Voorhees bloodline being behind Jason's imortality, and in the film the last decendnats must defeat the posessed Jason-zombies before he uses their bodies to become reborn again...I dunno...I lost interest early on to be truthful.
This film is really a blatant bastardization of the mythos of the originals, pounded further into oblivion by Jason X. How the series evolved to this is beyond me, and despite undenyable creativity, a good shootout and a cool ending scene there is nothing to really recommend; you really do want Jason to go to hell, and stay there this time.
Jason X (2001)
*½ out of ****
Ok. Ok. Now it's Jason....IN SPACE!...how could it fail! Mediocre premise, worse execution. Gone for good is anything the series was built on, gone is the horror and gone is the tension. This is not a horror film, it is an action movie and a lame one at that.
There are certainly elements of watchablity to this installment, how could a serial killer in space not have moments of fun. There are some badass kills, one involving liquid nitrogen, and another a big ass drill but nothing to distinguish it from any other film of its ilk.
There is also an inexplicable gap from Jason being in Hell, and being in space, but perhaps it is best to leave that untouched. Which, ironically, is exactally how you sould leave Jason X.
Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)
**½ Out of ****
Now here is a movie that knows what it is. And what it is, is a whole lot of fun. Starting with its ingenious resurection of Jason and Freddy, to the details of their showdown, this is a fun and at time creepy movie.
Freddy (Robert Englund) is always a welcome presence, as the dream sequences in the Nightmare films are always disturbing, even if the film's are sub-par. Coupled with some "boo" moments from Jason, this film finale is the best of both worlds.
The half hour long rumble between Freddy and Jason is sensational; it's bloody, sometimes funny and well shot. The battle of evil vs. evil-er is always a welcome escape and finishes off the Friday the 13th series at least with its dignity intact.
