Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.
This is a special Halloween edition of the movie encyclopedia. Today I will be reviewing the entire Friday the 13th series in one giant review. The way I see it is that most of these movies are carbon copies of each other and thusly dont ACTUALLY deserve their own seperate reviews (save Jason X since its really out there). So after putting up the DVD cover of the entire series box set (above) I shall now delve into each of the friday the 13th's one by one and tell you which ones are worth watching and which ones you should just skip.
You see, Jason was my son and today was his birthday... (1980)
The film that started it all the original Friday the 13th was really a site to behold. It was the series (in my opinion) that reinvented the horror genre and revolutionized the term slasher film. It was creepy, atmospheric and it was the first time we were introduced to the signature CH CH CH AH AH AH KUH KUH KUH noise we heard whenever "Jason" was stalking someone. It had subpar acting but the kills were inventive, creative, genuinely scary, showed great special effects of its time and were fun to watch. The twist ending, both of them, were fun and truly threw me for a loop.
Its the best film in the series and a really revolutionary horror film. And Kevin Bacon gets killed.
MY VERDICT: OWN IT
I told the others, they didn't believe me! You're all doomed! (1981)
Friday the 13th part 2 is the second part of this long running series and while it doesn't have the twists and turns of the original one it is still quite interesting.
The kills are inventive and it is the debut of Jason Vorahees himself. This is the tipping point of the series as after this movie the series starts to get worse and worse. But overall it is still a pretty good film and worth checking out if only to see what happens to the survivor from the first one.
MY VERDICT: OWN IT
No! You can't be alive! (1982)
You know a movie series has gone bad when they resort to 3-D to sell a movie. Jaws, Final Destination and even the next Saw movie. But one of the few times where although cheesy, 3-D works, is in Friday the 13th part 3. Its nowhere near the calibur of the first two of the series and it does rely heavily on the 3-D aspect, it is still an enjoyable film and its kind of cool to see the effects nowadays since they were done so long ago. The ending to 3 is almost a direct rip off of the first one but in a ways its also just as terrifying since Jason AND his mom are in it. Even though it turns out to be a dream its still cool.
So if you like the old school 3-D effects or just want to see probably the last good...strike that...THE LAST good Friday the 13th than you should watch this one. Its kind of a guilty pleasure film
MY VERDICT: RENT IT
He thinks that's funny. He thinks that's a funny thing he's doing (1984)
MAN...this is one of the most notoriously bad horror films ever made. First off you got Crispin Glover (of Charlie's Angels and Beowulf fame) and Corey Feldman in the same movie together. Thats like the old school combination of Christian Slater and Stephen Dorff...two bad actors in an equally bad movie. The plot is thin and abysmal and filled with holes the size of a ravine. Yeah the kills are mildly interesting but get stale after a while and seeing a bald Feldman hacking up a deformed Jason while some crazy girl screams for five minutes is both amusing and completly mind numbingly annoying. This was supposedly "THE FINAL CHAPTER" but that wasn't gonna happen so we are stuck with this and the next suck fest of Friday the 13th...YAY
MY VERDICT: ABOMINATION TO CINEMA
It's....SHOWTIME!! (1985)
This is not only one of the most confusing of the series it is also the most unnecessarily gory, lacks any true coherant story, the killer is a scared delusional wimp and there is no true Jason Vorahees in this movie. The sad thing is you know it too. Its just a dumb movie from to beggining to end and lacks any real direction, point and is nothing but a shameless cash in on an already dying series.
MY VERDICT: ABOMINATION TO CINEMA
I've seen enough horror movies to know any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly (1986)
Jason lives, famous for its first use of Vorahees as a superhuman being with regenerative powers, superhuman strength and other inhuman things, is actually a really great entry into the series. It knows the past two films before it were complete crap and in a really good twist of fate it doesnt decide to take itself seriously.
The characters are genuinely funny, the lines are great, the deaths are both funny and creative and its just an enjoyable entry into the series. Not a good one earlier standards but at least worth a rent.
MY VERDICT: RENT IT
OK you big HUNK of a man...come get me (1988)
Part 7 in the series is actually really memorable to me and is one of the three I actually most vividly remember. Gone is the Tommy Jarvis story with him being sane, insane, sane and in comes Tina, a telekenetic who accidently kills her father and unleashes Jason. Its cool to see Tina struggle to control her powers and the person who plays Tina is actually really good.
The kills in this one seem more simple than in others but at the same time they are also quite interesting. In fact one kill from this movie is mimicked in other horror movies and even mimicked and redone in Jason X. Its the sleeping bag kill
Part seven also introduces Kane Hodder who has actually become best known as Jason Vorahees. He debuted in this movie and played Jason all the way until Jason X. He is the most loved by fans and always goes to conventions.
One other thing this movie had going for it was an awesome showdown scene between Tina and Jason.
It also had an ending that no one expected. Overall the third best film in the series.
MY VERDICT: OWN IT
GO AHEAD...TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT MUTHA****R!! (1989)
Oh this one...let me just say something...it is so bad its good. It has some of the most unique kills and one of the weirdest death scenes in the history of the series. WHO BOXES JASON? It also debuts the idea of taking Jason out of the forrest and into the streets. Its cheesy, its dumb, its campy and it mostly takes place on a boat. But its not an abomination and the deaths are pretty cool. I still wouldnt reccomend it because all the cool stuff I just posted in the video above.
MY VERDICT: AVOID IT
I'll have a Vorahees burger with a side of Jason fingers (1993)
There you just saw the only good part...just saved you an hour and a half.
Despite the cool Freddy ending this is one of the most bizzare entries in the series. It starts off cool with Jason getting blown to pieces but than the whole Jason's heart possesing people to kill people is bizzare and poorly done. Its really a waste of film and besides that Freddy vs Jason tease its really just a boring film. The kills are dull and dumb and its just blah...dont see this one
MY VERDICT: ABOMINATION TO CINEMA
Well everyone that oughta do it. The Michael Bay one will have its own review and Jason X and Freddy vs Jason are already reviewed so there ya go. The whole series.
No comments:
Post a Comment