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)
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.
Posted by: alex koenig | May 31, 2006 at 04:49 PM
You're right Alex, thanks for pointing that out. I'll fix it.
Posted by: Dan | June 01, 2006 at 04:00 PM
It doesn't take long for you to realize that it is these two who are going to save the day.
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Assuming the camera is being held by a person and judging by the size of things in the background, I think it might be safe to say that the hatch is about one body-length above the ground.
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I think it might be safe to say that the hatch is about one body-length above the ground.
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