We have come to the final Franchise Friday of October and with it we find ourselves attempting to conquer the ‘Friday the 13th’ franchise. I will preface this whole thing by saying that I only very recently sat down and watched pretty much the entire franchise so a lot of this is fresh in my mind, and I already know that I enjoy this franchise. I enjoy quite a lot in fact. It is definitely not high art, but they are films that know what hey are and are a lot of fun to watch. Well, for the most part but we will get to that. So, let’s not waste any more time, here is ‘Friday the 13th’.
Friday the 13th (1980)
And so, the journey begins (I say as though I don’t already know I am going to love this). It isn’t very often that the first film in a franchise is the black sheep but that is exactly the case for this franchise, and that is because (spoilers) Jason is not the killer in this film. This is both a benefit and hindrance to the film. The benefit comes from the fact that it has a genuinely quite surprising ending in that it is an old woman committing all these murders. Frist time around this is a genuinely good surprise, even if it is really silly that an old woman is able to pull off these incredible physical feats. But this is also a franchise where an immortal zombie man fights a girl with psychic powers so you can suspend your disbelief. But the hindrance this brings to the film is that Jason isn’t in it, and I love me some Jason. He is the poster boy of the franchise, the star of the show and he just isn’t here, at least not in any form that we know him. This didn’t matter when I hadn’t seen any of the other films, but now I have all I really want from these films is Jason killing people, and that just isn’t here. That isn’t to say I dislike the film. Even though I don’t actually think it is a very good film, it has a certain charm to it and I do have a sense of nostalgia attached to it which means it will always have a place in my heart. Although the acting is not stellar the characters are all likeable and I enjoy spending time with them and don’t want to see them get killed. And there still some great moments in this film. The kills are not super creative, but they are shot in a way that gives them weight and makes them effective. And that jump scare at the end gets me a little bit every single time. So yeah, this is not a very good film, but it also is at the same time. A bit of an enigma in that way. Or maybe it’s just that aforementioned nostalgia talking.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
And so starts the era of Jason. Well almost. This isn’t the Jason we all know and love, this is bag head Jason. But we are getting closer. I would say this film is about on par in terms of quality and entertainment as the original film, but it ranks lower because it lacks the nostalgia. Although one thing this film does improve on from the original is that it looks cleaner. This doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a dirty kind of vibe to things, but I mean it looks cleaner in the quality of the film and I think that is because this film clearly has a bigger budget. After this it pretty much levels out in terms of overall quality. Again, the cast is a good one and all the characters are fun and likeable. The kills are fun, although we haven’t yet got to the super fun, ridiculous kills which I love this series for. The film actually has some weird choices when it comes to shots. There are a lot of POV shots, putting the audience in the shoes of Jason. This is not inherently weird on its own, but then how the camera moves or the bizarre choices on what the actors are doing when they are looking directly at the camera. Its just an odd choice which does kind of pull you out of the film for parts. But yeah, there isn’t really much else to say. It is what you would expect after the first film and if you are a fan of the first film this delivers what you would want. But, folks, get out your hockey masks because we are about to start getting gory. Buckle in.
Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
And we finally get hockey mask Jason, and with it we are starting to get the more ridiculous and fun kills that I love. There is a moment in this film where Jason squeezes a guy’s head so hard that his skull is crushed, and his eyes pop out. That is the kind of thing we are starting to deal with. To be fair, there is one particular reason that this kill exists in this film and that is because this film was originally in 3D, with the eyes popping out directly into the audience. This is not a problem until you watch the film in 2D and there are a bunch of shots that are so clearly only there to show off the 3D, the stand out one being a yo-yo being forced directly into the camera for a prolonged period of time. It is quite funny to see these moments in 2D, but they do completely drag you out of the film whenever you see them. This film also has the weakest cast of characters, despite also having the most memorable one with Shelly (fuck Shelly). The performances are probably about as good as any of the other films, but the characters are no way near as likeable. There is also a random biker gang in this film who act as a secondary antagonist in the film. They are literally only there to act as extra cannon fodder for Jason, which is fine, I guess, if they weren’t introduced as being a larger part of the story then they turned out to be. I think my main issue with this film is that it is pretty forgettable. This is the second time I watched the film and re-watching it I realised I barley remembered any of it, and I feel like this is going to be the case again going forward. Not a bad film and has its moments, but the weakest of the franchise so far.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. This is what a Friday the 13th film should be. Now, you won’t see me arguing the case that this is in anyway a masterwork or a five-star piece of high art, but what it is an absolute blast. Seriously this film is so much damn fun. It delivers everything you would want from these films. It has easily the best cast of any of the films so far. Corey Feldman makes an appearance as Tommy Jarvis who will become almost the second character of this franchise and is a lot of fun, as he often was when he was acting. And then you have the doomed group of teens who are easily the best cast these films have brought together so far. They are the most memorable because they have genuinely great personalities. Each character can be easily described and that’s what you want. They are all sacrificial lambs anyway, so we don’t need any complexity, just make them clear, defined characters and you’re golden and that is exactly what this film does. The standout of this group is Crispin Glover who is perfect in this film, and that isn’t hyperbole. It is one of my favourite performances of all time because of just how damn entertaining and fun it is. He effectively sums up the entire film with his performance. This is also the film where the kills start getting really good. This film loves breaking a window or four and I am all here for it. The kills are all a ton of fun and the effects on them look the best they have done, which is unsurprising given that the legendary makeup artist Tom Savini worked on this film. I genuinely can’t speak more highly about this film. If you don’t like slasher films it is going to do nothing for you and you’ll likely hate it, as was the case with the American critic Roger Ebert who hated this film upon its release. But as someone who enjoys slasher films this one is right up there. It is endlessly watchable; it has that kind of vibe to it. I love it, I don’t know if you could tell? I don’t want to say it is number one of the franchise just yet as we have a lot of films to get through yet, but it is sitting pretty at the top right now and it is going to take a big effort to knock it off.
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
The first real misstep for the franchise. Now, apparently, I hated this film after I first watched as I rated the lowest I possibly could on Letterboxd, and I don’t tend to do that very often. Upon re-watch it is no way near as bad as I had it down for, but it still isn’t great. The film is based around a now grown up Tommy who is at a camp for the mentally ill after suffering continued trauma after the events of last film, and I already don’t care. I don’t want to see Tommy moping around having nightmares about Jason, I want to see a group of teenagers having fun and being offed off by Jason. Oh, that brings me up to my next point and that is (SPOILER WARNING) Jason isn’t the killer in this film. The killer is a guy called Roy who is pretending to be Jason. I flip the bird to you good sirs. To be fair, they supposedly kill Jason of in the last film and so they need a new Jason, but also nah, just bring Jason back. No one would care. I will say that the kills in this film remain fun. They are not top tier and there aren’t loads of memorable ones, but they are fun when they happen. But the main reason this film rubs me the wrong way is the obnoxious hillbilly characters that are floating around. What are these characters? Are they meant to be comedic? Are they meant to be as cartoonish as they turn out to be? Whatever the case is, I will say that they are massively annoying, and I wish they were killed off sooner and in much more vicious fashion. I don’t really have much else to say on this film. It is the weakest addition to the franchise so far, but we still have seven more films to go so they could get a lot worse yet.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
And we arrive at the second-best film in the franchise, although this one is great for completely different reasons than Part 4. Whereas that film is the best version of the original idea of this franchise, this film is a great tongue in cheek look at the franchise. Whereas all the other films are definitely horror film (even if they aren’t exactly scary) this film is a full-blown horror-comedy and is not sympathetic about it. A good majority of the kills that Jason commits in this film are either slapstick or come across like they are from a ‘Looney Tunes’ cartoon, with one in particular having Jason slowly looking at an arm he has just severed in apparent bemusement of his strength. There is also a moment where Jason throws someone, he has already murdered for no reason other than the fact that this franchise loves throwing people through windows. The film also has genuine jokes in the script, although these are more hit and miss then the physical jokes in the film, but they do work when the film becomes self-aware. There are several moments in the film where it questions why films like ‘Friday the 13th’ are popular, including one moment where a character literally breaks the fourth wall to say “some folks have a strange idea of entertainment”. Oh, and there is a James Bond style opening where Jason slashes the screen. That is the kind of film we are talking about here. This is a film that works for everyone. If you are a fan of the franchise so far it delivers all the entertaining kills and tropes you have come to expect from these films, and if you are not a fan of the franchise the tongue in cheek, self-aware nature of the film is much more likely to provide the entertainment you are looking for. I personally find it extremely entertaining and, although I still find Part 4 to be the better film, this one is right up there.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
So, do you remember earlier in the review when I mentioned that this franchise was home to a film where Jason goes up against a girl with psychic powers? Well here it is. And, unlike the film before it, it does this all straight faced. Despite that premise the film does not seem to be tongue in cheek about it at all. Maybe I misread it but that’s how I felt it came off. This is both a benefit and a detriment to the film. The detriment comes from the fact that the premise is so ridiculous that having it play alongside a pretty standard ‘Friday the 13th’ means that the whole thing just feels dumb. All up until the end where the films desire to take its premise serious means that the film become a bonkers, comedic gem. A psychic girl fighting an immortal, zombie Jason is great enough, but the fact that the film sticks to the same tone as it did throughout the film makes it genuinely entertaining, especially with the final way that Jason is defeated which is insane. The problem with the film in general actually has nothing to do with the filmmakers but with the censors who butchered this film. The kills are so important in this franchise and this film really suffers from the fact that they are not allowed to show any of them, or at least they are not allowed to show them for more than one second. Every single kill is cut to the impact in for a split second before cutting away and it takes away the impact of all of them. The film remains entertaining despite this, which makes me wonder how much more I would enjoy it if these kills were allowed to be shown in their full glory. But at least we have two people going through windows in this film, with Jason being one of them.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Okay so let’s get this film’s big issue out of the way first that being the title. It is completely misleading as Jason takes Manhattan, or at least anything recognisable as Manhattan, in the last fifteen minutes. And even when they get to Manhattan, they go to Times Square. This isn’t actually a genuine criticism of the film, but Times Square is the worst part of Manhattan and I wish they went anywhere else. Apart from this I think this is actually one of the more entertaining films in the franchise, although I seem to be in the minority on this one. The characters are fun (although I couldn’t tell you a single name) and Jason it is top tier in this film. The kills in this film are also a lot of fun and the censors haven’t completely butchered them. The film also does something that I enjoy with the kills in that it makes them link to the personality of the characters. Well, most of the time, sometimes it doesn’t bother which is a negative. But when it decides to do this it is a fun way of killing people, with the best example of this idea being with the boxer having his head punch clean off his body. Stupid, yes, but a lot of fun. The film also feels like a good split between the tone of parts 6 and 7. It is no way near as self-aware or tongue in cheek as part 6, but it still has fun with it and has a couple moments where it doesn’t take itself particularly seriously. For example, there is a moment where Jason is threatened by a street gang. In any of the other films he would have just slaughtered them, but in this film, he simply lifts his mask which is enough to scare them off. Again, stupid but fun, and I think that is the best way of describing this particular film.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
Just as a heads up, I am about to completely spoil this piece of shit. When I first watched this, I was pretty fucking drunk, and even in my inebriated state I hated this film. Second time around I am completely sober, and I still hate this film, although slightly less than last time. I genuinely can’t think of a single positive thing to say about it. I guess the performances are fine, and some of the kills are okay, but that is about it. The main reason I hate this film is because it finally does what the bad ‘Halloween’ and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ films did and make up an unneeded backstory to Jason, but this one is in fact far worse than either of the prior two. This film tells us that not only did Jason have a sister that has never once been mentioned until now, but he also is actually a fucking demon work thing that needs the body of a Voorhees to survive. I wish I was kidding. Because of this the film basically does away with Jason altogether, even blowing him up in the first ten minutes. After that ‘Jason’ the demon worm jumps into several different bodies on a mission to find a Voorhees body. God this film sucks. It also doesn’t help that the film looks ugly as all hell. And possibly the worst thing it does is make reference to both ‘The Evil Dead’ (1981) and ‘Jaws’ (1975). Making reference to other films is not inherently bad but making reference to great films in a shitty film, well frankly it makes me sick. Fuck this film.
Jason X (2001)
Jason. In. SPAAAAAAAAAAACE. It is about as dumb as it sounds. I remember before I watched this for the first time, I was actually kind of excited. I didn’t think the film would be any good, but I felt like it could have a so bad it’s good kind of vibe. It doesn’t. It is just bad. However, unlike the last entry to the franchise, I can see why some people do enjoy this one. It does have that level of dumb that if you can buy into can lead to a fun time, but I just find it really dull. It is basically a mix between a bog-standard horror sci-fi mixed with a bog-standard ‘Friday the 13th film. The performances are not anything to write home about and the special effects are absolutely dire. The script is also horrific with some ridiculously dumb lines. Oh, and the less said about when the film effectively becomes ‘The Matrix’ (1999) the better. Again, these moments will probably land for some people, and maybe I am just jaded from having watched ten of these films in the last five days, but it just doesn’t work for me. That isn’t to say that the whole film is bad. This film actually has one of, if not, the best kill of the whole franchise, and there is a scene with Jason in a holodeck which is great because it becomes suddenly very self-aware. But on the whole, it really doesn’t work for me. I mean it’s Jason in space, what else can I really say.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
For those of you wondering where this was in my ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ Franchise Friday, here it is. And why have I put it here you may be asking? Well because I am #TeamJason (I think I have lost my mind). Okay, so I am going to get this out of the way, this is not a very good film. It really isn’t. The acting is pretty horrible, the script is not much better, and the CGI is some of the worst around. There is one particular scene where Freddy is a worm thing which looks horrific and not in the way you would want a horror film to look. The direction is also not great, with some really weird shot choices and editing in the film. And yet I have seen this film probably a dozen times, and I honestly couldn’t tell you why. I mean it is portably because I first saw it when I was about thirteen and at that age, I would watch literally anything on repeat no matter the quality. And maybe this nostalgia meant that I still quite enjoyed it this time around, but I also feel like it is just silly enough to be enjoyable. I mean it is a film where Freddy Krueger fights Jason Voorhees and I would be lying if I didn’t find that entertaining. The film does go a little far in to silly territory in some cases, with the pinball scene being a major example, but it mostly adheres to the rules of both the franchise worlds and has fun with it, and I have fun in response. Basically, I have the opposite feeling to this film as I did to ‘Jason X’. I can see why people would dislike this film, but I personally have a lot of fun with it and I will probably watch it several more times.
Friday the 13th (2009)
And here is another example of a film I would watch on repeat despite the very obvious lack of quality. Now, unlike ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ (2010) this is not a completely heinous remake, in truth it isn’t a remake in as much as it is a reboot. The problem is that is pretty cookie cutter and dull. So much so that I am struggling to really come up with anything to say about it. I do actually remember finding this film scary when I used to watch it. It didn’t terrify me like some other films, but I got the reaction that I think the filmmakers were going for. Watching it now it is a wonder it got under my skin at all because it isn’t scary even though it attempts to be. To be fair to it, it doesn’t have obnoxious jump scares. It has jump scares because it is a horror film from the 2000s, but they are not horrendously done and didn’t piss me off at all. The film also has a good selection of kills. It has more license for gore than a lot of the other films in the franchise due to loosening censorship and the like, but it doesn’t push the gore to far the other way into being disgusting for the sake of it. Jason is also not butchered in this film, although some of the choices for him are odd. He is a bit of a survivalist in this film and has either built tunnels under Camp Crystal Lake, or there were already tunnels under there, either way it is dumb and doesn’t make sense. But apart from this Jason is a big, lumbering, silent killer, and the film even pays homage to both bag head Jason and hockey mask Jason. It is very hard to truly ruin Jason, but I think it is only fair to mention it. But yeah, after this it is all pretty much just bog-standard stuff, and I can’t say it kept my attention very much. That maybe because I have seen it so many times before, or maybe it is because it just isn’t that good, or a bit of both. Either way, it’s all just a bit meh.
We have come to the end of the ‘Friday the 13th’ franchise and with it have completed the holy trinity of slasher franchises. What a journey that was. Before embarking on this journey, I had a feeling I would come out the other side with this franchise being my favourite of the three and I wasn’t wrong. It is the most consistently entertaining, with only two of the films being complete duds, and even they had their moments. Well, maybe not ‘Jason Goes to Hell’. That film is bloody awful. This also is the final review of October which means that I can move away from the horror gimmick I was keeping up for the month. The problem is that I only have one month of complete free will before we hit December and I embark on another 25-day Christmas challenge. I do enjoy this, I promise.