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Written and Starring Presented by 86 minutes |
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FRIDAY
THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES Review
With the backlash against A NEW BEGINNING so huge yet still a box office hit, Paramount’s gamble at taking the franchise in new direction didn’t work and the answer was clear: Fans wanted Jason. So, in 1986, only two years after promising his demise, Crystal Lake’s most famous slasher was resurrected, and brought with him an odd sense of humor. I admit I wasn’t a huge fan of JASON LIVES when I first saw it, dismissing it as a weak entry. However, the more I watch the film, the more I grow to like it. Writer/director Tom McClaughlin of ONE DARK NIGHT fame (a very scary PG horror film) was given a lot of creative control on this film and his trademark humor shows, in some cases very well, but in other cases it seems out of place in a FRIDAY THE 13TH film. JASON LIVES begins really where A NEW BEGINNING left off, with Tommy Jarvis (now played by Thom Matthews) escaping a mental institution to burn Jason’s body once and for all, which has been resting in a cemetery all these years. When Tommy goes bonkers, he uses a metal rod to repeatedly stab Jason’s body. Big mistake, as the rod is struck by lightning and Jason Voorhees is brought back to life, moving back to his old stomping grounds of Camp Crystal Lake, now renamed Forest Green. To the humor of the film, which there is plenty of, it has a little more of a lighthearted feel to it. Characters are fodder but are a little believable in their approach to meeting Jason, whether it be trying to bribe Jason for money and shooting him with paint pellets. The attitude of the kids in the camp (the first film since the original to show a camp running during summer) brings a very humorous moment when one kids asks his friend what was he going to be if he grew up. In other areas, it doesn’t work, such as a gun happy deputy, a stubborn sheriff, and boneheaded characters that are there for the reason of being killed. There is one scene that is one of the scariest of the series, and it was a pickup shot requested by Paramount after the film was completed. A young lover oversees Jason murder the cemetery caretaker, and as Jason goes for a final shot, he suddenly turns, noticing his voyeur. It’s very effective in its tone as Jason turns his attention to the young couple. How he got to them so quickly is another story, but by this time suspension of disbelief runs rampant. I mean, now we’re dealing with Zombie Jason. Where JASON LIVES has a strength, it’s that it brings the Jason-Tommy conflict to a satisfying conclusion, where Tommy lures Jason into the waters of Camp Crystal Lake with the intention of putting him back to the bottom of the lake. As Tommy, Thom Matthews is good but I would’ve preferred to see John Shepherd return (he was offered but refused) as I felt he was the better Tommy. CJ Graham does an OK Jason, with some of his mannerisms good in comic relief mode. Jason’s movements after he rips a victim’s arm off with a machete still intact is a darkly humorous moment and one that makes Jason realize he is much stronger than he was before he died. The rest of the cast are OK, with David Kagen very good as Sheriff Brackett, who takes a clichéd role of the arrogant, know it all law enforcer to a degree of believability. It’s completely understandable why Brackett doesn’t trust Tommy, given his history, and shows a sense of sympathy towards him throughout. Jennifer Cooke was spunky as Megan, the Sheriff’s daughter who also happens to be a camp counselor. She initially warms up to Tommy to rebel against her father, but slowly starts to believe him in Jason’s reign of terror. The rest of the cast look good, but don’t really do much and are just lamb to the slaughter. I was disappointed with the lack of special effects in this film, which almost made the film feel like a PG-13 (a fault of Paramount, as the initial cut of the film was given an X rating!). There’s too much cutting away before a kill and while I appreciate it in some films, that’s blasphemy in a FRIDAY THE 13TH movie. In all, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES is a satisfactory entry in the franchise and marked a welcome return to form for Jason. While not perfect, I would say it’s a good, solidly directed film that deserves a little more praise than it gets. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES: 6 Out Of 10 Maggots
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