Mike_Bracken's Full Review: Friday the 13th - Part 6: Jason Lives
Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives: Paramount Pictures Rating: USA:R/ UK: 18/ Australia: R
Back in 1984, Paramount tried to end their popular series of slasher films by killing off lead villain and slasher icon Jason Voorhees. But, as fate would have it, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter would rake in some bucks at the box office. So, Paramount decided to make anotherFriday film, 1985’s A New Beginning. In the spirit of fair play, Paramount did leave the real Jason Voorhees dead and buried and instead gave us a grieving father dressed up like Herr Hockeymask as the killer (a fact which drives the fanboy F13 contingent nuts for some reason). A New Beginning did decent business at the box office as well—at least decent enough to convince the Paramount brass that perhaps they’d been a bit hasty in sticking the proverbial fork in this series…after all, there was still some money to be made. After this revelation, filmgoers were treated to the 1986 release of Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives (hereby referred to as F13: 6), which is easily one of the best entries in the Jason Voorhees saga.
This time out Thom Matthews (Return of the Living Dead parts 1 & 2) takes over the role of Jason-killer extraordinaire Tommy Jarvis (a pre-teen Corey Feldman played the role in part 4, a significantly older John Shepherd in part 5). In trying to keep with the series continuity, we do learn that Tommy has recently been released from a mental institution (of course, there’s no mention of him becoming a maniacal hockey-masked killer as the ending of part 5 would have you believe, but hey, at least they’re trying to keep with the earlier story lines) and now that he’s out, his first order of business is digging up Jason’s corpse and dismembering it some more (yeah…this guy’s ready for a return to civilian life). So, he and a buddy (played by none other than Ron Palillo—yep, Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter has a 5 minute part in this film) return to Crystal Lake (now renamed Forrest Green in hopes of changing their image) and dig up the madman.
Jarvis finds a rotting, maggot-covered corpse in the grave, but he’s got issues, so he decides to grab a metal fence pole and assault Jason’s body with it. Then, in a moment right of out Frankenstein, lightning strikes the pole and brings Jason back from the dead…only this time, he’s not even remotely human.
Jarvis runs for the cops while Horshack buys the farm (what a pal, eh?) but, no one wants to believe him when he explains how Jason has come back from the dead. Meanwhile, Camp Crystal Lake is all set to open once again—complete with actual kids this time out, marking the first time that children actually make it to the camp. From there, it plays out like all the other entries—Jason kills approximately 18 people in various ways (although, there’s a real reliance on the machete this time out) while Jarvis, local cop Sheriff Garris (David Kagen), and his daughter/Jarvis’ potential love interest Megan (Jennifer Cooke) try to stop him.
Having said that, it would be easy to dismiss F13: 6 as just another entry in the series—and you’d be right…sort of. What really sets this film apart from its predecessors is its tone. In many ways, Jason Lives is almost a spoof of the entire series up ‘til this point with various comedic touches adding to the standard slasher film conventions. And while it’s not a slasher parody on par with something like Wes Craven’s Scream, director/writer Tom McLoughlin (Sometimes They Come Back) does manage to add in enough situational and visual humor to really lighten the mood and keep things interesting (e.g. the little kid who falls asleep with a copy of Sartre’s No Exit on his chest, the James Bond spoof opening title sequence, etc.). These touches are ultimately what make the film work. After 4 other outings, Jason’s really not all that scary anymore (in fact, he’s almost a hero in some regards—he’s certainly got his fans) and this slightly comedic approach really breathes some new life into a tired franchise.
But, McLoughlin doesn’t stop there. In further breaking with tradition, he also drops many of the slasher clichés that had become standards thanks to their inclusion in the earlier films. There’s no virginal heroine here and even some of the innocent camp counselors buy it (particularly the one who goes to bed early). It’s not reinventing the wheel by any stretch, but it is a pleasant change of pace in a subgenre that is widely known for being incredibly formulaic.
McLoughlin’s direction is arguably the tightest in the series. From the opening shots of the fog enshrouded forest, right through to a nice underwater sequence during the climax, this film has a professional, medium-budget look to it that sets it light years beyond its series brethren. Of all the directors to helm F13 films, McLoughlin is probably the most accomplished from a technical standpoint. The visuals are impressive (and often work to create a sense of tension that’s been missing from the series for some time), the pacing is brisk, and the editing tight—it’s a much better made film than you’d expect going in.
The performances are also surprisingly decent. Matthews does a nice job playing the hero—mainly because he never oversells the role. The character is written to be a hero, but sort of a toned down version of Evil Dead’s Ash. Jarvis botches things on at least two occasions (he unwittingly resurrects Jason in the beginning, and his plan at the climax doesn’t quite work out as well as he’d expect), but this seems to help the audience identify with the character—it’s nice to see a hero mess things up from time to time.
The other standout is David Kagen. Kagen really hams it up as the sheriff, but in this film, an over-the-top performance really becomes something of an asset. Watching Kagen work, you can’t help but think of him as a poor man’s Donald Sutherland—he’s got the disheveled hair of Donald from the 70’s, the beady eyes, and even a fairly similar voice. These similarities to Sutherland (who remains one of my favorite actors) probably make Kagen’s performance standout more. Either way, it’s still a decent turn by an actor I’ve never seen in another film.
C.J. Graham dons the hockey mask this time out, and he does a decent job stalking and slashing his way through the teens and townsfolk alike. This film is really remembered for the birth of the zombie Jason—a supernatural entity who’s pretty much unstoppable. Because of this, there’s not as much for Graham to do in the role as there was for earlier Jasons like Richard Brooker. Jason doesn’t run anymore (he walks at a brisk pace), he doesn’t fall down, and he’s pretty much impervious to pain—which means anyone who plays him has to basically just stand around and look menacing or walk well. Still Graham does bring some nice touches to the part—the way he moves his head when a nerdy wargamer shoots him with a paint gun, or stares at a little girl huddled in her bed bring a weird new dimension to the normally unemotive killer.
On the downside, the film is the first one to bring actual campers to Crystal Lake, but it doesn’t really do anything with these characters. I’m not advocating the wholesale slaughter of these kids, but really, by putting them in the movie it just gives McLoughlin a cheap way to manipulate the audience. Place a kid in danger and the audience automatically gets antsy. I’m sorry, but I think it’s a cheap way to get a reaction, particularly when it’s clear that he director has no intention of having a kid actually die. Truthfully, it’s just as detestable as the infamous jump scare sequence so common in these films.
Overall, the film features around 18 deaths, yet it’s a relatively bloodless affair. Jason dispatches people in various ways, including two by metal pole, one with a screwdriver to the head, three are decapitated in one mighty swing of the machete, another is dismembered, etc. Perhaps my favorite killing this time out involves a character who gets into a fight with Jason and winds up literally broken in half with the back of his head touching his feet.
The MPAA was really cracking down on slasher film violence by this point (and it would only get worse in the ensuing years), so a lot of good gore wound up on the cutting room floor. Fans should consider that before blaming McLoughlin for the relative lack of onscreen carnage here—the guy tried, the MPAA shot him down.
The film’s score is a largely hit and miss affair, with Harry Manfredini once again providing his usual selection of jarring string music. Nothing new on this count, but it’s still pretty good—old, but good. Alice Cooper provides a few songs here as well, including the uber-lame closing theme Man Behind the Mask. Apparently, no one learned from this debacle, because a year later we were treated to Dokken’s rousing Dream Warriors on the Nightmare on Elm Street 3 soundtrack. I’d be hard pressed to pick which song sucks worse.
Ultimately, Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives is a decent film saddled by the stigma attached to the series thanks to several predictable and subpar sequels. It does bear more than a bit of a resemblance to its predecessors, but it’s also a lot smarter (and better made) film as well. The humor here is a welcome change of pace from the standard stalk and slash formula—and while much of it is fairly juvenile, it’s still an interesting new wrinkle. This isn’t a great film by any means, but it is easily one of the best in this series—no mean feat for a film with the number 6 hanging on the end of its title. If you were to only see one Friday the 13th film, this would most likely be the one I’d recommend. If you’re a fan of slasher cinema, this one’s well worth a look.
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