Before Scream, there was Jason Lives. Perhaps the first slasher film to have fun with it's own conventions.
After the debacle that was Part 5 the producers woke up and gave the public what they wanted. Jason Voorhees killing people. Too bad they couldn't give them the accompanying buckets of blood and grue, but they compensated with some creative kills. A face pushed into a metal wall, embossing the victim's face through the other side. A triple decapitation. A man bent in half. Thanks to some creative thinking, the director produced some of the best kills of the series despite Jack Valenti's vise grip on Jason's balls.
It can be argued that Part 6 reinvents Jason as a zombie.
Tommy stars again as the Jason obsessed young man. Thom (Return of The Living Dead) Mathews replaces the generic piece of meat that played Tommy in Part 5. It's a good choice. He brings a bit of flair and humor to the role. Joining him for an inspired opening sequence is none other than Arnold Horshack. In a nod to Frankenstein, they dig up Jason's grave just to make sure he's good and dead. Tommy drives an iron fence post into Jason's chest for good measure. Naturally, it's struck by lightning and Jason is alive... he's alive! Horseshack gets his heart ripped out and is thrown into the open grave. A fitting commentary on his career (and people say these movies are shallow!). The modern Prometheus Tommy runs like a bitch to alert the sherriff ("I tried to make sure he was dead but I fucked up!"). Naturally Sherriff Hardass doesn't believe him, freeing Jason to resume his favorite hobby. Oh, and the sherriff's daughter is hot.
Part 6 is the lightest of the modern Jason flicks. By now, Freddy Krueger was ruling the screens as the premiere slasher anti-hero. So I guess the producers took a cue from the Elm Street sequels and tried to inject some humor that could compete with Freddy's one-liners. Jason doesn't speak, so the next best thing is to lighten up the supporting characters/cannon fodder. The characters are funny at times, but not overly goofy. One counselor's lesson to kids about Indian tracking techniques is priceless. The movie is fully aware of how absurd this all is and has some fun with it. A good choice that saves the flagging series.
Jason Lives ends with Jason chained to a rock at the bottom of Crystal Lake. Don't ask. The ending is too laborious to recount. Jason has returned to Crystal Lake to reclaim his crown.
Friday The 13th Part 6. A great welcome back to the greatest slasher of them all.
After the debacle that was Part 5 the producers woke up and gave the public what they wanted. Jason Voorhees killing people. Too bad they couldn't give them the accompanying buckets of blood and grue, but they compensated with some creative kills. A face pushed into a metal wall, embossing the victim's face through the other side. A triple decapitation. A man bent in half. Thanks to some creative thinking, the director produced some of the best kills of the series despite Jack Valenti's vise grip on Jason's balls.
It can be argued that Part 6 reinvents Jason as a zombie.
Tommy stars again as the Jason obsessed young man. Thom (Return of The Living Dead) Mathews replaces the generic piece of meat that played Tommy in Part 5. It's a good choice. He brings a bit of flair and humor to the role. Joining him for an inspired opening sequence is none other than Arnold Horshack. In a nod to Frankenstein, they dig up Jason's grave just to make sure he's good and dead. Tommy drives an iron fence post into Jason's chest for good measure. Naturally, it's struck by lightning and Jason is alive... he's alive! Horseshack gets his heart ripped out and is thrown into the open grave. A fitting commentary on his career (and people say these movies are shallow!). The modern Prometheus Tommy runs like a bitch to alert the sherriff ("I tried to make sure he was dead but I fucked up!"). Naturally Sherriff Hardass doesn't believe him, freeing Jason to resume his favorite hobby. Oh, and the sherriff's daughter is hot.
Part 6 is the lightest of the modern Jason flicks. By now, Freddy Krueger was ruling the screens as the premiere slasher anti-hero. So I guess the producers took a cue from the Elm Street sequels and tried to inject some humor that could compete with Freddy's one-liners. Jason doesn't speak, so the next best thing is to lighten up the supporting characters/cannon fodder. The characters are funny at times, but not overly goofy. One counselor's lesson to kids about Indian tracking techniques is priceless. The movie is fully aware of how absurd this all is and has some fun with it. A good choice that saves the flagging series.
Jason Lives ends with Jason chained to a rock at the bottom of Crystal Lake. Don't ask. The ending is too laborious to recount. Jason has returned to Crystal Lake to reclaim his crown.
Friday The 13th Part 6. A great welcome back to the greatest slasher of them all.
