Friday the 13th: Legend from Crystal lake. Part II

Hello, horror enthusiasts, and welcome back to the second part of our discussion journey to Crystal Lake and the chilling world of Jason Voorhees. If you're joining us now, I highly recommend checking out our first part where we delved into the classic Penta, exploring the chapters where Jason was portrayed as a classic mortal killer. But today, we're shifting our focus to his undead actions in last Paramount's films. So, let's dive right in!

Paramount Pictures and Undead Jason

Friday the 13th: Jason Lives

Indeed, the studio recognized the declining popularity of their product due to a lack of fresh ideas. The previous installment, with its twist involving a Jason imitator, failed to resonate with viewers, leaving them feeling cheated and disappointed. Audiences clamored for the return of the iconic killer, Jason Voorhees, and the studio needed to find a way to bring him back to the screens. Drawing inspiration from Tommy's dreams about the undead killer rising from his grave, the filmmakers devised a plan to prove once and for all that Jason was truly dead. Tommy, along with his buddy, embarked on a daring mission to the cemetery, where they exhumed Jason's grave. What followed was one of the most absurd and illogical yet oddly enjoyable scenes in the franchise. Armed with an iron stake, Tommy pierced the maniac's body, intending to put an end to the terror once and for all. However, fate had other plans. As lightning struck the stake, reminiscent of a scene from the classic Frankenstein film, Jason's eye opened, signaling his resurrection in a spectacular and chilling manner. One can only imagine the shock and excitement that reverberated through cinemas at that moment, as fans witnessed the return of their beloved legendary killer, Jason Voorhees.

Friday the 13th: Jason Lives - Tommy digs Jason out of his grave

With Tommy's friend meeting a grim fate at the hands of the resurrected Jason, the unstoppable killer embarks on a relentless rampage, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. In this installment, the authors inject more humor and ramp up the brutality of the murders, heightening the tension and excitement for viewers. Jason's reign of terror becomes even more chilling as he becomes an unstoppable force, relentlessly pursuing Tommy Jarvis and anyone else who crosses his path. With each kill, Jason showcases his brutal strength and determination, instilling fear in both the characters and the audience. As the body count rises and the tension mounts, viewers are kept on the edge of their seats, wondering who will be the next victim of Jason's merciless rampage. The addition of humor adds a unique element to the film, balancing the intense horror with moments of dark comedy.

Friday the 13th: Jason Lives - Jason's new look

Even the police couldn't stop him. Shotgun shells only knocked him down, but after every shot, he rose again. In this film, we don't have the typical team of generic students; each character has their own distinct personality traits. Tommy is obsessed with Jason's resurrection and tries everything, including consulting occultic books, to stop it. Sheriff Garris is the classic angry policeman who vehemently opposes the return of the bloody horror to his once silent town, which had even changed its name to forget Jason's crimes. On the other hand, his daughter Megan is excited about adventures and starts to develop feelings for Tommy.

Friday the 13th: Jason Lives - Megan rescues Tommy from prison

In the final part of the film, all action returns to Crystal Lake camp. All the counselors are killed, leaving the children face to face with the relentless killer. Strangely, Jason spares the children. Perhaps he remembers his own childhood, or maybe he only targets adults addicted to sex or alcohol. The reason remains uncertain; you can choose the explanation you prefer. When Garris attempts to stop Jason, it's heartbreaking to see the brave cop sacrifice himself to protect his daughter and the kids. It's the first time in the Friday movies that a character's death stirs such emotions within me. Finally, the good guys manage to stop Jason by chaining a massive stone around his neck and drowning him in the middle of the lake. I welcomed this resurgence of the legendary killer positively. An undead force with brutal strength and new abilities revitalizes the franchise. The film offers good action, attractive characters, an epic battle on a boat, and the realization that this is just the beginning for the new Jason. A solid movie.

Friday the 13th: The New Blood

Let's discuss one of my least favorite films in the franchise. With the studio pushing for a new film every year, the writers are forced to come up with this terrible storyline. While previous chapters had some logic to them, this one feels like it was conceived with the idea of, "What if we added not just an undead killer, but also magic and ponies?" That's what we got with "Friday the 13th: The New Blood."

Friday the 13th: New Blood - Jason smashes a student's skull

In the main scene, there's a girl named Tina. When she was a child, she saw her alcoholic father drown in Crystal Lake or at least, that's what it seemed like, the same lake the whole franchise is based around, though I'm not entirely sure. Since then, Tina has discovered some extraordinary abilities - telekinesis. However, modern medicine has still tried to cure her of some unknown disease. As you might understand, these attempts were unsuccessful. So, her mother, Mrs. Shepard, and her attending physician, Dr. Crews, decided to give another chance to their old house where her father's death happened. I never understood this type of medicine - how could such depressing places help someone?

Unfortunately, this time around, we don't have many interesting characters. Tina annoyed me throughout the entire film, the supposed "good guy" who wanted to be her friend was dull and seemed like furniture. Tina's mom was hysterical and lacked life understanding if she truly believed that Dr. Crews wanted to cure her daughter. The doctor himself was a typical selfish asshole who wanted to use Tina in his research and gain a prestigious award in medicine. The only one who carried the whole film on his shoulders was Jason.

Friday the 13th: New Blood - Tina and Nick

Yes, this time the undead maniac became even more creepy and terrifying, starting from his new look and ending with brutal kills and total invulnerability, even against Tina's supernatural abilities. It was enjoyable to watch how the legendary killer decimated every character in this film one by one. This time, I found myself siding with the killer. He was a positive character for me in this movie because almost every human in the film made me sick with their stupidity or behavior.

As usual, Voorhees employed his legendary teleportation and stealthy sneaking upon his victims, tearing people in half and utilizing weapons all over the place. In the final battle, Tina tried almost everything she had: using telekinesis, she attempted to restrain Jason, throw him from a great height, and even burn him. Nothing could stop the killer, and in the final moment, Tina's deceased father emerged from the lake, grabbing Jason and pulling him back with him. Tina and her new boyfriend survived the night, but Jason will undoubtedly return.

Friday the 13th: New Blood - Jason's true face

What can I say about this film? It's a completely stupid story about a girl with telepathic powers and her teenage problems. The authors tried to make the movie deeper and introduce some social drama, but come on. This is Friday the 13th. We don't need it. We want blood, kills, naked students, and Jason. Not some mystical resurrection of Tina's father or flying wires that suspend the killer above the ground. In my top list, this chapter ranks at the bottom.

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan

Since Jason has already tried himself as a common killer from the woods, an undead zombie murderer, and his victims have included students, policemen, hospital workers, and even a girl with telekinetic abilities, the authors needed to find a new reason for viewers to come to cinemas to witness Jason in new circumstances. So why not send Voorhees to Manhattan? Sure, why not? Let's do it!

This time, Jason wakes up because two students on a yacht accidentally hit a power cable with the anchor. The electricity brings him back to life, and the young people face a slow, inevitable death. In this movie, Jason moves slower than usual for some reason, and he teleports more often than before. The action of the film can be divided into two parts: the accident on the ship and the night in Manhattan. There are many characters, most of whom are quite interesting and evoke no negative feelings. The main girl, Rennie, is a young and cute girl who just wants to see the big city. Her uncle, a school director, is a rather grumpy and stubborn man with old-school views on life. The young boy, who is the captain's son, has conflicts with his strict father because he refuses to become a captain himself. Other students also add interest, each with their own unique character and purpose on this trip. And looming over everyone is Jason, ready for fresh meat.

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan - Rennie 

One by one, Jason killed all the secondary characters, including the class president who tried to seduce the school director, Charles McCulloch. Each kill in this film was executed with special care and attention. We witness unique and previously unseen methods of murder and ways to take life. Voorhees caused the ship to wreck, and the last survivors decided to use a rowboat to reach Manhattan, successfully making it ashore. As they reach the big city, the film transitions into its second part.

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan - Jason Discovers Manhattan

On the dark and dirty streets near the harbor, movie characters try to survive not only against Jason but also local criminals. Two individuals try to sexually harass Rennie, but every victim finds their hero. Our masked, handsome man deals with both hooligans with grace. In an epic boxing challenge, one of the surviving students loses his head, marking one of the most memorable kills in the entire franchise. Killing McCulloch was also a great moment, as this sadistic individual almost killed his niece when they were trying to learn how to swim in Crystal Lake. Quite ironic that he was killed by drowning in a barrel with dirty water. The end of the film leaves me with a lot of questions. In the sewerage, Rennie and Sean survive after toxic waste reaches Jason, leaving him no chance of survival. The unstoppable dead man transforms into his child version and is left on a cold stone. Was it Rennie's hallucination, or could toxic waste really stop Voorhees and make him human again? The authors leave us without any certain answer.

Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan - Jason tries to kill Rennie on the ship.

For me, this film has several reasons to be considered good: well-developed characters, memorable killing scenes, a change in setting from the forests of Crystal Lake to the big city and a ship, and a more humanized portrayal of Jason. While many viewers were disappointed, and the rankings on professional resources are pretty low, personally, I can't say that this movie is the worst or even bad

The end of Paramount era

Friday the 13th Paramount posters

So we have discissed eight film made by Paramount studios and I would like to say "Thank you", for creating this fransice and iconic killer Jason Voorhees. We have made a long trip from 1980 to 1989 watching the winding path of murdurer from Crystal lake through yers. Authoths tied to entertain us in different ways, showing classic horror movies with stupid student screaming and running from unstopable killer to undead zombie who could travel and do whatever he wants and ever magical powers could not stand against his rage. But everything should come to an end and studio desided that last films were not box office successful and Paramount sell they right on Jason to New line Cinema. So in last part of our journaey we will discuss was it a good disiscion and could new studio reach a huge sucess in restarting fransis. That is all for today friends. See you qiiute soon :)  

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