The Friday The 13th Franchise - A Review

[Mr_Vindictive]

So I recently picked up the Friday 13th box set that's been out for a few years.  I also picked up Jason Goes To Hell on DVD.  I already owned Jason X and Freddy Vs. Jason so I spent the last week going through every film in the F13 franchise.  Some, like ClockWorkCanary have done much better reviews of the films.  I'll just post some thoughts about each.


Friday The 13th
Sean Cunningham's classic film.  Not much that I can say about this one, that hasn't already been said by others in the past.  It's a classic film, and it's still just as good today as it was the first time.  I still love the Kevin Bacon kill in this film.  Although much of it is cliched at this point, it's still a great watch. 

Friday The 13th: Part 2
The first of two sequential films in the series that Steve Miner directed.  I rather enjoyed this one.  I really love that they decided to make Jason the killer in this film.  I also loved the fact that Jason isn't undead, he's just a mongoloid redneck.  I also love the fact that we get to see where Jason lives.  Jason is "defeated" when one of the camp counselors dresses up in Jason's mothers sweater and convinces him (for a slight period of time at least) that she is his mother.  Always thought that was pretty cool.  It's completely absurd but it works.  I also always loved the shot of the guy in the wheelchair falling down the stairs with the machete in his face.  Also love the two lovers being stabbed through the bed with the spear.  Bava would be proud. Classic.

Friday The 13th: Part 3
Disco 3D Credits!!!!  Despite how bad this entry in the series is, it's quite entertaining.  I don't quite agree with the decision of having Jason off the store owners in the beginning, but otherwise this one is quite fun.  It's stupid, has annoying characters (Shelly!) and it's damn cheesy.  I love the crappy 3D effects in this film, which are extremely noticeable on DVD.  The snake jumping in the cage, the eye popping, the harpoon kill, etc.  This film is also notable for being the first film to have Jason donning the trademark hockey mask.

Friday The 13th: Part 4 - The Final Chapter
This film is the beginning of the triple titles which carries on through part 8.  I would hate to be a theater manager who would have to display the names of these films on their marquee.  Anyway, this is one of my favorites.  We get a seriously p**sed off Jason, a "dead f**k" Cripsin Glover and Corey Feldman.  This film is the beginning of what I fondly refer to as "The Tommy Jarvis Show!" as the character is the focus of the next two films.  This film is worth owning/watching for Glover's absolutely draw-droppingly bad dancing.  I also love Jason's demise in this film.  Watching his head slide down the machete and then being chopped up by Tommy Jarvis (Feldman) while he screams "DIE!"...excellent.  Then the final shot of the film...chilling!  I can only imagine how happy the fans were with this final installment.  Wait, it's not the final one?  Damn...

Friday The 13th: Part 5 - A New Beginning
So, it's a year after "The Final Chapter" and we see Tommy again, and he's still a boy!  Yay continuity!  Wait...it was a flashback?  He's now in his "teens"?  So he goes from being 11 or so to being about 18 in one year?  Yay continuity?  Anyway, Tommy is living at a home for troubled teens.  Not only that, but there is someone slaughtering the various teens at the home, and slaughtering a family of rednecks that live nearby.  Could it be Jason?  Or could it be a cheap way to rip off the fans!?  Of course, it's the latter.  A crazy paramedic is the killer this time, wearing a Jason mask.  It's a cop-out sure, but at least the kills are in good Jason fashion.  This film is well worth watching for a nude Debi Sue Voorhees - HOT.  The ending is crap though with Tommy turning into a killer.

Friday The 13th: Part 6 - Jason Lives!
Man, I absolutely love this film.  The film starts out with Tommy and a buddy of his going to Jason's grave.  He's still having hallucinations of Jason and he's still a little off in the head.  He plans to dig up the grave and burn the body.  Things go awry when Tommy decides to skewer Jason's corpse on a piece of metal that he takes from the graveyard's fence.  Of course, lightning strikes the metal and Jason is now stronger than ever and on another killing spree.  So, not only is Jason an even better badass in this film, but there are two other added componets to the story.  One, is comedy.  Lots of it, and most of it works.  The other is CHILDREN CAMPERS!  This series needed kids in the story!  Hell, it's about a camp for children!  Jason menacing the children is a great idea!  Anyway, this film is fun.  It's light, takes shots at the franchise itself and is one of the best of the franchise.  It also marks the end of the Tommy Jarvis storyline.  I do like the fact that they took out the whole thing about Tommy becoming a serial killer.  Tommy seemed like a prick in part 5, but he's great here.  This one is well worth finding and watching.

Friday The 13th: Part 7 - The New Blood
Wow, two good F13th films in a row!?  That's crazy!  This one is often referred to as "Jason Vs. Carrie" due to the fact that the film revolves around Tina, a teenager with psychic/telekenetic powers.  I really think that this is one of the better films in the series.  Sadly, it was heavily cut by Paramount to get an R-Rating, so much of it is bloodless.  That's a shame because this would be a classic if it was more violent.  This is also the first film with Kane Hodder as Jason.  He's my favorite of the Jasons, as he brings a menace to the character that wasn't really present in the earlier versions.  Well worth watching, despite the cuts.

Friday The 13th: Part 8 - Jason Takes Manhattan
Paramount CEO:  These kids sure do like their slasher films.  How about we make another Friday film and call it "Jason Takes A Sh*t On The Franchise"!
2nd CEO:  I have a better idea!  Let's put Jason on a BOAT!

This film is cinematic trash.  Who the hell thought it to be a good idea!?  Paramount just wanted to milk the series for all it was worth apparently, and made Jason into a freaking joke.  Jason spends most of the film on "yacht" which looks like a fishing boat.  When he finally gets to New York, he does nothing except scare some punks in Times Square.  What the hell!?  This is pure crap.  Then the ending.....Jason looks like a clown without his mask on.  He's not scary in the least here.  Then, he turns into a little boy after drowning in the sewer....why?  He was buried underwater in the Part 6 and he didn't turn back into kid Jason then.  This one is one to miss.  I'm serious - it's completely awful.

Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday
So, it's 1993 and New Line now owns the rights to Jason.  They decide to make a new film, but finally kill off Jason (yeah right).  In the process, they make one of my favorite films in the series.  In this one, Jason is blown up within the first 10 minutes.  During his autopsy, the coroner becomes possessed by Jason's heartbeat and eats his heart, then letting Jason control his body.  Basically Jason jumps from body to body in this one.  That's fine by me, because we get the goriest, most brutal film of the series.  It's also quite possibly the most entertaining of the films.  I've seen it numerous times now and I'm never bored with it.  I also love the references to Creepshow, Evil Dead, etc.  Great, great, great film.  A great way to send off Jason, especially with the Freddy claw at the end.

Jason X
Wait, Jason isn't dead!?  Who would have thought!?  Jason X is a guilty favorite of mine.  It's stupid, it's really cheesy but it's a crap load of fun.  Some might disagree with me (MENARD!), but who cares.  I saw this one in the theater upon it's release, and I couldn't have been happier.  If you're not familiar, here's the rundown.  Jason is captured in our time, he is frozen along with a super hot chick that helped hunt him down.  In the future, their bodies are found and Jason is unfrozen.  He then goes on a killing spree in space, and eventually becomes ROBO-JASON.  Awesome.  Like I said, it completely leaves everything from the original franchise behind, but it's fun and doesn't take itself seriously.  Well worth picking up on DVD or renting.

Freddy Vs. Jason
Fans have waited many many years to see these two go at it.  The end result is a bit disappointing.  I liked the film in the theater upon it's release, but it just doesn't work for me now.  I've never been much of a fan of Freddy and that certainly doesn't help the film.  The film starts with Freddy not having any power because none of the new generation know about him, so he has no power.  They don't dream, because their parents give them medicine to block dream activity.  Without the dreams, he can do no harm.  So, he gets inside Jason's dreams and goes about using the masked killer to cause fear in the teens.  Things go awry when he looses control of Jason.  The plot sounds good, but it's not very well done.  Jason is still a badass but the kills aren't very memorable.  That, and the ending doesn't give a clear winner, even though everyone knows that Jason would kick Freddy's ass.  That would be inevitable.







So there it is.  11 films, 7 days.  My brain hurts. 




Jason Has A Mask
That Ambulance Guy Sucked Hard
Jason Just Won't Die   

[Neville]

I think I still have to watch the central chapters in the series. This is not my favourite franchise by any means, but I caugh the first 3-4 films in a row on TV obver several weeks, and was reasonably entertained. Was "Jason goes to Hell" the one with Steven Williams? That one was a lot of fun, I do remember Jason getting killed by the FBI and the autopsy at the beginning. Gloriously bad stuff, but lots of fun as well.

[Torgo]

My main reason for liking Jason Goes to Hell:  THE DUKE!!!

I still think they should've made a prequel in which we get to actually go into the Creighton Duke compound.

What in the hell has The Duke been doing all of this time?  Are there other people training to fight undead mongoloid killers?

[clockworkcanary]

Thanks for the props!   Nice quick summary of each one.  Believe it or not, I haven't seen all of the Fridays yet...part 9 I have yet to watch all the way through.  I do think I caught the first scene at a friends house once back in 94 or something -all I caught was Jason getting shot down by the Feds.  Also, it's been years since I watched parts 6 and 8 - I forgot just how damn bad part 8 was until you reminded me. 

Jason X is also a guilty pleasure ...it's more like a comedic "what if" story - a mix between Friday the 13th and Alien (but, of course, not even close to being anything near as good as Alien) with a cheezy cyborg battle.  I'd write about this one if a friend of mine didn't already put dibs on it.  I enjoyed Freddy vs Jason because it was really dumb fun.  I liked the little references here and there to both series, and Jason pretty much takes Freddy to the woodshed, both physically and in the number of kills.

I heard rumors for awhile on a new, psuedo-reboot of F13, but last I heard, it wasn't going to happen.  I always wondered if they would ever reach part 13. 

[Jack]

Cool reviews!  I never cared much for the first Friday film, it's just too cliched at this point and the lead actress is just plain awful.  Parts 2, 3 and 4 are what I consider the heart of the series.  Five is a lot of fun as well, but 6 was kind of boring.  Too much of the uninteresting Tommy Jarvis, not enough babes getting undressed.  Seven I haven't seen yet.  Manhattan was pretty bad, I thought the writing was terrible, directing was terrible, characters were pretty bad (though some of the bad characters were a little bit interesting), and that whole thing in Manhattan was just crap.  Nine was crap too.  Everyone seems to have such a problem with part 5 because it's not actually Jason in it, but there's no Jason in 9 and everyone seems to overlook it.  I just found the body jumping spirit thing as dumb as it was in Shocker.  Jason X is just absolutely awesome, lots of fun and excitement.  Freddy vs. Jason was pretty much crap, the human characters are boring and worst of all, they act like what adults think kids act like, which ruins the whole thing.  All that CGI stuff just made it into more of a Wile E. Coyote vs. the Roadrunner comedy.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Thanks for the props!   Nice quick summary of each one.  Believe it or not, I haven't seen all of the Fridays yet...part 9 I have yet to watch all the way through.  I do think I caught the first scene at a friends house once back in 94 or something -all I caught was Jason getting shot down by the Feds.  Also, it's been years since I watched parts 6 and 8 - I forgot just how damn bad part 8 was until you reminded me. 

Jason X is also a guilty pleasure ...it's more like a comedic "what if" story - a mix between Friday the 13th and Alien (but, of course, not even close to being anything near as good as Alien) with a cheezy cyborg battle.  I'd write about this one if a friend of mine didn't already put dibs on it.  I enjoyed Freddy vs Jason because it was really dumb fun.  I liked the little references here and there to both series, and Jason pretty much takes Freddy to the woodshed, both physically and in the number of kills.

I heard rumors for awhile on a new, psuedo-reboot of F13, but last I heard, it wasn't going to happen.  I always wondered if they would ever reach part 13. 

I had also forgotten just how bad Part 8 was.  I remember liking it, and I have no idea why.  It was the only film in out of all of them that I had to actually stop and take a break from.  It is unbelievably bad.

Cool reviews!  I never cared much for the first Friday film, it's just too cliched at this point and the lead actress is just plain awful.  Parts 2, 3 and 4 are what I consider the heart of the series.  Five is a lot of fun as well, but 6 was kind of boring.  Too much of the uninteresting Tommy Jarvis, not enough babes getting undressed.  Seven I haven't seen yet.  Manhattan was pretty bad, I thought the writing was terrible, directing was terrible, characters were pretty bad (though some of the bad characters were a little bit interesting), and that whole thing in Manhattan was just crap.  Nine was crap too.  Everyone seems to have such a problem with part 5 because it's not actually Jason in it, but there's no Jason in 9 and everyone seems to overlook it.  I just found the body jumping spirit thing as dumb as it was in Shocker.  Jason X is just absolutely awesome, lots of fun and excitement.  Freddy vs. Jason was pretty much crap, the human characters are boring and worst of all, they act like what adults think kids act like, which ruins the whole thing.  All that CGI stuff just made it into more of a Wile E. Coyote vs. the Roadrunner comedy.

I liked the departure from Jason in Part 9.  It was like a breath of fresh air after seeing Jason kill "teens" throughout the previous 7 films.  And, at least there is a little bit of Jason in the film.  He shows up in the beginning and gets destroyed, then he shows up in the end after being re-birthed through a dead woman.  It's things like that, that make me love the film.

[JaseSF]

Many feel Part 2 stole much of its plot from A BAY OF BLOOD.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Many feel Part 2 stole much of its plot from A BAY OF BLOOD.

Yeah, I noticed that, hence the mention of Bava in the synopsis of Part 2.  Aside from the kill where Jason stabs the two people in the bed, I didn't find much else that was like Bay Of Blood.  The plot itself was considerably different except for the fact that both films revolved around a lake.  Bay, if I'm not mistaken only had a few teenagers in the film and they only served as fodder for the killer rather than being the entire cast as was the case with F13: Part 2.

[JaseSF]

Oops I meant to say murder scenes not plot. Wonder how I got that confused discussing a Friday the 13th movie?!   

[Menard]

My favorite, or the one I feel is best, of the franchise is Part 2.

My next favorite is Jason Goes to Hell. They take a completely different approach with this (imagine, a Friday film....with a different plot!) rather than just another group of teens being slaughtered by Jason. The pace is pumped up and there is an actual element of suspense by using the spirit jumping as you don't always know who is possessed. I was originally disappointed when I realized that Jason himself was going to be so absent in this entry, but I feel that they more than delivered and made it work quite well, though I can understand why someone still would not like it due to Jason's absence. Oh, and let's not forget the wonderful work of Julie Michaels as agent Elizabeth Marcus...pant..pant..pant...a very important part of the movie...pant..pant..pant.

I did like parts 6 & 7 as they moved better than previous efforts, though with their own problems. Part 6 had its own doses of humor, but quite a bit of it was forced and ended up falling flat. Part 7 has the showdown in an otherwise forgettable movie, but the showdown is more than worth the effort for me.

What was that which came between parts 7 & 9. Yeah, I'd like to forget that one. If it were not for the rooftop boxing scene, there would not be a single memorable scene in the movie. Well, there is also the scene where Jason knocks over the boombox and the guys want to challenge him till he turns around and lifts his mask.

I was not as impressed with Jason X as some, but it is a lot more entertaining than a lot of previous efforts. Even though it essentially is just a take on the standard Friday plot combined with a poor alien clone, it does at least provide something different, and we get to see more of Jason in this one than in other Friday films.

Yes, Friday the 13th movies; same plot, different actors, give it another number. Despite the duplicity, I'll be anticipating the next entry.