So, this came from a realization, whilst planning out when I would review this and other Friday the 13th films. After looking, I found that, if I were to do each on Friday the 13th in October, it would take me until the end of this century to finish. Given I might not be alive by then, I then thought to do one every Friday the 13th of a year, but that proved impractical as well. Eventually, I just decided to just spend this July, leading up to this Friday the 13th, just getting these out of the way. So, everyday up until this Friday the 13th, I will review each of the Friday the 13th sequels leading up to the most recent one. So, let's begin with this.
(Note: I will not give spoilers in the synopsis. However, to fully articulate my feelings on the films, there will be unmarked spoilers in the good and bad sections, so be warned)
So, not much history here. After the massive success of the first film, a sequel was inevitable. Like its (to be charitable) "inspiration" Halloween, it was originally an anthology which would focus on the general theme of "Friday the 13th", but this was squashed after executives took a brief joke of Jason at the end, and decided to run with it, and make Jason the main villain. Because of this, director Sean Cunningham, screenwriter Victor Miller, and special effects Tom Savini (who all found the idea ridiculous) all left, though Cunningham would return to help with additional scenes. Instead, Cunningham's protege Steve Milner directed from a script by Ron Kurz, with Carl Fullerton doing effects. Fullerton was behind the final design of Jason in the film. Adrienne King, who played Alice (the final survivor of the first film), opted to just return for one scene, given she had been a victim of an obsessive stalker after the release of the first film. Whilst critically panned like the first one, it had been a financial success, though not to the same degree as the first one.
Shortly after the events of the first film, Alice (Adrienne King) is still traumatized by the experience. One day, whilst wandering around her house, she is briefly scared by her cat, and when getting some cat food, finds the head of Pamela Voorhees in her fridge, and is killed by a mysterious assailant. Five years later (which would weirdly place the film in the then-future of 1984), a new counselor camp has opened up near Crystal Lake, under the tutelage of Paul (John Furey), and includes his assistant Ginny Field (Amy Steel), wheelbound Mark (Tom McBride), Sandra (Marta Kober), Jeff (Bill Randolph), Vickie (Lauren-Marie Taylor), Terry (Kirsten Baker), and Scott (Russell Todd). The legend of Jason Voorhees (Steve Daskawisz and Warrington Gillette) still haunts the camp grounds, as warned by Crazy Ralph (Walt Gorney), who is killed by the same mysterious assailant. Whilst Paul dismisses the possibility of Jason's resurrection, it seems that most legends have a basis in fact, as Jason is in fact alive, and prepared to get some new blood....
First and foremost, I liked this better than the first one. Whilst the first one was more-or-less a straight Halloween lift, this manages to be more original in its presentation. It has a more original way of showing its killer, first showing his legs to give a sense of menace and scale. Jason comes off like a Universal monster in this sense. I do like the pillowcase look for him, very realistic for his circumstances. It also fleshes out the characters a little more. Not in-depth character pieces, but enough that you do feel when they are chased and killed by Jason. Once again, the effects are great, and there is more a sense of dread in each scene. Jump scares are also well-done, since they lead into the actual scares.
It is a bit short, running at only 87 minutes long. I felt that some more time was needed to fully explain Jason's deal (as in, how he survived for 30 years, how he knew about the events of the first one, and if that final scare in the first one was really Jason). It also felt at times a bit too much like the first one, in terms of plot and characters. Even some of the kills are reminiscent of the first one (though enough is changed for me to tell the difference.)
Like I said, I liked this better than the first one. If you liked the first one, or if you want to see the debut of the Jason, then this will probably satisfy you. If you didn't like the first one, as I did, maybe even you could find some level of enjoyment in this. Some compare to this to Halloween II, which came out the same year. Honestly, it's better than that.
Alright, so ten films to go. Tomorrow, it's Part III (fancy with the Roman numerals and everything)
(Note: I will not give spoilers in the synopsis. However, to fully articulate my feelings on the films, there will be unmarked spoilers in the good and bad sections, so be warned)
So, not much history here. After the massive success of the first film, a sequel was inevitable. Like its (to be charitable) "inspiration" Halloween, it was originally an anthology which would focus on the general theme of "Friday the 13th", but this was squashed after executives took a brief joke of Jason at the end, and decided to run with it, and make Jason the main villain. Because of this, director Sean Cunningham, screenwriter Victor Miller, and special effects Tom Savini (who all found the idea ridiculous) all left, though Cunningham would return to help with additional scenes. Instead, Cunningham's protege Steve Milner directed from a script by Ron Kurz, with Carl Fullerton doing effects. Fullerton was behind the final design of Jason in the film. Adrienne King, who played Alice (the final survivor of the first film), opted to just return for one scene, given she had been a victim of an obsessive stalker after the release of the first film. Whilst critically panned like the first one, it had been a financial success, though not to the same degree as the first one.
Shortly after the events of the first film, Alice (Adrienne King) is still traumatized by the experience. One day, whilst wandering around her house, she is briefly scared by her cat, and when getting some cat food, finds the head of Pamela Voorhees in her fridge, and is killed by a mysterious assailant. Five years later (which would weirdly place the film in the then-future of 1984), a new counselor camp has opened up near Crystal Lake, under the tutelage of Paul (John Furey), and includes his assistant Ginny Field (Amy Steel), wheelbound Mark (Tom McBride), Sandra (Marta Kober), Jeff (Bill Randolph), Vickie (Lauren-Marie Taylor), Terry (Kirsten Baker), and Scott (Russell Todd). The legend of Jason Voorhees (Steve Daskawisz and Warrington Gillette) still haunts the camp grounds, as warned by Crazy Ralph (Walt Gorney), who is killed by the same mysterious assailant. Whilst Paul dismisses the possibility of Jason's resurrection, it seems that most legends have a basis in fact, as Jason is in fact alive, and prepared to get some new blood....
First and foremost, I liked this better than the first one. Whilst the first one was more-or-less a straight Halloween lift, this manages to be more original in its presentation. It has a more original way of showing its killer, first showing his legs to give a sense of menace and scale. Jason comes off like a Universal monster in this sense. I do like the pillowcase look for him, very realistic for his circumstances. It also fleshes out the characters a little more. Not in-depth character pieces, but enough that you do feel when they are chased and killed by Jason. Once again, the effects are great, and there is more a sense of dread in each scene. Jump scares are also well-done, since they lead into the actual scares.
It is a bit short, running at only 87 minutes long. I felt that some more time was needed to fully explain Jason's deal (as in, how he survived for 30 years, how he knew about the events of the first one, and if that final scare in the first one was really Jason). It also felt at times a bit too much like the first one, in terms of plot and characters. Even some of the kills are reminiscent of the first one (though enough is changed for me to tell the difference.)
Like I said, I liked this better than the first one. If you liked the first one, or if you want to see the debut of the Jason, then this will probably satisfy you. If you didn't like the first one, as I did, maybe even you could find some level of enjoyment in this. Some compare to this to Halloween II, which came out the same year. Honestly, it's better than that.
Alright, so ten films to go. Tomorrow, it's Part III (fancy with the Roman numerals and everything)
No comments:
Post a Comment