Feb 13 2009
Friday the 13th Retrospective
Today is Friday the 13th. And it is also the premiere of Friday the 13th, a reboot of the classic horror series that perfected the art of the slasher movie. Much like with the Halloween reboot, this reboot is simply called Friday the 13th. So unless people do some research online or at the video store, future generations will not realize this new movie is actually the 12th in the series. Therefore, I have written this retrospective on the past 11 movies.
Friday the 13th (1980)
The original that started it all. Without a doubt, this is the best movie in the series because in addition to being a slasher movie, its a mystery. Basically, Pam Vorhese goes on a killing spree at the camp because of some neglectful camp instructors who let her son die at Camp Crystal Lake. The highlight of the movie is undeniably Kevin Bacon’s death scene not just because its a young Kevin Bacon, but because his death scene with the arrow being jammed out of his chest is incredible. Not to mention the ending catches you off guard and is one of the biggest scares in the movie.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
In the second part, we have another bunch of carefree teens after the death of Ms. Vorhese. But, keeping with the surprise of the last movie, we know her son is alive and seeking vengence. Thus, Jason Vorhese takes over the franchise, although he doesn’t dawn the iconic hockey mask until later. It should be worth noting that this is one of the only times when Jason (or what little we see of him) was played by a woman in certain scenes of the movie.
Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)
This is the first movie where Jason dawns the hockey mask and also displays his true strength as he faces off against a motorcycle gang. This is almost what you would call the standard Friday the 13th movie in the trilogy with a base setup and some quality kills.
Friday the 13th Part 4, The Final Chapter (1984)
An ironic title, but one of the better sequels in the trilogy. Jason is dead and taken to a morgue where he is revived, kills some people on his way out, and seeks revenge on teenagers again. The cast includes a young Corey Feldmen and a dancing Crispin Glover. It should also be worth noting that this is one has the most nudity and also a body count of 13.
Friday the 13th Part V, A New Beginning (1985)
After Tommy killed Jason in the last movie, he is sent to a mental institution. Meanwhile, Jason comes back to life and proceeds to get his revenge of Tommy. Despite taking a new location and keeping with the continuity, this is regarded as one of the worst in the series for how routine it was. Not to mention it has some very random scenes.
Friday the 13th Part VI, Jason Lives (1986)
Tommy becomes wise to Jason’s ways and isn’t convinced that he is dead even though he killed him. So he digs up his grave to make sure he is dead and Jason comes back to life via lightning. This was a big improvement over Part 5 because the characters were much better and the kills were much better. Not a bad entry in the series.
Friday the 13th Part VII, The New Blood (1988)
This time Jason is brought back accidentily via a psychic powered teenager. But that same teenager is ready to tango with Jason by using her superpowers to fight him. It’s an odd entry in the series, but pretty fun if you like seeing Jason get the living tar kicked out of him.
Friday the 13th Part VIII, Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
There isn’t too much to say on this one. A boat accidentilly carries Jason’s body to New York and reeks havoc from there. This is one of the more goofy entries in the series, but it succeeds at being a hilarious B-movie with its intentional and unintentional comedy. But, if you’re a big fan of the mood and atomsphere created from the last movies, this one appears to be a bit too far out of its element.
Jason Goes to Hell (1993)
Again, this movie came with the tag line ‘The Final Friday’, lying to us yet again. Look, as long as there is a horror series that is popular at the box-office and considering how we remake every movie, there is no final anything. This one is by far the biggest stretch for bringing Jason back in the form of his soul taking over people’s bodies.
Jason X (2001)
Another goofy Jason movie, this one literally could’ve been called Jason in Space. This one, however, is aware of the cliches of the horror genre and makes fun of them while following them to a certain degree. Despite the fact the movie gets real goofy when Jason turns into Mecha-Jason, it features one of the best death scenes in the series where he freezes a woman’s face and shatters it on a table.
Freddy VS Jason (2003)
Some may not consider this a real entry in the series of either Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street, but I have to mention it. The movie is nothing more than a throwdown between Freddy Kruger and Jason Vorhese with some teens murdered inbetween. It doesn’t really matter who wins because they’re both undead and clearly cannot be killed. Anybody who has ever seen any of their movies know this.
Friday the 13th (2009)
And what about the new one? Well, it certainly looks like a reboot, but unlike the other reboots I’ve seen, this one doesn’t seem to do anything new except make Jason faster. And I don’t consider that a big improvement. I haven’t seen it yet so I’ll reserve judgement, but based on the trailer, its nothing I’m excited about. However, if they can spawn off some great sequels from this reboot, I’d be interested in watching them.
