(The first three films are reviewed in the Claws & Saucers guidebook, but here is my combo-review of the remaining Friday the 13th films of the 1980s.)
FRIDAY THE 13th: THE FINAL CHAPTER (Joseph Zito, 91 min, color, 1984)
What’s Happening: Jason returns to Crystal Lake
Famous For: Not really the final chapter
Producer Frank Mancuso Jr. and Paramount studio head Frank Mancuso Sr. both actually intended this fourth film to be the last of the series. But when it made $32m on a $2m budget, further films were inevitable.
You can see why it was a hit. It’s got the expected slasher movie tropes (and if you’re reading this, you know what they are) but some innovations too. It has less gore but more nudity than previous films. It adds some appealing characters: nubile twin sisters, a handsome young man hunting Jason, and a small family imperiled alongside the usual oversexed teens.
Jason is visible only in glimpses until the conclusion, and most of those glimpses are grimy fingernails, a nice touch. The main gore effect (from Tom Savini) comes at the end with Jason’s demise.
Tommy the adolescent brother played by young Corey Feldman is the main innovation. When we first meet him, he wears a customized rubber mask. The mask clearly links him with Jason: he understands. Tommy becomes the hero alongside his Final Girl sister, and when the film franchise continued, his character returned (see below).
Each kill is different from the others, and each is “delayed” with good pacing from director Zito. Reviews were negative at the time, led by Siskel and Ebert who object to slasher movies in principle on moral grounds. But fans consider it one of the better entries in the series, in the top three or four.
Corey Feldman was perhaps the premier adolescent actor of the 1980s (Stand By Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive). Joseph Zito also directed the great Invasion U.S.A.
Now for the other 80s entries in the series:
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (“Part V,” dir. Danny Steinmann, 1985) is notable for the high body count and extra nudity. In general, the “Friday the 13th” series has the most nudity of any slasher series, and this entry had so much that even co-producer Frank Mancuso Jr. was offended.
Most of the (many) characters are so disgusting that you can’t wait to see them killed. Actually I think this might be the most I’ve ever laughed watching people get killed.
While generally regarded as the worst or second-worst of the series, A New Beginning really deservers credit for its parade of rudeness, cursing, drug use, excretion, voyeurism, and general sleaze. I wanted more time with the young adult Tommy, but at least Tommy would return in Part VI. The most unusual of the murder weapons in A New Beginning is a leather strap.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. A New Beginning is also notable for featuring a Jason-imitator rather than Jason himself. My ratings are 7, 7, 6, 6, 6.
Due to a backlash from Jason’s fans, Jason returned in Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (dir. Tom McLoughlin, 1986). How does he return? It’s supernatural.
Previously, the series was only vaguely supernatural, but since we saw Jason’s head sliced in half in Part IV, the only way Jason could return would be through magic. It’s a magic lightning bolt, presumably inspired by the scientific lightning from Frankenstein. Jason is now super strong and nearly immune to physical damage.
Part VI is notable for adding camp to the series, like a James Bond reference, comical music, and self-referential dialogue. You’re expected to scoff at the characters before they get killed. If Part V made Jason’s victims a bunch of perverts, Part VI makes them a bunch of morons. At least you like Tommy (finally a real hero) even if he’s largely ineffectual.
Part VI has a high body count, mostly via machete. The camper van deaths were my favorites. It has a “clothed” sex scene and very little sleaze. While uncreative overall, Part VI is decent entertainment. My ratings are 6, 6, 3, 5, 5.
With Part VI essentially rehashing the first few films of the series, you’d expect something new to happen in Part VII, especially since it’s called New Blood (dir. John Carl Buechler, 1988). This is partly the case, incorporating elements of Carrie, Nightmare on Elm Street 3, and even Texas Chainsaw toward the end.
The setting remains Crystal Lake. As in previous films there are numerous characters but only the protagonist and the love interest are likeable. Actually the psychokinetic heroine is one of the most likeable protagonists of the series. Nearly everyone else is a jerk and gets killed.
Part VII joins Part VI in toning down the sex though one girl dies skinny dipping. As in previous films, a parent of the protagonist gets killed. Most kills are only implied, which is disappointing. Apparently, gorier killings were shot but shelved due to worries over an X-rating.
The plot often meanders. There is a good sleeping bag kill though nothing tops the one from Night of the Demon. The climax is decent except Jason is unmasked for too long. My ratings for Part VII are 6, 6, 4, 4, 4.
Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (dir. Rob Hedden, 1989) should really be called “Jason Takes Forever to Get to Manhattan” because getting there is more than 2/3 of the story. Apparently Paramount would have budgeted more money for additional Manhattan scenes had the previous film been a hit.
So most of the story has Jason stalking teens on one of two boats. It actually makes narrative sense; the boats revive Jason from the lake, allow Jason transportation, even give Jason a new hockey mask (you might guess how). He gets to Manhattan around 65:00.
Part VIII does have more character development than previous entries (only one teen is unlikeable) and some fun 80s rock tunes. It also has some unusual deaths, mostly implied. A creepy deck hand (“you’re all gonna die!”) is akin to the Creepy Gas Station Guy characters of slashers past. Nudity and sex are minimal. No one loves Part VIII, but it’s not bad if you want to see Jason on a boat with a couple of bonus scenes in Manhattan at the end. My ratings for Part VIII are 6, 6, 5, 5, 4.
Action: 6. Gore: 7. Sex: 6. Quality: 6. Camp: 5.
Don’t miss: From Final Chapter: Turn of the screw
Notable line: From Part VI: “Jason belongs in Hell.”
Article text copyright 2024 David E. Goldweber
Claws & Saucers 
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