Random Movie Series Review - Friday the 13th

 

So long before nightmare killers and demonic killing dolls, there came a serial killer who unlike those two, had the disadvantage of actually physically existing and representing a human of sorts whereas Freddy Kruger occasionally entered the human but was largely in dreams and Chucky while a physical being in a way, always got away with the things he did because no one would suspect a doll from commiting murders. Jason Voorhees on the other hand would almost certainly not get away with most of the murders he did. But like those tow, Jason is not human in anyway. He is a deformed menace who was bought back to life and gains supernatural abilities. As for his films, unlike the Nightmare on Elm Street and Child's Play films which mostly got mixed to positive reviews (and some occasional negative reviews), the Friday the 13th films were seen as bad films in the eyes of critics. But it came out at a time when focusing on the history and motivations of the main villain who would kill those responsible and innocent people as well, was all too unheard of. In other words, it was a franchise that wasn't all that keen on fleshing out characters in an attempt to make the audience feel unaffected by their apparent deaths. This was the known formula that made the franchise what it is and its success from a fan's point of view, has led to there being twelve films, a few video games, comic books, a TV series and a place in pop culture. It truly was an influential franchise that helped shape the slasher sub-genre into what it is today. Without it, the Nightmare on Elm Street and Child's Play films would have been very different films. So in today's review I will be looking at all the films (excluding Freddy VS Jason which I have already reviewed). Its not been easy to be able to watch them all because while a boxset does exist in the UK, it only contains the first eight films which meant that to watch Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X and the remake, I had to resort to streaming platforms or buy/rent the films digitally. Though there is a new boxset containing all the films that's coming out, but I wonder if the UK will get that too. But for now, let's go to Crystal Lake and be ready for a bloody good time:

Friday the 13th

Before going into this further, there is some debate as to which company out of Paramount and Warner Bros. (the latter of which now own New Line) owns the rights to the franchise. For the first film, the latter secured the European distribution rights while the former had the domestic rights. Then up to the eighth film, Paramount would distribute the films everywhere with New Line distributing the ninth and tenth films as well as the crossover with remake having the same deal with this film, but reversed (in other words, Paramount would distribute internationally and Warner Bros. domestically). So with that out of the way, we begin in 1958 at Camp Crystal Lake which for most of the films is the main setting. An unknown assailant kills counsellors Barry Jackson (played by Willie Adams) and Claudette Hayes (played by Debra S. Hayes) as they have sex which causes the place in question to remain closed for a while. Twenty One years pass and the camp reopens with a number of new counsellors coming in to help refurbish the place and have a good time despite the killer still being around (but they don't know that). As I said, this film started the trend of slasher horror films focusing more on the actual villains than the heroes which is the cause of some debate whether we actually want to know more about the characters or just be happy that its a horror flick and move on. Anyway this film is good. Its not going to please everyone due to the lack of character development and the fact that it only existed to cash in on the success of another slasher horror film. But it certainly sets the stage for what would eventually be an influential horror franchise that may not be great in the eyes of professional critics, but a completely different story for fans and audiences who just want blood and gore with a bit of silliness and all the clichés that most horrors these days are known for having. 9/10

 

Part 2

So the first sequel has an interesting story behind it. Just like with another horror franchise, there were plans to turn the series into anthology films. But after the success of the first film, the filmmakers changed course and agreed to continue the story that the first one started and has since been the norm for the series ever since. Like the first film, we are back at Camp Crystal Lake with a new batch of camp counsellors who arrive at a training camp in the area. Together they learn about the assailant from the last film and what happened to her. They also learn that her son Jason Voorhees (who is played by various actors over the course of the series with the favourite or definitive one being Kane Hodder) may still be alive and out to kill anyone who steps foot into the Came Crystal Lake area as revenge for his mother's demise. As the people settle into the area, Jason returns and kills them off one by one with some resistance later on. While more of the same is OK for most franchises, I kind of feel like I was wanting something more from this film. Don't get me wrong, it's an OK film and good enough for fans to like. But perhaps I wanted a bit more. Though at least in this one, Jason reveals himself so now the franchise has a body for its main character. So yeah not the best sequel, but not a bad second film overall. 7/10

 

Part III

So for the third film, it was originally going to have a story that would continue the story arc for one of the characters from the last film. But that was abandoned when the actress decided not to return which is fair enough. Also, this film was released in 3D at the cinemas (presumably the cheap cardboard sort) and to date is the only film in the series to have been released in that format (but like all other films released only in 3D, a 2D version also exists in home media form). And finally it was meant to be the original ending for the series, but like its successors it had a title that in no way indicated that it was the last film. After dealing a near heavy blow from the last film, Jason goes about finding a change of clothes before finding refuge inside a barn. Meanwhile a group of teenagers invited by Chris Higgins (played by Dana Kimmell) travel and stay at a house within the Crystal Lake area. Jason catches wind of this and once again goes on another killing spree while also acquiring a mask to conceal his disfigured and sometimes demonic face. Rinse and repeat is the wording I would use in this film. It started the ill-fated trend of having horror films be shown in 3D with most of them not doing so well as a result (a case of more focus on the 3D effects over story and character development). But on the other hand, Jason gets the iconic hockey mask in this film which would go on to make for one of the most iconic characters in this genre. So yeah some good things, some bad things. More of the same, but I'm cool with that. 8/10

 

The "Final" Chapter

So just like the previous film, this one was intended to be the last one and unlike the last film, it was marketted as such. Some people felt unhappy about the lack of respect they received for their work on the films regardless of their success at the box office and Paramount supported the decision of this being at the time the final film due to a decline in popularity of slasher films at the time. Following the events from the last film, the body of Jason Voorhees is found and taken to a morgue when the police believe he is well and trully dead. Jason is revived yet again and escapes the morgue to continue his killing spree at Crystal Lake just as a new group of teenagers arrives to spend the weekend there. This is a classic example of quitting while you are ahead. I mean this is now the fourth film and if the people behind it really didn't want to continue, then they should have stopped. But it was another successful film so they carried on. As for the film itself, its yet again more of the same though with each film, I give it credit to at least trying to make things different than before such as how Jason kills off each person in his killing spree and this film certainly had some interesting ones definitely. 7/10
 

 

A New Beginning

It's been several years since Jason "died" and one of the people that survived his murder spree named Tommy Jarvis (played by multiple actors in three films, but by John Shepard in this one) has nightmares of him that lead him to be admitted to various psychiatric hospitals. But eventually he must face his fears when a new hockey mask wearing murderer starts a murder spree of their very own. Now throughout the series, there has been several instances of drug use, sexual content and of course bloody murders and gore. But while those things have been quite minimal in most of the films, there is tons of all of that in this one. Some would be OK with that, but chances are that there will be a few that are not OK with that. But you know when teenagers camp out, all of this stuff is bound to happen. Anyway for a film that doesn't have its main villain (or so we are made to believe), it's OK. Its more of the same again, but with more plot and higher amounts of nudity, sex scenes and drug use than ever before. Best one of the series? I don't think so. I mean yes it is in every way a film just like the others, but with a Jason copycat instead of the real deal (again, so we are led to believe). 7/10

 

Jason Lives

Picking up from the last film, Tommy Jarvis (this time played by Thom Matthews) is released from the mental institution he was admitted to despite still having nightmares about Jason. He returns to Crystal Lake (now known as Forest Green) to confront his fears once and for all by finding Jason's corpse and cremate him. But when he enters a fit of rage upon seeing the body, a thunderstorm erupts and manages to bring Jason back to life who begins a new killing spree while Tommy finds a way to take him down once and for all. So as I mentioned in the Child's Play/Chucky review, I pointed out that most horror franchises would start to get less scary and more unintentionally funny after a few films. In the case of Friday the 13th, it hasn't felt like a unintentional funny franchise a few films in. But this film aimed to bring in a bit of humor and it does quite well at it. Again it is more of the same, but with good ol' Jason back instead of some wannabe and overall, the film is one of the best in the series so far. Guess some things never die. 9/10

 

The New Blood

So its a round about this time when talks of a crossover with Nightmare on Elm Street began between Paramount and New Line. But of course it went into development hell for a while so the film that was intended to be the crossover ended up as another Friday the 13th film with a girl of a similar ability to Freddy in Freddy Kruger's place. The film begins with a domestic fight between two parents which prompts a young Tina Shepard (played by Lar Park Lincoln) to escape the chaos. As her parents give chase, she somehow uses telekenetic powers to make the father drown. Years later and still haven't got over the guilt, she has some mental health treatment. She later goes back to where her dad died, only to unintentially use her powers to reawaken Jason. Now awakened again, Jason begins a new killing spree forcing Tina to use her powers to stop him before he kills not just teenagers, but young children and the local police force. We get some more variety in Jason's victims this time instead of the same ol' teenage group. But with that and it being more of the same, I feel its not enough to be an even better film than its predessor. Especially as this was originally meant to be the story for Freddy VS Jason. But its not a bad film. Just wish it could have been better. 7/10

 

Jason Takes Manhatten

So this film became the last film that Paramount would produce and distribute until the remake and that's probably why the boxset I bought only contained the first eight films as the next couple of films were made by New Line but more on those in a bit. Through an accident caused by a boat, Jason is revived. He sneaks onboard the boat that just so happens to be heading for Manhatten. As the boat sails away, Jason begins a killing spree as the people onboard begin to have visions of him as a child. Upon arrival, there is a new world for him to kill more people, but there may be some that are ready to take him on yet again. While I give the film credit for trying something different instead of the same setting with the same scenario, the film is just not that great. I think the filmmakers thought that as this is a different place compared to Crystal Lake, they could do something with that and then forget that this is a city with plenty of victims to choose from as well as the urban area and rough parts that the film focuses on more. So yeah its perhaps the weakest of the franchise, but its not over yet even if it is for Paramount (for now anyway). 6/10

 

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

So this film came out as a result of New Line being given the character rights for Jason Voorhees over control of the title with Paramount maintains (this meant that New Line could make films starring him, but not use "Friday the 13th" in the title). Talks for Freddy VS Jason began yet again, but with New Nightmare being made, it was agreed that this film would be made to keep people interested in Jason while finding something that could tie into the eventual crossover. Jason returns to Crystal Lake having been revived following the events of the last film. But when he thinks he can start a new killing spree, this ends up with him being near destroyed by the FBI and SWAT agents. His remains are then sent to a morgue and his spirit starts to possess various people thus allowing him to do another murder spree. For the first film under New Line, its not a bad attempt at a film and I like how they went for the concept of what if Jason's spirit does the killing instead of Jason himself. But it is known as a confusing mess of a film with too many twists and turns and pretty gruesome effects. Another film that isn't a great film, but not too bad for New Line's first one. 7/10

 

Jason X

So Freddy VS Jason was still in development hell which meant that the filmmakers needed to continue with making the audience and fans be interested in Jason Voorhees. Which led to the creation of this film and yeah it is as silly as it sounds. So its 2008 and Jason Voorhees has been captured after years of mass murdering and the government not knowing how to be rid of him for good. With some arguments over what to do with him, Jason breifly escapes and winds up in a cryogenic pod. But due to some mishandling, he is not the only being that gets frozen. Four centuries later, the bodies of Jason and his last victim Rowan (played by Lexa Doig) are taken in by the crew of a ship called the Grendal who hope to revive them both and learn more about the 20th century remaining unaware of Jason's murderous ways who upon awakening, begins to kill off the crew and gets himself an upgrade in the process. Yeah this is as silly as it sounds as its basically bringing Jason into a scenario that at first sounds like a sort of Star Trek story before turning into something more Alien. But silly may be good as it gives the franchise a newly found spring of life that it had been lacking for a while. Its not for everyone and most may see this as more of a cop out than anything else. But its ok for what it eventually became and definitley the ending to the franchise that we may not have expected, but hey ho (Freddy VS Jason would have been set after Jason Goes to Hell which therefore makes this film the final film if you were following a timeline). It is what it is. 8/10

 

2009 Remake

Yep Michael Bay did this remake too. He just can't keep his hands off beloved franchises. So in the remake, Jason Voorhees (played by Derek Mears) is depicted as a killer that fans feel sympathy for, but is still as menacing as ever. Much like the original, he too kills people that enter Crystal Lake as revenge for those that killed his mother who was doing a rampage of her very own before being beheaded. One night a group of teens arrive and he kills all of them except for Whitney (played by Amanda Righetti) whom he keeps as prisoner due to her strong resemblance to his mother. Six weeks go by and her brother Clay (played by Supernatural's Jared Padalecki) is trying to find her while a new group of teens take residence in Crystal Lake who are all unaware of Jason. This film is actually ok for a remake. Its like the original films in nearly every way with the iconic score and hockey mask as well as teens doing drugs, having sex and the like while all being unaware of Jason who kills them off one by one. It does however carry the usual Michael Bay flare of using stereotypes in the characters such as there being a guy of a different race, a guy who is a bit of a douchebag, a guy who is clearly very high on drugs and a bunch of very attractive ladies. But at least he isn't directing which is good because a film like this doesn't need to be three hours long. So yeah not a bad remake overall, but could have been better and be less like all other modern horror films. 7/10

And that is Friday the 13th. The films may have been pretty much the same throughout with some differences. But as mentioned, it helped shape the slasher horror genre into what it is today with more films now being more focused on developing the main villain than the other characters. It may have been bad in the eyes of critics, but it will always have a place in the hearts of horror fans and pop culture in general. 8/10