Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (Film Review)
1986 Paramount Pictures
Written and Directed by: Tom McLoughlin
Starring: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Renée Jones, Kerry Noonan, Darcy DeMoss, and Tom Fridley
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 87 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 5/10
Tommy Jarvis is so obsessed with making sure that hockey-masked serial killer, Jason Voorhees, is dead, he accidentally brings him back to life. After Jarvis digs up Voorhees' maggot-ridden corpse, he shoves a metal rod through Voorhees' body, which is immediately struck by lightning, immediately reviving Voorhees and granting him invincibility and immortality. Jarvis flees and Voorhees goes on another killing spree, immediately heading back to camp Crystal Lake, which may be renamed, but is still going to host a whole bunch of camp counselor murders. Immediately...
The fifth Friday the 13th film was my least favorite to this point, a miserable, near softcore slog, with generic kills, and a drug-fueled, nihilistic haze, where Jason Voorhees isn't even in the film. Apparently, the studio agreed and thought it was time for a course correction. Hence, new writer/director, Tom McLoughlin, has been brought on not only to course correct, but bring a lighter touch. The result is a mixed bag, though a fairly enjoyable Friday the 13th film.
The lighter touch is immediately apparent. Intentional humor abounds, including a prominent fourth wall breaking line directly meant for the audience. Going greatly against the previous few films and the series in general, there is no nudity. The only sex scene's participants are fully clothed, and the entire purpose of the scene is to build up to a premature ejaculation punchline. The violence is still prominent, but the immortal, superhuman Jason here is almost cute, a crowd-pleasing slasher with rubber rotten flesh under his mask instead of a near animal being driven by the murderous will of his dead mother (fittingly, longtime series composer, Harry Manfredini, switches out his trademarked "Kill-Ma" theme for "Dies Irae").
The stakes feel low for a lot of this film, but I did find myself worrying about Tommy, played with a bit of punk rock attitude by Thom Matthews, as he goes for broke trying to put Jason down late in the film. Jennifer Cooke as the female lead, Megan Garris, is also pretty good, and she has surprisingly great romantic chemistry with Matthews. In fact, though the film contains no nudity, it does contain perhaps the hottest, sexiest moment in the franchise, when Tommy and Megan kiss through jail bars.
Unfortunately, until the moody final half hour at Crystal Lake, and then the final sequence of Tommy and Megan taking on Jason, I had difficulty connecting with the film. McLoughlin does course correct well, but it takes Jason Lives too long to get good.
Starring: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Renée Jones, Kerry Noonan, Darcy DeMoss, and Tom Fridley
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 87 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 5/10
Tommy Jarvis is so obsessed with making sure that hockey-masked serial killer, Jason Voorhees, is dead, he accidentally brings him back to life. After Jarvis digs up Voorhees' maggot-ridden corpse, he shoves a metal rod through Voorhees' body, which is immediately struck by lightning, immediately reviving Voorhees and granting him invincibility and immortality. Jarvis flees and Voorhees goes on another killing spree, immediately heading back to camp Crystal Lake, which may be renamed, but is still going to host a whole bunch of camp counselor murders. Immediately...
The fifth Friday the 13th film was my least favorite to this point, a miserable, near softcore slog, with generic kills, and a drug-fueled, nihilistic haze, where Jason Voorhees isn't even in the film. Apparently, the studio agreed and thought it was time for a course correction. Hence, new writer/director, Tom McLoughlin, has been brought on not only to course correct, but bring a lighter touch. The result is a mixed bag, though a fairly enjoyable Friday the 13th film.
The lighter touch is immediately apparent. Intentional humor abounds, including a prominent fourth wall breaking line directly meant for the audience. Going greatly against the previous few films and the series in general, there is no nudity. The only sex scene's participants are fully clothed, and the entire purpose of the scene is to build up to a premature ejaculation punchline. The violence is still prominent, but the immortal, superhuman Jason here is almost cute, a crowd-pleasing slasher with rubber rotten flesh under his mask instead of a near animal being driven by the murderous will of his dead mother (fittingly, longtime series composer, Harry Manfredini, switches out his trademarked "Kill-Ma" theme for "Dies Irae").
The stakes feel low for a lot of this film, but I did find myself worrying about Tommy, played with a bit of punk rock attitude by Thom Matthews, as he goes for broke trying to put Jason down late in the film. Jennifer Cooke as the female lead, Megan Garris, is also pretty good, and she has surprisingly great romantic chemistry with Matthews. In fact, though the film contains no nudity, it does contain perhaps the hottest, sexiest moment in the franchise, when Tommy and Megan kiss through jail bars.
Unfortunately, until the moody final half hour at Crystal Lake, and then the final sequence of Tommy and Megan taking on Jason, I had difficulty connecting with the film. McLoughlin does course correct well, but it takes Jason Lives too long to get good.
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