I probably wouldn’t have gotten into horror as hard or as strong, if I hadn’t been a teenager in 1980 witnessing the fury of Mrs. Voorhees. I was hooked and of course, the rest is history. Please give these films the credit they deserve. They definitely helped get many people into horror. If you want to know more Friday The 13th Movie Series, keep reading.
On a whole, the “Friday the 13th” movie series is my favorite among all the slasher film series. I am not saying that I liked them all (just read my reviews of Part V and VIII to see that), but overall they were and continue to entertain me. I also think the casting of Kane Hodder in the role of “Jason” in Parts 7, 8, and 9 really helped to take the series to the next level. Being a skilled actor and stuntman, Kane was able to develop a personality for “Jason” which moved him beyond the mindless killing machine he had been in the previous films. Kane is and always will be “Jason” to me.
No one will ever forget the classic theme of “Friday the 13th”, it still gives me shivers today. And one final note, Jason will kick Freddy’s ass in “Freddy vs. Jason”. Have fun!
Friday the 13th Movie Series
Friday the 13th Part 2 Story
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to camp, you couldn’t be more wrong. Five years have passed since the original bloodbath and all seems quiet on Crystal Lake. Well, at least until someone comes up with the bright idea of opening up a counselor training center across from CAMP BLOOD, but this time around the “curse” has a new face and everyone is going to pay.
Again, one by one, our ill-fated “counselors in training” meet their untimely demise by every known method of mayhem that one madman can dish out. Spears, machetes, and pitchfork fly freely and the blood flows heavy as the undead son of the former cook (Mrs. Voorhees) rises from his watery grave to reap revenge on all the sexual deviant, drug using, alcoholic teenagers that cross his path. Thus begins the reign of Jason Voorhees (BM= before the mask) as the “King of all Slasher”.
Although Part 2 wasn’t helmed by special fx king Tom Savini, the murder scenes were pretty imaginative and well done by Carl Fullerton and his crew. As all her friends begin to drop by the waste side, Ginny (Amy Steele) is forced to try and get into the psyche of this killer who hides in the shadows waiting to strike. She hopes to understand the forces that direct his rampage, but only a mother would know that. The end comes quickly and with a very unique twist that offers the fans a classic follow-up to “Friday the 13th”.
Friday the 13th Part 3 Story
The story begins immediately after the chilling conclusion of Part 2. A group of misguided youths neglect the warnings of the prophetic drifter and head out for a weekend getaway of sex, drugs, and murder. Sorry kids wrong choice of extracurricular activities for this neck of the woods. The ignorance of youth at its’ finest. As they arrive, we see Chris battling some personal demons in this place, but otherwise, this your usually romp in the hay for the 3rd installment in the “Friday the 13th” series.
Bikers, bitches, and bimbos all serve as cannon fire for Jason, who finally picks up his trademark hockey mask that has forever etched itself into our psyches. As the mayhem continues, we find out that Chris had a run in two years earlier with this deformed madmen and was lucky enough to escape with her life. Will she enjoy the same fate this time around??? Rent this film to find out.
Originally released in the theaters as a 3-D movie during the short run resurgence of these films in the early eighties (remember Jaws 3-D). Unfortunately for the video viewer, the 3-D technique wasn’t employed, but you can see how they exploited shots that must have proved wick in 3-D. From a speargun through the eye to a flaming hot poker through the chest to an eyeball popping out of a victim’s head, the variation of 3-D killing must have been magnificent, but are still as effective even in this 2-D format. Maybe someday with advancements in technology, the 3-D world of movie watching experience will be the standard and we will all be able to truly become part of the film.
Friday the 13th The Final Chapter Story
This film like the previous installment picks up right where Part 3 left off. Jason presumed dead is taken to the county morgue for examination. Is he finally dead? I don’t think so and we see Jason quickly dispose of a few hospital personnel as he leaves a trail of bloodshed on his way back CAMP BLOOD.
Up at Crystal Lake, we find the Jarvis family enjoying the luxury of country living when a group of six teenagers moves in next door for the summer. The table had been set for Jason to rid the world of these transgressors by any means necessary, but this time around, he had a new and more powerful nemesis, Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman).
Young Tommy, a horror aficionado and young sfx phenom, uses newspaper clippings he had gotten from a man you had been tracking the killer to make himself look like a young Jason Voorhees. This way he is able to tap into Jason “inner child” much the same way Ginny (Amy Steele) did in Part 2 and when his defenses were down, Tommy tries to bring an end, Jason. Could it really be the “Final Chapter” in the Friday the 13th series??? Or just a new beginning as Tommy taking over as the reigns as the “King of all Slasher”???
Whoever thought this was the “Final Chapter” was a fool. It was just a marketing ploy to get people back into the theater hoping to see the death of Jason. Tom Savini rejoins the crew to add in his own personal brand of bloodletting. He was a major plus for me in the success of this film and truly the only man that could ever be brought in to kill off Jason. The short-lived experiment of trying to take the Friday the 13th series in another direction ended with the atrocious Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. The “public” wanted and demanded Jason’s return and that would finally come after a one movie hiatus.
Friday the 13th Part V A New Beginning Story
The movie begins with a flashback sequence where we see young Tommy Jarvis (Corey Feldman) walking towards the grave of Jason Voorhees. As the rain falls and lightning flashes in the background, Tommy see that Jason lives. At this point, I think yes…Jason lives!!! Than a now grown Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd) wakes up from a bad dream and for all Friday fans, it is only the beginning of our worse nightmare.
Tommy is all grown up, but still haunted by the memories of Jason. He is sent away to a sanctuary to receive counseling. When patience begins to die in Jason-like style, everyone thinks it’s the handy work of Tommy. In reality, an ambulance driver has taken on the M.O. of Jason in order to get revenge for the death of his son.
In some ways, this could have been a very cool idea, especially if Jason were to have come back from the grave at the end of the film to take out the imposter, but overall this the lamest of the Friday the 13th movies. I guess the people in charge actually thought that this could work. It is unfortunate the fans too because this Friday has the highest body count at 22 death. The fans wanted and demanded Jason’s return and the follow-up Friday the 13th: Jason Lives helped to revitalize the series and proved to be one of the best Friday the 13th films.
Friday the 13th Part VI Jason Lives
This installment starts with Tommy (Tom Matthew) still fighting his demons and finally wanting to put them to rest. So he and a friend head up to Jason’s grave to make sure he’s really dead. As they open the grave, they see Jason’s corpse and Tommy decides to make sure once and for all that Jason is truly dead. Unfortunately, the metal post he puts through Jason’s chest is struck by lightning and guess who wake up cranky.
Jason picks up right where he left off. A few years in HELL haven’t made this old boy rusty at all. Tommy tries to convince the authorities that Jason lives, but everyone just thinks he crazy, except for the Sheriff’s hot daughter Megan. The two teams up to track Jason down and send him to the grave. Seems Jason heads back to Camp Crystal Lake, which has been re-opened and re-named Camp Forest Green. Its a race against time as Tommy and Jason battle it out. Can Tommy put Jason back where he belongs?
Friday the 13th, Part VII The New Blood Story
Tina remembers back to her early childhood and getting anger at her father. But poor little Tina’s anger is unlike yours and mine, my friend, no Tina has psychic power and accidental drowned her father in Crystal Lake.
A few years later with Tina (Lar Park Lincoln) is all grown, she returns to the scene of the accident hoping to put to rest the demons that now haunt her. Unfortunately, lying dormant at the bottom of Crystal Lake with her father is Jason who she accidentally has brought backed to life with her telekinetic powers. Jason begins his old patrol around the camp leaving bodies along the waste side. Tina goes head to head with Jason using her powers to hang, shoot nails, electrocute, and set him on fire. At the end she is actually able to resurrect her father who drags Jason back to his watery grave, but not for long.
Friday the 13th Part VIII Jason Takes Manhattan Story
Another lame chapter in the “Friday the 13th” saga “Jason Takes Manhattan”. Is Jason a Muppet now or what? What were the producers thinking? Don’t they know that New York is far more frightening than a crazed machete-wielding killer. Even Jason would be afraid to walk the streets of NY.
The only cool thing about this movie was the original poster that was called back by Paramount. It showed Jason knifing through the “I Love New York” logo. This a real collector’s item and I have one somewhere with Kane Hodder’s autograph Jason is freed from his watery grave and hitches a ride on the “love boat”(a high school senior cruise to NY.)
One by one, Jason kills off the students who have all broken those unwritten rules of surviving a horror movie. Luckily, or unluckily for us, a few students escapes and Jason must chase them through the streets of NY. It is funny to see this deranged maniac walk down the street with a machete in hand and no one said a word.
Jason Goes To Hell The Final Friday Story
Let’s just forget part VIII ever happened, I think the producers did. “The Final Friday” begins as a special FBI task force has tracked down Jason Voorhees and blows him from here to kingdom come. Is he really dead? In the words of a famed serial killer bounty hunter, Creighton Duke, “I don’t think so”. Creighton Duke is the only man alive who knows how to get rid of Jason once and for all.
As the government attempts to do an autopsy on the remains of Jason, the coroner is possessed by Jason’s spirit and a new rampage of death and destruction begin as he makes his way back to Camp Crystal Lake. One problem, Jason’s spirit can stay in a person’s body for only so long before it damages beyond use. So Jason is consistently jumping bodies and you never really know where he could turn up.
Creighton knows what Jason’s plan is, so he tries to track down Jason’s only sister (Erin Gray), but he gets to her a little too late. He knows that “through a Voorhees, he was born, only through a Voorhees can he be re-born and only a Voorhees can kill him.” The fun continues as Jason continues to jump bodies trying to get close to the last surviving relatives he has, his niece and her daughter.
The really cool parts about this movie are that the “Necronomicon” and dagger from “Evil Dead 2” show up. The Necronomicon is founded in the Voorhees’ home and the dagger is actually the weapon of choice for killing Jason. Well, Jason gets re-born (it’s really cool how they work it) and he doesn’t battle with his niece, who finally sends him back where he belongs…HELL. (well not for long…Click here to find out about the Freddy vs. Jason movie)
