8/10
WARNING! WARNING! There is a very high chance that you will disagree with this review.
Paramount was done with the Friday the 13th series.... They were ashamed of the film's, regardless of how big of hits they were. The eighth film in the series had been a mass failure for the company, so it was a parting for them. The world thought the iconic franchise was done for good. But then New Line Cinema bought the rights to the series, and this was the first product. This 1993 film has been the subject of much division between fans. A small number of fans really loved it, and many hated it. I happened to be one of the people that really liked it. I understand completely that this movie is flawed, because whether it is continuity errors, or mistakes in the movie itself there are small things that drag the movie down. If you overlook these small problems though, you get a very fresh look to the series.
The movie starts out like no film in the series before, because in the first five minutes, Jason is dead.... Jason is dead? You might wonder how this is possible. I know that part 5 is without Jason too, but still.... They kill Jason in the first five minutes of this film. At first, I was dumbfounded by this, because I didn't know where the film was possibly going to go from there. Even with this doubt in the further plot of the film, I knew something crazy was going to happen. This crazy thing was that even dead, Jason's heart still beat while at the morgue, and a zombie worm jumps out and turns the coroner into a murderous monster too. I was so mindblown when this happened, because this movie took things to a place the films never even thought of going to. That's what I really love about this film. Even though it is still a Friday the 13th film, it doesn't follow the same formula that most of the film's before did. Another thing that I really love about this beginning is the fact that it takes place in Youngstown, Ohio, because that's my birth town, and it brings a lot of nostalgia for me.
This film was great, because it had a great amount of balance between darkness, and humor. One of the greatest examples of this is the scene where the main character Steven is driving the teenagers to Camp Crystal Lake, and he says asks them if they're going to participate in bad behavior and then get slaughtered. I laugh every time at this scene, because it is basically making satire of the series, and the whole slasher genre. Scenes like this really help the movie work, and it shows that even a new company had the film, they still knew the things that made the best of the series great. Even with this humor, there is still some crazy stuff. The shaving part makes me cringe every time. It is so dark and awkward, and much more morbid than any other movie before in the franchise.
As I mentioned before, the film's killers are people that are possessed by a worm that came out of Jason's heart. I really like this idea, because it brings a whole new feeling for the film. Instead of this one evil person killing everyone, you have beloved people of the town becoming ruthless killers. In this, the people surrounded by the killings and such have such a hard time believing that anyone coud be responsible, and it actually gets put on Steven many times. I also think many killers brings a lot more intensity to the film, because you never know who is next.
I like the characters a lot in this film. Steven is a very cool person, and John D. LeMay did a fantastic job playing him. You want to root for him the whole time, because you know he's good, and innocent of all accusations put on him. Creighton Duke is another awesome character, because he is really the tough end of the movie, and he gives you the hope that this possession by Jason can be finished. The main girl of the movie Jessica Kimble is another great character. You can really sense the fear she has towards Steven at first after an event that takes place. She is a great final girl too, because she is pretty capable of surviving, and she is really the only one that can control the fate of Jason's soul. The only cast members I really disliked was the family that owns the diner. They were more annoying that funny, and parts with them are some of my least favorite scenes of the movie.
On the topic of Jason, even though he is only part of the film for a small fraction of time, I have some opinions on him. I think personality wise, Kane Hodder did another great job. He's big and hulking, and a little quicker than usual. This really helps with the fear factor, because he's obviously more dangerous. Look wise, he is absolutely awful.... I hate the fact that he has hair in this film, because he just looks like Peter Boyle with a mask on. Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the extra bumps on his head. I think the makeup artists went a little overboard with this. He was always disfigured, but now his face looks like a rotten pizza.
When you watch this movie, make sure you buy the unrated version. It is so much more action packed, and it is actually the one that's worth watching. This film is the goriest in the series. There is a scene where a character is literally split in half onscreen, and it is just mindblowing. The mpaa originally cut a lot of the blood and gore out because of its explicit nature, but if you buy the unrated version, every little drop is back. I love the other scenes of action too. My favorite is probably the part in the cop station. It was extremely well done, because slow motion was perfectly used without being overbearing.
One of the problems with this movie is that there are many continuity errors in the film. The first was a pathetic mistake, and it was that Voorhees was spelled wrong. If you're making a sequel to a film, then the least you can do is get the main character's last name right. While this isn't a movie ruiner, it is very stupid, and it disappointed many fans like me. There are many other things like this that go against everything we ever knew in the originals, but they happen to be big spoilers, so I will refrain from giving those away. I just feel that the filmmakers should've been a little bit more careful at some points, because a lot of these blemishes really turned people off.
The ending of this movie was completely insane. The event that takes place was one of the craziest horror scenes ever, and it gave such a foreshadowing to a huge part of this serie's future. I think this ending really shows why it was great that New Line got the series for the time they did, because they would've never been able to pull it off under Paramount. Many of you may be wondering why I'm building this up so much without even saying what happened, but I guess you'll just have to watch the movie....
Overall, I find this to be one of the most underrated films ever. People have been bashing on it for so long, but I find it to be great. It's not perfect at all, but it is extremely entertaining. If you want a gore fest of a horror film, then this is definitely the way to go. Think back to the very first line of this review where I said there is a high chance you will not agree with me. Was that true? Was this film a great addition to the slasher genre's gem? Or was it an embarrassment to the series? Feel free to comment this opinion.
Happy New Years everybody, and expect a lot more reviews. Remember that if you're on facebook, like my page a Slasher Movies Uncovered, and it will be much easier to see when new articles are released.
No comments:
Post a Comment