TR reviews horror franchises: "Friday the 13th"

[rra]

I never got why Paramount was shamed of FRIDAY THE 13TH. It made money every time out, and from reading this thread, its got a considerable fanbase.

Talk about a dumbass move in dropping the franchise over to New Line Cinema, but considering its Paramount*, its old hat.

*=NEMESIS, anyone?

[Jiren]

Paramount hate horror (see "My bloody Valentine")

YET as said F13th is probably their biggest money maker behind Trek

And that last f13th box set was atrocious, I just wish Anchor Bay got it (They would do it justice, See Phantasm & Hellraiser).

[plushtar]

rra said:

I never got why Paramount was shamed of FRIDAY THE 13TH. It made money every time out, and from reading this thread, its got a considerable fanbase.

Talk about a dumbass move in dropping the franchise over to New Line Cinema, but considering its Paramount*, its old hat.

*=NEMESIS, anyone?

My guess is that Paramount does not like controversy. Jason was the poster-child of "corrupting" films that are destroying America. Which is odd, since Goodfellas is far more violent and realistic than Friday the 13th. I guess if it is not a big budget drama or family film, it will be singled out and targeted.

[erisi236]

I always see Friday the 13th as the unloved son of Paramount, it tries so hard to impress it's Father by going out in the World and being successful, but still gets shunned at the door.

Odd tho that they were so willing to drop the Jason character but not the "Friday the 13th" franchise moniker.

[Lick Ness Monster]

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD
1988
Director: John Carl Buechler

Ah, yes, Jason vs. Carrie. Of course, it's known to many that this was originally going to be the fabled Freddy vs. Jason film that fans had already been clamoring after for years (and this was 1988), but New Line and Paramount couldn't agree on a script...so this is what we got instead.
That's not to say that it's all bad, however. First and foremost on the positives for this film is the direction by John Carl Buechler. Buechler was a veteran production designer who worked on many of the "Elm Street" films, and is something of a makeup mastermind. That said, the kills in this movie are absolutely brutal and thrilling. And if you have the box set (like me), you've seen the uncut versions of some of those kills - people, it's awesome stuff.
This also marked the debut of Kane Hodder under the mask as Jason. Much like C.J. Graham in the previous film, Mr. Hodder does a fantastic job playing a character with no lines, and indeed has a body language perfected for the character not unlike Robert Englund's portrayal of Freddy Krueger. In short, due to Buechler's makeup expertise and Hodder's performance, this is one pissed-off Jason, and it's the single best aspect of the movie.
Of course, the rest of the movie is hodgepodged together by this point. The vague "Carrie"-inspired telekinetic (Lar Park Lincoln), the evil doctor who wants to use her for his own gain (played by Terry Kiser of all people), and the usual nubile cast of moronic teens staying at a lake house on the same lake where dozens of people have already met a gruesome end. And, as geeky as this is, I hate that this movie retconned all the humorous marks on the series that Tom McLoughlin had made with the excellent "Part 6," especially renaming the city Forest Green in an effort to get away from their little Jason problem - because, after all, we need tourism!
"Friday the 13th Part VII" is not a bad film, but this, along with "Part V", showed that the series was clearly on a downslope after the excellent first four "Human Jason" films. When the movie is focusing on attack scenes, it's top notch. At every other point (namely, Lincoln's performance as Tina Shepherd), the movie falls apart.

** (out of four)

[Jiren]

VII was great

It just needs an Uncut release

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

erisi236 said:

I always see Friday the 13th as the unloved son of Paramount, it tries so hard to impress it's Father by going out in the World and being successful, but still gets shunned at the door.

Odd tho that they were so willing to drop the Jason character but not the "Friday the 13th" franchise moniker.

Wait... what?

They dropped the Friday name but not Jason...

[Jiren]

Paramount still own ANYTHING "Friday the 13th" related parts 1 - 8

New line have the rights to Jason (the character) NOW (And make s*** movies) but Paramount still own Jason from 2 - 8

Paramount can't have a say in anything related to "Jason goes to Hell", "Jason X" or "Freddy vs Jason"

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

cropsy13 said:

Paramount still own ANYTHING "Friday the 13th" related parts 1 - 8

New line have the rights to Jason (the character) NOW (And make s*** movies) but Paramount still own Jason from 2 - 8

Paramount can't have a say in anything related to "Jason goes to Hell", "Jason X" or "Freddy vs Jason"

Oh okay... yeah.. I didn't notice the "Paramount" part. Sorry.

I was just thinking the movie series in general. I know how all that works, just didn't even notice that's what was said.

[Jiren]

Paramount are smart they know they can still make a fortune with "F13th" with out making more movies.

[Deleted]

Part 7 is probably my favorite one of all time, it's really between that one and Final Chapter. Jason's look in part 7 is definitely my favorite, though and I still want to get a part 7 style mask.

[Lick Ness Monster]

While the F13 movies generally suck when it comes to sequel continuity (though, really, who expects a thing like this in these movies?), I absolutely LOVE Jason's look in Part VII. There's the big mark on top of his mask from where he took the axe in Part 3, and that big, long scar the side of his face from the knife to the head in Final Chapter. John Carl Buechler is the man, plain and simple.

Also, I believe I will quit reviewing these movies after I do "Jason Takes Manhattan." I HATE the next two movies in the series (yes, even more than Part V) and have no desire to get myself all worked up over them, and I think it's time for me to move on to my all-time favorite horror series - ANOES.

That's not to say that the excellent F13 discussion can't stop. ;D

[Deleted]

I can't blame you for not wanting to do JGTH and Jason X. Those two are at the bottom of my list of faves. I think JGTH is the better of the two. I thought the best part of that one was the diner scene when "Jason" was inside the reporter. Hell, I actually thought his "Jason" was the best one.

Looking forward the NOES ones, btw.

[Lick Ness Monster]

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN
1989
Director: Rob Hedden

And here we are. Eight films later.
I'm actually a big fan of this film. And it depresses me to write this review, because this would be the last good Jason film (not including Freddy vs. Jason).
Rob Hedden was a writer for the Friday the 13th TV series at the time, a huge fan of the series, and repeatedly hounded Mancuso for a chance to direct one of the big-screen versions of the series that he loved. The original screenplay he wrote is available on the internet and, suffice to say, it clears up a lot of the complaints people have about this movie. Of these, of course, the loudest is that despite the movie being called "Jason Takes Manhattan" he is only actually IN Manhattan for, like, thirty minutes. Suffice to say, in Hedden's original script, much more of the film took place in the big apple, including scenes at Madison Square Garden, Central Park, and the Empire State Building. Obviously, these aren't the highest-budgeted movies, so they had to be cut.
So while the bulk of this movie's mayhem occurs on a cruise ship, it's still a fun film. It's scary at the right moments, features another masterful performing job from Kane Hodder (he had really perfected the body language of the character by this point), and is even a little nostalgic. I love the opening sequence on the boat, and the retelling of the Jason legend.
Putting aside minor complaints like the heroine's "child-Jason" storyline (what the hell was that all about?), this movie is scary and funny at just the right moments.
And it features Kelly Hu in her early days. Yup.

*** (out of four)

[Jiren]

thomasrigby said:

While the F13 movies generally suck when it comes to sequel continuity (though, really, who expects a thing like this in these movies?), I absolutely LOVE Jason's look in Part VII. There's the big mark on top of his mask from where he took the axe in Part 3, and that big, long scar the side of his face from the knife to the head in Final Chapter. John Carl Buechler is the man, plain and simple.

Also, I believe I will quit reviewing these movies after I do "Jason Takes Manhattan." I HATE the next two movies in the series (yes, even more than Part V) and have no desire to get myself all worked up over them, and I think it's time for me to move on to my all-time favorite horror series - ANOES.

That's not to say that the excellent F13 discussion can't stop. ;D

The new line range is just abysmal

JGTH was just a complete ripoff of "the hidden"

Jason X was just crap

Freddy vs Jason imo featured the most unlikable cast i've ever seen i wanted F&J to kill em all

[erisi236]

Jasons look in 7 was awesome, though they did forget the bullet shot he took to the center of his head in part 6.

[Deleted]

The scene where Jason sees the billboard for the New York Rangers never fails to make me laugh.

[Lick Ness Monster]

conspiracyvictim said:

The scene where Jason sees the billboard for the New York Rangers never fails to make me laugh.

Hedden did such a great job with his film in the series. Considering that it was the EIGHTH film in a series, there's no way that it should have been as good as it was.

[Jiren]

behind 5 "Manhattan" is the most criticized F13th movie

[Jiren]

I loved Jason's look in VII, i bought the figure