FRIDAY THE 13th PART 6: JASON LIVES

I can't tell you how many e-mails I've been getting about reviewing a more popular bad horror film. "Stop reviewing these random horror movies which no one has heard about...review a popular one!" The thing is, I figured that everyone has seen popular ones and not the more random horror movies, which is where my place was. But, I decided to sell out to THE MAN, and review a member of the FRIDAY THE 13th series. I came across PART 6 and decided to go ahead and take a look. I expected the same lame crap which marked the rest of the series, but this wasn't that bad at all – in fact in my opinion it’s far and away the best movie of the bunch.  Of course, that’s not saying that much.

Well, this movie is the second installment after THE FINAL CHAPTER, a movie which promised an end to the Jason series, a series about a crazed killer stalking a sleepaway camp. That's about all the plot that was necessary for not one, but 11, count 'em, 11 movies. Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Well, it's kind of broke, but not enough for the money-hungry movie producers responsible for Jason and his knife. So, as you might have guessed, PART 4 was not the final chapter, but they brought Jason back to life in part 5, paving the way for this JASON LIVES (should be entitled, yet again).

How, you ask? Well, a kid haunted by Jason's memory, digs him up to make sure he's really dead, and sticks a metal pole in the body. Lightening strikes the pole, and, like Frankenstein, Jason comes to life. As fate would have it, a new batch of campers come to the camp and there are only about four counselors to take care of them (read: they only could afford to pay four actors). Anyways, before Jason gets to these counselors, he kills a couple making it in the woods, some guys playing paintball (a nice touch), and a bunch of other people, including a couple counselors heading to the camp (one of them is the relatively well-known actor Tony Goldwyn, for you film buffs).

While Jason is doing what he knows how to do, the kid who brought him back to life goes to the cops (one of whom is the dad of one of the campers). But guess what? The cops don't believe that Jason is back to life! How surprising. But, of course, the cop's daughter does, and even has a crush on the kid who brought Jason back to life. It doesn't take long for you to realize that it is these two who are going to save the day.

Anyways, with out going into an extended intellectual treatise, FRIDAY THE 13th PART 6: JASON LIVES, is simply an O.K., but relatively entertaining affair. There is no real sex in it, and the violence is actually pretty tame for a horror movie. What the film does have, however, is a sense of humor. It knows it is just a crappy film and makes a lot of jokes in process. And, in perhaps the last thing I thought I would ever say in one of these reviews: the film has nice cinematography. I'm serious. Stop laughing, dammit. Yes, this Jason movie does have very pretty camera-work.

All in all, if you are a fan of the series, go for it. If you aren't, this is probably one of the more accessible and entertaining movies of the series. It seems to be trying to reach others besides die-hard fans and it mostly succeeds.

Rating: *** (out of a possible 4)

 

Comments

[alex koenig]

You have Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter mentioned as being the 5th installment in the series, whereas it is actually Part 4. Part 5 was "A New Beginning", with the Jason imposter. 6 is where the series brought Jason back for good.

[Dan]

You're right Alex, thanks for pointing that out. I'll fix it.